Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify perceptions of sexual harassment in the workplace and non-workplace settings. Following the “Me Too” movement, the issue of what constitutes sexual harassment in workplace environments underwent intense speculation. Confusion about the behaviors that equate to sexual harassment not only delays making progress toward eliminating it, but risks the well-being of citizens, employees, and their organizations. Individuals who experience sexual harassment are thrust into states of psychological distress and are known to experience fear, negative moods, and a lowered satisfaction with life in general. Additionally, exhibiting behaviors of sexual harassment in the workplace has a debilitating effect on work groups and individual employees by creating hostile work environments. As a result, employees experience decreased job satisfaction and managers may notice the increased salience of turnover cues. Examining contrasting perceptions of sexual harassment in work and non-work settings articulates the need for better informed public and organizational policy. Seeking to phase out phrases such as “I didn’t know that was sexual harassment,” this study explores the existing gap between what is perceived to be sexual harassment by the individual and what is sexual harassment. Further, it examines the discrepancies between perceptions of sexual harassment in work settings versus non-work settings and seeks to inform organizations and the public about the perceptions surrounding sexual harassment. Our research questions were addressed with a survey taken by students from a southeastern college in the United States.
Date
October 2018
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Included in
After #MeToo: Perceptions of Sexual Harassment In and Out of the Workplace
The purpose of this study is to identify perceptions of sexual harassment in the workplace and non-workplace settings. Following the “Me Too” movement, the issue of what constitutes sexual harassment in workplace environments underwent intense speculation. Confusion about the behaviors that equate to sexual harassment not only delays making progress toward eliminating it, but risks the well-being of citizens, employees, and their organizations. Individuals who experience sexual harassment are thrust into states of psychological distress and are known to experience fear, negative moods, and a lowered satisfaction with life in general. Additionally, exhibiting behaviors of sexual harassment in the workplace has a debilitating effect on work groups and individual employees by creating hostile work environments. As a result, employees experience decreased job satisfaction and managers may notice the increased salience of turnover cues. Examining contrasting perceptions of sexual harassment in work and non-work settings articulates the need for better informed public and organizational policy. Seeking to phase out phrases such as “I didn’t know that was sexual harassment,” this study explores the existing gap between what is perceived to be sexual harassment by the individual and what is sexual harassment. Further, it examines the discrepancies between perceptions of sexual harassment in work settings versus non-work settings and seeks to inform organizations and the public about the perceptions surrounding sexual harassment. Our research questions were addressed with a survey taken by students from a southeastern college in the United States.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology