INTRODUCTION

Knowing what constitutes harassment that is sexual in nature in the workplace and the impact it has
on the employees and the organization are crucial to understanding its prevention.  Sexual
harassment doesn’t just affect women although they are the group representing the highest levels of
sexual harassment in the workplace with 80% experiencing some form of it during their careers with
37% of men being harassed.  Sexual harassment along with all forms of harassment have a negative
impact on the working environment of the organization as well as the emotional, physical, and
psychological wellbeing of the victims.  Several high-profile cases in recent years have highlighted
just the financial impact to the offenders and the organizations they work for as agents of that
company.  Preventing harassment at work needs to be the focus to creating a comfortable work
environment.  Clearly defined policies and procedures identifying what is deemed harassment, the
consequences to the offender and establishing a zero-tolerance policy have shown to be effective in
reducing workplace harassment.  There is no one solution to fixing this problem but encouraging
reporting of instances from both the victim as well as from witnesses will enforce the idea that these
actions will not be tolerated by anyone, from the lowest employee to the highest. 

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT IN WORKPLACE

Sexual harassment can occur in many different settings, home, school, church, special clubs and
groups, and in the workplace.  Victims and harassers can be of any gender, male or female and does
not necessarily involve the opposite sex and is often perpetuated by a person of power and includes
actions that can range from mild transgressions to sexual assault and abuse.  There are laws in the
United States that state sexual harassment, in most contexts, is illegal however, instances of minor
teasing, one-off inappropriate comments or one-off incidents are not considered illegal or covered
by these laws.  When it comes to the workplace, sexual harassment is usually considered illegal and
against company policy when it is frequent, severe, is offensive, has a negative impact on an
employee’s standing with the company, and/or creates a hostile work environment for the victim. 
Harassment in the workplace is also considered a form of employment discrimination and is illegal
under the Equal Employment and Opportunity Act of 1972 while sexual harassment is outlined under
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and applies to most private and public organizations of 15 or more
employees or members.  Even with laws, regulations, and corporate policies designed to eliminate
sexual harassment, it continues to be ever present.  79% of all workplace sexual harassment victims
are women with 21% being men with 51% of the total number of employees being harassed were
done so by a supervisor with 12% of those being threatened with termination if they fail to comply
with the harassment.  While sexual harassment is recognized in all types of businesses and industries,
banking, business, and finance provide the most instances of sexual harassment.  Preventing sexual
harassment in the workplace has become a major goal of every U. S. company, domestically and
abroad through training programs and bringing awareness to the behaviors that constitute sexual
harassment.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT IN WORKPLACE

Professional behaviour is a form of etiquette in the workplace that is linked primarily to respectful
and courteous conduct. ... Being conscious of how you treat co-workers and clients, and ensuring a
positive workplace attitude can help you to improve your productivity and effectiveness in
the workplace. Professionalism is defined as an individual's conduct at work. In spite of the
word's root, this quality is not restricted to what we describe as "the professions," which are
typically careers that require a lot of education and have high earnings associated with
them. Many cashiers, maintenance workers, and waitresses can demonstrate a high level of
this trait, although these occupations require minimal training and employees have modest
earnings. An equal number of doctors, lawyers, and engineers—often called professionals
—can display very little.

HANDLING THE SITAUTION PROFESSIONALLY

 Take all complaints seriously. The definition of what constitutes a formal complaint isn’t the
most cut and dry. Regardless of whether a complaint is made formally or informally, it should be
considered seriously.

 Ensure pre-investigation workplace comfort. Implement any necessary changes to make sure
the complaining employee (complainant) is comfortable in the workplace. “This may require you
to remove the alleged harasser from the workplace during the investigation via paid leave or a
transfer to another location,” Seltzer said.

 Inform both parties of next steps. The complainant and alleged harasser must be made
aware of the steps the company will take.

 Start the investigation ASAP. As soon as practicable, an investigation should be performed

thoroughly and in an unbiased manner.

 Come to a conclusion. After all parties are interviewed and documents are reviewed, make a
sound, unbiased determination based on the facts. The decision should include next steps, such
as termination of the alleged harasser, mandatory training, or a determination that no
harassment occurred.

