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Challenges of Corporate Misconduct: The Organisational, Social, Economic and Financial Dynamics of Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry in the USA
Abstract
This case study inquiry examines the systemic nature of sexual harassment within the restaurant industry, catalyzed by the recent public disclosure of allegations against “The Best Restaurant Group” involving its founder and senior executives. It highlights the pervasive and structural issues contributing to workplace harassment in this sector, characterized by hierarchical systems and demanding environments that often enable misconduct. Unlike previous studies focusing only on theoretical approaches to sexual harassment, this research adopts real-world and practical approaches, such as analyzing workplace policies and exploring current research, to understand the unique vulnerabilities of the restaurant industry and the broader implications for employee well-being and organizational stability. The research also offers insights into how these dynamics manifest in practice, by providing specific examples of harassment incidents and their impact on the workplace. The global, social, and economic challenges arising from corporate misconduct in interconnected industries reveal how such issues transcend organizational boundaries, amplifying their impact on supply chains, consumer trust, and labor dynamics. Through root cause analysis, the study identifies systemic challenges, including power imbalances, ineffective policies, and cultural norms, that perpetuate sexual misconduct, providing a nuanced understanding of the interplay between leadership styles, hierarchical structures, and operational inefficiencies. By examining a real-world case study, the research offers insights into how these dynamics manifest in practice, contributing to actionable strategies for fostering a safer, more respectful workplace. The findings underscore the critical role of leadership and organizational culture in mitigating harassment, revealing that top-down attitudes significantly influence workplace behavior and employee protection. The study emphasizes the need for comprehensive prevention programs that integrate legal frameworks, policy reforms, and cultural shifts to address these systemic issues effectively. Furthermore, it demonstrates the global significance of aligning corporate practices with evolving societal expectations, particularly in a digitized and democratized world where corporate misconduct faces increasing scrutiny. These insights reflect broader social and economic challenges as organizations must navigate rising legal and reputational risks while ensuring equitable treatment and sustainability in a competitive global marketplace. This research not only identifies the tangible and intangible costs of harassment on organizational performance and financial stability but also provides a roadmap for implementing interventions that prioritize equity and ethical governance. Ultimately, it inspires hope by contributing to bridging the gap between theoretical insights and practical applications, offering a robust framework for addressing workplace harassment in the restaurant industry and beyond, and showing that positive change is possible.
... The research from Willness et al. (2020) indicates that ongoing psychological harassment which includes constant criticism and social exclusion and professional ability disintegration leads to elevated stress and job dissatisfaction. Hierarchical structures at work create an even worse mistreatment problem since those at lower positions often lack authority to report misconduct (Burrell et al, 2024). ...
Workplace harassment continues as a widespread problem that harms female employees causing them both emotional and psychological distress. A phenomenological approach was utilized in this qualitative research to study workplace harassment experiences faced by female workers in District Mansehra. The researcher collected data through purposive sampling for conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with female employees who have faced workplace harassment. The research applied thematic analysis to uncover standard patterns and themes as per Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework. Four key themes emerged verbal harassment, fear of retaliation, emotional distress, and lack of organizational support. Findings reveal that verbal harassment is often trivialized, discouraging women from speaking out. Fear of retaliation prevents victims from reporting incidents, as workplace power dynamics favor perpetrators. Participants reported significant emotional and psychological distress, affecting both professional and personal lives. Moreover, a lack of organizational support perpetuates a culture of silence. Anti-harassment policies need to be strengthened through the implementation of impartial complaint systems which should incorporate psychology-based victim support mechanisms. Heavy investment in studies needs to happen to bring forward solutions which both enhance workplace equality and implement systemic changes that combat harassment across organizations effectively.
This paper examines workplace sexual harassment and looks into why workplace sexual harassment remains a pervasive, underappreciated problem in the United States and outlines the limitations of existing controls of sexual harassment at work, namely sexual harassment policies, awareness training, and grievance procedures. Based on these limitations, it reflects on the current definitions of sexual harassment and introduces the concept of nudging to support the preventive and corrective measures already adopted to reduce workplace sexual harassment. It provides a conceptual framework of nudges that might be effective in reducing incidents of sexual harassment. The eight types of nudges that form the framework are grouped into five overall categories depending on who a nudge is for: top, middle, and line management, harassers, observers, victims, and society. This paper is first to conceptualize nudging as a supportive mechanism to traditional management control systems in the context of workplace sexual harassment.
Background
This article presents a scoping review of reviews on the topic of Sexual Harassment (SH) in the workplace, a subject that has garnered significant global attention. The phenomenon of SH poses a critical challenge to equal opportunity and gender equity in the workplace.
Aim
The review aims to synthesize existing research, focusing on the antecedents, consequences, and interventions related to SH.
Methods
The inclusion and exclusion criteria were established based on the research question, which was adapted from the PICO strategy. A protocol was devised following the “DS-CPC” format, which encompasses considerations related to Documents, Studies, Construct, Participants, and Contexts. The search was carried utilizing several automated databases, specifically focusing on the fields of Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, and Health. Preliminary search yielded a total of 468 articles, and the review ultimately encompassed a total of 22 articles.
Results
This review critically examines the complexity of SH, including the role of bystanders, the perpetuation of myths and misconceptions, and the exploitation of power imbalances by harassers. It also explores the manifestation of SH in male-dominated workplaces and the varying levels of organizational awareness and response to such incidents. The review highlights the importance of fostering an organizational culture that not only acknowledges and protects victims but also implements effective measures to penalize perpetrators.
Implications
It aims to elucidate the intricacies of SH and advocate for a workplace environment characterized by respect and accountability. Through this comprehensive analysis, the article seeks to inform and guide future research, policy development, and organizational practices concerning SH.
International standard-setting bodies began drawing attention to the problem of bullying and sexual harassment in the parliamentary workplace even before the arrival of the #MeToo movement led to more and more women politicians and staffers speaking out. Australia was unique in what followed—large protest events around the issue of women’s safety in parliament, which helped make it an election issue. More generally, as scandal mounted, parliaments commissioned surveys to ascertain the extent of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. The surveys confirmed the prevalence of misconduct and the need for an intersectional approach to analysis and solutions. Precedents from the way financial scandals had been handled (path dependence) became important in the way Westminster parliaments responded, as did policy transfer.
Purpose
In the era of hyper-competitiveness, firms, especially project-based management structures, have to focus on ideas for both new and existing sets of products and services, i.e. ambidextrous innovation. The ambidextrous innovation can be helpful, but achieving such a level is a problem to be solved. This study aims to yield ambidextrous innovation by using innovative culture and knowledge that has been gained from learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The present research collected data from Saudi Arabian public-sector firms. The data collected is analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The findings of the study suggest that a range of factors can be operationalized in project-based firms to establish organizational learning and innovation culture. These factors include agile-based project management, leveraging existing innovative capabilities and growth mindset in case of innovative organizational culture and additional factors of agile-based knowledge management along with others in case of organizational learning. The PLS-SEM further concluded that both organizational learning and innovative organizational culture, in turn, help project-based Saudi Arabian public-sector firms to develop their ambidextrous innovation capability.
Originality/value
The PLS-SEM further concluded that both the organizational learning and innovative organizational culture, in turn, help project-based Saudi Arabian public-sector firms to develop their ambidextrous innovation capability.
This research demonstrates the impact of equitable management as a protective factor against workplace sexual harassment (WSH) and its consequences on labor productivity. It also shows that there are invisible costs for colleagues who witness WSH, through counterproductive behaviors, such as sabotage or production deviance, with an indirect decrease in labor productivity. We used a structured questionnaire that was answered by 827 women from 37 small, medium, and large private companies in the Lima Metropolitan Area, Peru. We designed a conceptual model and tested it using structural covariance equations. The results indicate that 33.5 % of women have been sexually harassed over the last 12 months, an average of 6.6 times, while 18.9 % of women have supported co-workers who were victims of WSH. Being sexually harassed at work decreases labor productivity by 43.1 % and increases the intention to desert the company by 15.2 %. Witnessing WSH increases the intention to drop out by 11.3 % and increases counterproductive behaviors by 39.6 %. We found that equitable management is a preventative factor for WSH. Equitable management not only decreases the probability of the occurrence of WSH by 2.2 times but also—if it exists—reduces its pernicious impact on productivity through various indirect effects. Equitable management can reduce the labor productivity costs caused by WSH by 4.6 times.
