The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Productivity, Morale, and Organizational Loyalty

The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Productivity, Morale, and Organizational Loyalty

The University of North Carolina – Charlotte

Introduction

As our world has grown more and more interdependent, the need for productive organizational environments has become increasingly more apparent.  Studies have shown that there is a strong relationship between the workplace environment and the attitudes of employees.  If conditions are good in the workplace, then it is reasonable to assume that workers will have better attitudes and thus will be more productive, have higher morale, and greater organizational loyalty.  But what happens to these three variables of productivity, morale, and organizational loyalty when negative conditions such as sexual harassment are introduced?

According to Woerner and Oswald (1990), “sexual harassment, like pornography, is a phenomenon that is virtually impossible to define or describe, but something on which everyone has an opinion.”  This statement has held true through countless court cases and much public debate.  Feminist groups and various other women’s rights advocacy groups campaigned throughout the eighties, nineties, and are still campaigning now in the 21st century for more and protection of women from having their rights to happiness and personal freedom infringed upon by sex offenders in the workplace (Kaplan, 1991).  

When the debate was first sparked in the eighties, most women were still oppressed by society.  The “Glass Ceiling” as many scholars described it, kept women in low-ranking positions within organizations.  This allowed for male dominance of organizations and the proliferation of the masculinity as the norm.  However, as more and more females began fighting for equality, the tables began to turn a bit.  Women became organized and in full force began to scurry up the organizational ladder into high enough positions that they were able to put cracks in the “Glass Ceiling” (Sbraga, 2000).  But, this did not come at an easy price.  As more and more women entered higher and higher positions, resentment from their male counterparts grew, resulting in frequent attacks on female sexuality (Woerner, 1990; Kaplan, 1991; King, 1995; Fowler, 1996; Markert, 1999).  Of course, resentment over civil rights and integration of the workforce is not the only reason women are sexually harassed in the workplace and this paper will cover several of them, specifically highlighting their implications for organizational communication.

In any case, sexual harassment, in general, is a problem that is highly important to the study of communication.  It is a foregone conclusion happy, enthused, and well-socialized workers will be more productive, have higher morale, and exhibit greater organizational loyalty.  Therefore, it is logical to assume that when a negative stimulus such as sexual harassment is directed toward productive, loyal, and happy workers that they might respond by lowering their overall output and reacting in negative ways.