Hostile Environment and Sexual Harassment at Work
Sexual harassment is pervasive in today’s settings and may have devastating effects. When people think about sexual harassment, they often picture an environment where sexist remarks and jokes are commonplace. Harassment of any kind is unacceptable in the workplace, but sexual harassment, in particular, has far-reaching consequences, from decreased productivity to damaged morale and self-esteem among workers. The example illustrates a hostile environment type of sexual harassment, a common kind of sexual harassment in the workplace.
According to the case study, John has made the workplace highly dangerous for Martha since she ended their romantic connection. When a person’s job performance and mental health suffer because of intimidation in the workplace and a hostile work environment, the person is experiencing a hostile environment type of sexual harassment (Mathis et al., 2017). As a result of John’s aggressive treatment at work, Martha is at risk for poor performance and emotional discomfort. Martha is, thus, a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace due to a hostile work environment.
In this case, sexual harassment is eminent and violates Title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, in Mary’s situation, she is subjected to uninvited sexual approaches, solicitations of sexual favors, and other verbal and physical direct of a sexual nature, all of which constitute a hostile condition form of inappropriate conduct. According to the case facts, John’s behavior against Mary has created a frightening, adversarial, and toxic work environment for Mary, negatively affecting her productivity and efficiency on the job.
Once Martha has informed the HR manager of the sexual harassment charges, the HR manager has a wide range of duties to fulfill. The first duty is to ensure that both Martha and John know the seriousness of the sexual harassment allegations Martha has brought up (Society for Human Resource Management, n.d.). Second, after a case of sexual harassment has been reported, the HR manager must tell all relevant parties about the company’s policy, including the investigative processes (SHRM, n.d.). The third duty of the HR manager is to investigate the claims of sexual harassment and provide a complete report on the findings (SHRM, n.d.). The HR manager must also compile a report detailing the inquiry’s findings into the allegations of sexual harassment, together with any suggestions for further action, and send this to the appropriate company authorities (SHRM, n.d.). Lastly, the HR manager must notify all stakeholders and reinforce the agreed-upon remedial action established by management (SHRM, n.d.). It’s important to note that there’s a consistent pattern running across these commitments from the first to the last.
Human resources have a legal responsibility to conduct a prompt and comprehensive investigation into Mary’s allegations of sexual harassment against John in the workplace after they receive Mary’s complaint, as required by the Commission Act. They should take prompt and appropriate disciplinary action by doing everything necessary to end this sexual harassment threat immediately. Furthermore, if the charges are true, they should compensate Mary for her losses by reinstating her employment benefits. If John is found responsible for the protest, he must face every possible disciplinary action, from expulsion to parole.
If the HR manager’s inquiries reveal that Martha is speaking the truth, the HR manager and the business must take several actions to satisfy EEOC regulations. The first step is to discuss the company’s sexual harassment policy with John and explain to him how seriously he has broken the policy (SHRM, n.d.). In this phase, leadership must clarify that they will not tolerate sexual harassment at work (EEOC, n.d.). The next step is to work out a solution amicably while also taking remedial action to make sure John feels the full force of the law for his behavior and deter him from engaging in sexual harassment again in the workplace (SHRM, n.d.).
The action mentioned above may be implemented by disciplining John per the company’s sexual harassment policy and the authorized decision reached after reviewing the investigation report (EEOC, n.d.). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also suggests that businesses provide a clear and easy way for workers to report incidents of harassment (EEOC, n.d.). Additionally, the EEOC suggests that organizations with human resource departments provide anti-harassment training to all managers and workers to forestall further sexual harassment claims (EEOC, n.d.). The EEOC has given businesses advice on how to deal with harassment in the workplace, and that advice is reflected in the measures outlined above. The human resource should also have a standard procedure for resolving disagreements related to sexually inappropriate conduct.
To avoid responsibility for sexual harassment, human resource management must show that it made reasonable efforts to prevent the harassment and promptly took remedial action after it became aware of the problem, as required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, n.d.). In addition, if HR can show that an employee failed to use the company’s resources to prevent or remedy sexual harassment, it may escape legal responsibility for any resulting claims (EEOC, n.d.). According to Mathis et al. (2017), if the HRM has implemented those corrective and preventative steps as mentioned above, it may be able to make a strong case in the event of a legal dispute.
Several factors in this case strongly suggest that John is guilty. For starters, if John and Martha had been publicly linked for two months before Martha broke things up, it would be simple to show that John had a sexual incentive to harass Martha. If Martha also shows that John threatened to make her regret leaving the relationship, this will be enough to convict him. Thirdly, John will be found guilty of generating this noticeable disadvantage with antagonism in the workplace due to the effect of sexual harassment visible in Martha’s recent job performance and attitude. Finally, Martha’s proof will be incontestable since the work performance records may corroborate with the time range during which John started harassing Martha. As a result, the odds of John being found guilty of sexual harassment are rather high.
If Martha prevails in court and John is found guilty, the HR manager’s first order to restore order in the workplace would be to discipline John severely, following the seriousness of his offense. The management might also make things right by compensating Martha in advance for future disasters (Cortina & Areguin, 2021). The measures mentioned earlier will hold John responsible for his sexual harassment and recompense Martha for her losses.
In summary, the findings suggest that Martha is a victim of hostile environment sexual harassment. The HR manager’s responsibilities include communicating the sexual harassment policy to all relevant parties, raising awareness about the consequences of infractions, conducting an investigation, writing a comprehensive report, and carrying out any necessary disciplinary measures. Management should take all of the EEOC’s suggested preventative actions to have a strong affirmative defense in the case of a lawsuit. The evidence presented in the case strongly suggests that John is guilty of the charges against him. Finally, if John is found guilty, mechanisms should be implemented to hold him responsible and recompense Martha.
References
Cortina, L. M., & Areguin, M. A. (2021). Putting people down and pushing them out: Sexual harassment in the Workplace. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 8(1), 285–309. Web.
Mathis, R. L., Jackson, J. H., Valentine, S., & Meglich, P. A. (2017). Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning.
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). (n.d.). Sexual Harassment Policy and Complaint/Investigation Procedure. Shrm.org. Web.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (n.d.). Harassment | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. US EEOC. Web.