To date, there have been no cohort studies of sexual harassment incidence and its relation to mental health within humanitarian field-workers. Research among numerous occupations suggests an association between workplace sexual harassment and several health complaints. This study examined the incidence and severity of sexual harassment and its association with changes in mental health in a cohort of international humanitarian aid field-workers (iHAWs). Four hundred and seventy-eight iHAWs filled in questionnaires about sexual harassment, depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as part of a larger study on health and well-being. Six percent of male and 18% of female iHAWs reported experiencing sexual harassment during their latest field assignment, with most reporting low levels of nonphysical forms of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment was predictive of negative changes in both depression and anxiety symptom severity between before and after an assignment for females; for males, it predicted negative changes in PTSD symptom severity. Sexual harassment did not predict utilization of mental healthcare services within 2 months after the end of assignment. The current findings are the first figures derived from a representative sample of iHAWs on the incidence of sexual harassment during a field assignment and show sexual harassment to be a relatively common and present issue. The findings are mostly in line with the extant literature and underscore the importance of attending to the issue of sexual harassment in the humanitarian sector.
It is widely recognized that workplace sexual harassment has significant negative psychological and personal consequences, and employees facing harassment suffer reductions in productivity. Our contribution is to propose a novel measure of workplace sexual harassment risk and provide a fuller estimation of the firm value impact of sexual harassment. In contrast to recent studies that focus on short-run market reactions to media announcements of harassment scandals, we use employee job reviews to identify low-profile harassment incidents that better reflect the pervasive, toxic environment pertaining to sexual harassment than do newsworthy scandals, and we measure the longer-term effect on firm value starting from the date when harassment risk affects employee morale. We identify firm harassment risk by analyzing employee job reviews and estimate the sexual harassment score (SH) through textual analysis of online job reviews. Our sample of high-SH firms, or firms with unusually high-SH scores, exhibits significant reductions in future stock performance and profitability. For example, firms with a top 2% SH score earn a value-weighted risk-adjusted stock return of − 17% in the 1-year period after high-SH classification, and this damage is concentrated in firms with higher investor attention. Furthermore, high-SH firms experience a decline in operating profitability and an increase in labor costs during a 5-year period around high-SH classification. Our evidence suggests that sexual harassment can cause greater damages to firm value than previously documented.
A critical sustainability task is to communicate an organization’s sustainability values in a manner which yields favorable new hire perceptions and involvement. However, factors influencing the impact of sustainability messaging on new hire perceptions remain unexplored to the authors’ knowledge. This exploratory study explores these factors using an experimental vignette study design in which signal costliness and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were manipulated in the administration of a hypothetical new employee orientation presentation. The findings suggest that conditions in which extrinsic motivating factors were noted as the reason for organizational sustainability yielded higher perceived credibility and involvement intention among respondents. More costly sustainability messaging was detrimental to the perceived message credibility and employee involvement intentions.
Background:
Sexual harassment in the workplace (SHWP) is highly prevalent and has a negative impact, including depression, on its victims, as well as a negative economic impact resulting from absenteeism and low productivity at work. This paper aims to outline the available evidence regarding the prevention of depressive symptoms among workers through policies and interventions that are effective in preventing SHWP.
Methods:
We conducted two systematic reviews. The first focused on the association of depression and SHWP, and the second on policies and interventions to prevent SHWP. We conducted a meta-analysis and a narrative synthesis, respectively. We identified 1831 and 6107 articles for the first and second review. After screening, 24 and 16 articles were included, respectively.
Results:
Meta-analysis results show a prevalence of depression of 26%, as well as a 2.69 increased risk of depression among workers who experience SHWP. Variables such as number of harassment experiences and exposure to harassment from coworkers and other people increase this risk.
Conclusions:
There is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of policies and training to prevent SHWP, mostly focused on improvements in workers' knowledge and attitudes about SHWP. However, there is no available evidence regarding its potential impact on preventing depression.
