Welcome to Texas Business Matters! Today we pause our blog series on non-compete agreements for a few words about sexual harassment and #metoo.
Recently someone asked me: why do victims of sexual harassment “put up with it”? Why don’t they just walk out? This is not a difficult question to answer. As Frances McDormand recently explained: because they want to work.
The responsibility to create a safe workplace belongs to the employer, not to the victim of sexual harassment. Victims of sexual harassment should not have to quit their jobs to be safe.
Yet even when a credible report of sexual harassment has been made, some employers fail to hold the harasser accountable. Why? Because some employers, believing commonly-held myths about sexual harassment, fail to understand the costs of sexual harassment to their business.
Myth #1: sexual harassment affects only the victim. False. When an employee feels unsafe, it affects not only that employee but everyone around him or her. One study showed that the mere awareness that someone else is experiencing harassment leads to a decrease in motivation and productivity for the entire group, directly impacting the bottom line.[1] As the EEOC has noted:
“Work withdrawal and disengagement due to harassment can also go beyond the individual to affect team and group relationships. The mere awareness of sexual harassment among a work group can create a tense environment, negatively influencing the group’s day-to-day functioning. At the most basic interactional level, one study found that three-quarters of U.S. workers have avoided a coworker merely because of a ‘disagreement’ – let alone because of harassment. Ultimately, this kind of response to workplace conflict can become a contagion and an ‘organization stressor.’ It can pervade and break down a work group, damaging its ability to function. All of this is a drag on performance – and the bottom line.”
When employees feel safe, they are productive. Thus, stopping sexual harassment is not only the right thing to do from a human perspective (though that is reason enough). Stopping sexual harassment is good for business.
Stay tuned for more myths of sexual harassment!
[1] See Jana Raver & Michele Gelfand, Beyond the Individual Victim: Linking Sexual Harassment, Team Processes, and Team Performance, 48 Academy of Mgmt. J. 387 (2005).