 Communicate the results to both parties. The complainant and alleged harasser should be
informed of the determination. The key here, according to Seltzer, is that “The communication
should be on a ‘need-to-know basis’ only, and not for general company gossip.”
DUTY OF CARE IN WORKPLACE
It is the employees' responsibility to be sure that they take all appropriate measures to ensure that
nothing will cause an employee to be injured or to become sick at work, including taking reasonable
steps to prevent and/or react to intimidation, coercion and sexual harassment in a workplace.(Paludi,
Michele A.; Barickman, Richard B, 1991). 

Entrepreneurs, supervisors and administrators have to make sure that everything they can is done to
ensure that the duty of responsibility is not violated, as the effects can be serious for workers and costly
for employers.

Courts find that bullying, threats and sexual abuse would result in the creation of a psychological injury
such as anxiety, fatigue, depression.

 Ensure post-investigation workplace comfort. If harassment was found to have occurred,

ensure that the complainant is comfortable at work and that the rest of the workplace is free from
harassment.

 Follow up. The complainant should be spoken with at different time intervals to ensure he or
she is comfortable at work and that the harassment is not continuing in any way.

GUIDANCE OF DUTY OF CARE

Remediation and extinction of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace begins with the
reporting instances of harassment and assault. If an employee feels they have been harassed, they
should follow the steps for filing a complaint as outlined in their employee handbook and take
detailed notes about the harassment, including as much detail as possible.  Discuss the behavior or
actions with your supervisor, manager, or human resource department, seek support from co-
workers, friends, and family to help deal with the emotional toll workplace harassment can have,
understand you are also protected from retaliation by the offender, your supervisor, and/or the
organization, and reach out to the EEOC even if not filing a formal complaint.  They have resources
and counselors available to help you with reporting to your employer, through the process of filing a
formal complaint, and providing emotional support to help you cope with the effects of the
harassment. A "co-worker" is someone who is not the office owner, boss or superior. Therefore, it is
necessary to report abuse as soon as possible. Your boss will then be responsible for dealing with
and stopping abuse. It is sexual harassment at work if the boss does not stop the harassment.

As an employer, we must be proactive in establishing a workplace free of harassment by focusing on

prevention.  We have the responsibility of empowering our employees to report instances of sexual
harassment, assault, or other form of harassment and discrimination.  It is also our responsibility to
create a well-defined policy outlining prohibited behavior specific to sexual harassment and assault,
as well as other forms of harassment and provide this policy to every employee through the
employee handbook and on the company’s intranet site for ease of accessibility.  In this policy there
needs to be a clear procedure for reporting complaints and the process of how the complaints are
investigated along with steps of discipline and actions the employer can and will take against the
offenders once the investigation has concluded.  To get a feel for the current conditions, conduct
regular employee engagement surveys that are done anonymously to identify any potential areas of
concern or existing problems.  We also need to empower employees that witness any instance of
harassment while at work and provide training on how to intervene on behalf of the victim and
report the issue as well.  Providing this empowerment encourages employees to take ownership in
creating a workplace free of harassment of any kind (AAUW).  Creating a work environment that is
free from all forms of harassment not only is required by federal, state and local laws making non-
compliance illegal, it’s to our benefit as it increases employee morale, job satisfaction, and
productivity all contributing to an increase in the organization’s bottom line.  The EEOC provides
access to additional resources and training programs to help us prevent harassment at work before it
becomes a hostile work environment and/or illegal (IWPR).

EMPLOYEES DUTY OF CARE

As an employee, you have a duty not to partake in discrimination and sexual harassment and to adhere
to the employment rules of the company that include such behaviour. Moreover, you do not allow or
ask an individual to perform this behaviour, as it is both unethical and has implications. You will take
corrective action from the boss if you partake in sexual harassment behaviour, which may require
dismissal. In addition, you will be held accountable and face sanctions if a lawsuit is brought to the Anti-
Discrimination or Human Rights Commission. This could mean you will pay restitution to the individual
you threatened, for example cash compensation.

