Harrassment: Harassment and Workplace Essay

Submitted By Felishia
Words: 1330
Pages: 6

Sexual harassment is one of the most persistent problems that women face in the workplace (Giraffe 2011). Sexual harassment is the maltreatment of an employee based on unwelcome behavior such as verbal, physical, and visual. When allegations of sexual harassment are brought to an organizations attention, the employer has an obligation to investigate those claims. The purpose of the investigation is to determine exactly what happened, and who was involved, so that the proper action can be taken. There are several types of sexual harassment as well as ways to prevent it from happening. For every action, there is a reaction. The first type of sexual harassment is verbal harassment. Some people don’t understand that an employee does not have to touch you in order for someone to feel harassed. Verbal harassment is a form of sexual comments, for example; commenting on how a person is dressed in an inappropriate manner, calling someone “baby” or “honey” when it is not welcome can also be taken as sexual harassment. When one makes sexual jokes, or tells sexual stories in the workplace, as well as asking about ones sex life is taken into the form of sexual harassment. Another form of harassment is nonverbal. Nonverbal harassment is just as serious because although someone may not verbally say how they feel, facial expressions say it all. Nonverbal harassment can go from staring at a person for long periods of time while checking out the rest of their body, making facial expressions in a sexual manner, and giving personal gifts such as jewelry, lingerie, candy, etc... This form should be taken into consideration as well when someone goes to make a report because the small things are what lead up to the physical behavior in a case of sexual harassment. Physical harassment is a major issue. The verbal and nonverbal lead up to the physical actions which welcome those that are guilty of harassment into going further in detail about what they really want from an individual. Physical harassment can be one of many things; touching a persons clothing, hair, or body in an inappropriate manner. No matter how a person is dressed or how they have their hair, complements on their style, or hairdo are welcoming behavior, but not on the everyday basis. When the nonverbal and verbal behavior leads up to physical, they feel that you have allowed them, or led them into this type of reaction. Physical harassment can also be touching oneself in an inappropriate manner in front of other employees. Even giving hugs, kisses, pats on the back, or stroking a person is a form of an unwelcome act. Some people, in the workplace, like to be recognized for completion of a major job task at work, some shake hands, so give pats on the upper back for a job well done along with other minor rewards. This type of behavior is different unless done in the wrong ways. If an employee walks up to another employee, and places their hand on ones body just for a conversation while walking down the hall, is an unwelcome act. Some things that people may not see as harassment, others will. There are some things that an employer should do, in order to keep things in perspective while in the workplace such as training, and reviewing the regulations and policies on the regular basis. In the job field, you want to ensure your employees safety while they are providing you with their service of work. When training, you want to bring up any and every situation that is possible to be considered wrong doing, so that each employee has an idea of what they can and can’t do. Watching videos on actions in the workplace is a great start. These videos have major points, and it could be behaviors that are already going on in the workplace, but people don’t want to be responsible for another losing their job if they were to report such actions. After reviewing the video, have a question and answer session to ensure that your employees understand