Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Training: Literature Review

Summary

The achievements made towards gender equality in the Western Nations and the rest of the world in the past few decades cannot be understated. However, workplace sexual harassment has persisted, creating a need for research on appropriate workplace sexual harassment prevention and training strategies. Through a literature review, this paper addresses the impact of workplace sexual harassment, its contributing factors, and the role of policies, training, and reporting. The paper illustrates that the issue results from poor social structures, personalities, and organizational structures that are disorganized, have regulatory gaps, and pressure employees, creating a culture of complacency. To prevent the issue, organizations must embrace policy changes, education and training programs, and revision of reporting systems to enhance access and minimize adverse outcomes for victims.

Introduction

The achievements made towards gender equality in the Western Nations and the rest of the world in the past few decades cannot be understated. As a result, there has been increased representation of females in the workplace across all sectors. However, some of the societal issues have been transferred to the workplace, where workplace sexual harassment (WSH) has been a significant issue. This is evidenced by the recent #MeToo campaign, which brought sexual harassment into the public spotlight, encouraging open discussion and raising awareness about the prevalence and severity of harassment in various industries. WSH goes against Christian teachings of respect and dignity for all people regardless of gender, race, or status (Galatians 3:28, ESV). WSH disproportionately affects females than males; it is more prevalent among younger ones and minorities and affects the mental health of both victims and the witnesses of victimization (Brassel et al., 2020; Maran et al., 2022; Martinmäki et al., 2023). As a result, WSH affects workplace engagement and, therefore, the productivity of victims and witnesses, leading to high employee turnover rates (Vara-Horna et al., 2023). WSH is the product of pressure, disorganization, and regulatory framework failures in the organization coupled with individual and societal issues (Ford & Ivancic, 2020; Knox & Bohle, 2024). It can, however, be combated through policy changes and training coupled with an evidence-based reporting system to enhance reporting (Cronin et al., 2024; Diez-Canseco et al., 2022; Fenwick et al., 2022). This is illustrated in the following literature review.

The Bible articulates that anxiety weighs down the heart, indicating that it is a burden that can limit productivity (Proverbs 12:25, ESV). As such, one would expect employees who have been sexually harassed and those who witnessed it to have reduced productivity in the organization. This is illustrated through research by Vara-Horna et al. (2023), who aimed to determine the impact of WSH on labor productivity and the role of equitable management. The study proposed a conceptual model with four aspects: equitable management, which is the predictor; the agent, which includes WSH victims and witnesses; the mechanism, which includes intention to leave, sabotage, and productivity deviance; and the outcome, which is lost labor productivity. Vara-Horna et al. (2023) propose there is a positive correlation between the agent and the outcome and mechanism, followed by the outcome. However, there is a negative relationship between the predictor and the mechanism, the agent, and the outcome, which suggests that equitable management reduces WSH, hence the intention to leave, sabotage, or productivity deviance, and hence minimizes the loss of productivity. This model was supported by a study involving eight hundred and twenty-seven women from thirty-seven organizations of all sizes. The findings indicated that WSH decreases productivity by about 43.1% and increases the likelihood of leaving the firm by 15.2% while being a witness decreases productivity by 39.6% and increases the likelihood of leaving by 11.3%. Equitable management was found to decrease workplace harassment by a factor of 2.2, emphasizing the responsibility of the organization.

Intersectionality in WSH

WSH Interventions: Policy Change and Training

Policy changes and training programs are the most applied interventions to WSH, aligning with conclusions made by Ford and Ivancic (2020) on the importance of organizational interventions. However, there is no consensus on the effectiveness of each. Diez-Canseco et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis using forty articles to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing WSH and the associated depression. The authors did not find evidence that any of these interventions affect depression, but they did find limited evidence that they influence the incidence rate of WSH. Specifically, for policy change, the researchers found five articles, four of which focused on the impact of these policies on reporting, while one focused on grievance procedures. The latter was associated with reduced access of women to management positions, an effect that disappeared in firms where women held management jobs. However, zero-tolerance policies for WSH were associated with an increase in the likelihood of reporting, especially for the moderate cases that often go unreported. The policies were also associated with increased awareness about WSH, which increased the number of reported cases in two of the studies.

Diez-Canseco, F., Toyama, M., Hidalgo-Padilla, L., & Bird, V. J. (2022). Systematic review of policies and interventions to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace in order to prevent depression. International Journal of Environmental  Research and Public Health/International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20), 13278. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013278

Fenwick, K. M., Dyer, K. E., Klap, R., Oishi, K., Moreau, J. L., Yano, E. M., Bean-Mayberry, B., Sadler, A. G., & Hamilton, A. B. (2022). Expert Recommendations for designing reporting Systems to address Patient-Perpetrated Sexual Harassment in Healthcare Settings. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(14), 3723–3730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-022-07467-8

Ford, J. L., & Ivancic, S. R. (2020). Surviving organizational tolerance of sexual harassment: an exploration of resilience, vulnerability, and harassment fatigue. Journal of Applied Communication Research/Journal of Applied Communications Research, 48(2), 186–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1739317

Knox, A., & Bohle, P. (2024). Redressing sexual harassment at work: Using pressure, disorganisation and regulatory failure to advance theoretical understanding. Journal of Industrial Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856241248353

Maran, D. A., Varetto, A., & Civilotti, C. (2022). Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Consequences and Perceived Self-Efficacy in Women and Men Witnesses and Non-Witnesses. Behavioral Sciences, 12(9), 326. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12090326

Martinmäki, S. E., De Jong, K., Komproe, I. H., Boelen, P. A., & Kleber, R. J. (2023). Incidence and Severity of Sexual Harassment, and its Impact on Mental Health in a Cohort of International Humanitarian Field-Workers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(11–12), 7426–7456. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221145954

Vara-Horna, A. A., Díaz-Rosillo, A., Asencios-Gonzalez, Z., & Quipuzco-Chicata, L. (2023). Direct and indirect effects of workplace sexual harassment on the productivity of victims and witnesses: The preventive role of equitable management. Heliyon, 9(11), e21096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21096