ETHICAL CONDUCT IN WORKPLACE

In order to check sexual harassment, an organization should have clear cut policy to register
complaints of such nature and procedure for taking disciplinary action. Such guidelines is
already available through Supreme Court judgment, its only its implementation that is required.
Every organization should have an effective employment policy that should ensure well planned
career paths based on merit to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and harassment by those
who abuse their power and authority.
There should be awareness among the staff members about sexual harassment and the
consequences they may face if they indulge in such an act. They should know their social
responsibilities to prevent such incident in their organization.
The staff member subjected to sexual harassment must first complain to the committee members
constituted for such purposes in the organization, before going to the police. Immediate
investigation of employee complaints about sexual harassment is critical. Employers are
responsible for hearing employee complaints, determining the investigative action necessary for
resolving the situation. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission strongly advises
employers to respond immediately whenever an employee complaint contains allegations of unfair
employment practices and sexual harassment is one such complaint that deserves the attention of
human resources or company leadership as soon as practicable.

The EEOC conducts its own investigations related to sexual harassment claims, but it's never a
good idea for employers to rely solely on the EEOC's investigation. Employers demonstrate their
willingness to engage in proactive measures -- even though investigation of an employee
complaint is a reactive step. An employer investigation is required to prepare a position statement
on the employer's behalf. In the event the company doesn't have an employee relations specialist
or another staff member with the expertise to conduct a confidential investigation, employers have
a duty to notify legal counsel.

ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS
Organizations adversely affected by the ethical issue of sexual harassment in the workplace pay a
high price. This can be in the form of damaged reputations; a decline in financial performance
including revenues, earnings, donations, and stock prices; and civil lawsuits, criminal charges, and
legal costs. An employer has the responsibility of preventing workplace sexual harassment and
taking action before it happens. Employers accomplish this by establishing sexual harassment and
reporting policies. If an employer fulfills this obligation, he may not be liable if harassment occurs.
However, some states such as California require an employer to take responsibility of harassment
acts by his managers. Yet, a victim of sexual harassment often face the dilemma of reporting and
risk losing her job or not reporting and to be accused of condoning the acts. A behavior may
continue, unless the victim clearly informs the perpetrator that his acts are unacceptable. Courts
apply the reasonable woman or reasonable person test to assess if an act attains the threshold of
what constitutes sexual harassment. If a reasonable woman or person in a stable state of mind
would view the act as harassment, then it is likely that the perpetrator committed sexual
harassment.

LEGAL CONSIDERATION

Employers should develop a written policy that prohibits sexual harassment – it’s usually included
with the company’s equal opportunity policy and described as a form of discrimination that will not
be tolerated in the workplace. The written policy should be a part of the employee handbook, for
which an employee must sign an acknowledgement form indicating receipt and agreement with the
company policy. All sexual harassment matters are not alike; however, the policy must also
indicate that employee discipline is subject to discipline, depending on the circumstances.
Employers have an additional responsibility to hold supervisors accountable for their actions,
involvement and behavior associated with sexual harassment. When supervisors engage in
unlawful behavior or turn a blind eye towards sexual harassment, the employer can be held liable
for supervisors' missteps or failure to acknowledge incidents of unlawful harassment and
discrimination. Many employers take a firm position on a supervisor's role in reporting and
responding to incidents of sexual harassment

LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Employers can’t properly address employee complaints about sexual harassment without first
understanding federal and state employment laws about discrimination and harassment. An
employer’s initial responsibility is to research laws that apply to the employment relationship and to
learn what constitutes discrimination and harassment. In doing so, employers learn to recognize
behavior considered inappropriate for the workplace and how to prevent the occurrence of sexual
harassment.

RIGHTS AND LAWS

According to the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, men and women may have
different perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment. A behavior may continue, unless the
victim clearly informs the perpetrator that his acts are unacceptable. Courts apply the reasonable
woman or reasonable person test to assess if an act attains the threshold of what constitutes
sexual harassment. If a reasonable woman or person in a stable state of mind would view the act
as harassment, then it is likely that the perpetrator committed sexual harassment. The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and state fair employment agencies – called FEPAs – such
as the Texas Workforce Commission provide resources to employers who need technical
guidance and training regarding federal and state fair employment practices.

CONCLUSION
Sexual harassment in a work place is a sensitive issue. It cannot be checked merely providing
staff members information about the sexual harassment policy or relying on disciplinary action.
The organization must play proactive role, provide behavioral support and discuss this aspect as
a part of the work routine. The staff must nurture an inclusive, supportive, and respectful
environment in the office in order to build a congenial working atmosphere.
Equally important is that the organization must support the victim of sexual harassment, and help
to overcome the negative effects of such an experience.
Finally, every working women must know that it is high time to stand up and fight for such
injustices. Its only then sexual harassment in work place can be checked.