Corporations wield power in today’s economies, and political theories of the corporation argue about the legitimacy conditions of corporate power. This paper argues in favour of a double-fiduciary theory for corporations. Based on a concession theory of markets, it sees all markets as authorized by states (in the name of society), for the purpose of creating economic value, or wealth. Hence corporations, as much as non-incorporated firms, have a fiduciary duty to the state/society to create wealth, in the competitive structure of the market. However, their pursuit of wealth often creates unbalanced relations of power between corporations and their stakeholders, which can at some point be classified as instances of domination. Therefore, corporations need to be subjected to a second fiduciary duty, i.e. not to dominate others in the economy. This duty is also, in the final instance, owed to the state/society. In an era when everyone can incorporate their business, states/societies can be interpreted as having, through corporate law, mandated shareholders as ‘proximate beneficiaries’, to incentivize corporations to create wealth. Now states/societies need to think about how to prevent corporations from dominating others. New mechanisms of accountability towards stakeholders and/or citizens as proximate beneficiaries are needed. Only in this way can corporations be effectively held to account for both of the fiduciary duties which characterize their normative status.
Sexual harassment remains prevalent in the workplace as well as a significant financial burden for organizations. Given the cost associated with sexual harassment, reputational damage, and internal disturbances, sexual harassment is a mounting apprehension because senior managers are responsible for bestowing an organizational culture that is intolerant to such engrossed behavior. It is imperative to explore how workplace stories and office talk are influenced by organizational culture and how organizational culture affects the workers' perceptions of Me Too and consequences of sexual harassment. Understanding the phenomenon of sexual harassment at work is vital to shaping organizational culture, behavior, and policies aimed at reducing sexual misconduct at work. Existing research indicates that 81% of women and 43% of men have experienced an aspect of sexual harassment. This study uses a content analysis exploration of the literature to better understand the impact and solutions to sexual harassment in the workplace.
Quid pro quo type of sexual harassment; an exchange of sex for benefits which could be career, economic, monetary or academic marks in case of tertiary institutions and that diminishes students’ right and impedes on their educational achievements or productivity. Sex for mark has become an issue of discussion in the Nigerian tertiary institutions in recent time due to its repeated occurrence. This survey empirically examines the prevalent type of harassments in the Nigerian tertiary institutions, whether the awareness of sexual harassment varies by gender and whether the type of institution differs in the perception of respondents about quid pro quo type of sexual harassment. In sourcing for information, the empirical methodology was adopted, involving quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Three hundred and fifty five (355) respondents were selected from private and public owned tertiary institution for the survey and the result revealed that majority of the respondents in public institutions (42.4%) reported that sex-for-marks was common in the school, when compared with the private institutions where majority (39.9%) had no idea. The study recommends that the characteristics of victims of sexual harassment within tertiary institutions be investigated to avoid risk of such exploitation.
The article explores ways to build trust in a very specific area of internal and external communication: recruitment. At first it explores the links that communication and vulnerability have with the sciences that study the human dimension of organizations. Second, it addresses the functional and personal dimension of processes in relation to the forces of order or dispersion that press every organization on a personal or structural level (centripetal and centrifugal force). Trust presents itself as the ring that unites and harmonizes the creative or destructive power of those forces. It is an essential element that makes it possible to manage the vulnerability of organizations and their limitations on an organizational or human level. The hypothesis being made is that recruitment is an essential element of internal and external communication and has a strategic importance for the future of the organization because the mobility of the labor market, contractual conditions, and reduced turnover times require creating an environment of trust and transparency in a short time. This begins with the selection process and develops throughout the future professional projection of workers within the company.
Automation will be central to the next phase of business technology transformation, driving new levels of customer value such as faster delivery of products, higher quality and dependability, deeper personalization, and greater convenience. This business transformation phase will require workers with new skills at all levels. There are significant shortages of women in leadership job roles in information technology and automation. There are also significant disparities with pay and opportunities for women in those fields. As a result, it is critical to understand the organizational cultural change strategies that information technology (IT) and automation companies can make to employ more females in information technology and automation positions and address gender pay issues and gender exclusivity issues currently existing in today's workplace. This article intends to influence the world of practice through the execution of a literature review content analysis.
Significant labor shortages in fields like information technology and information security has created a critical need to recruit, hire, develop, and retain more woman. The challenge remains how to make these technical organizations more welcoming and inclusive for women. Sexual harassment continues to be a significant problem in all workplaces. Research shows that harassment blossoms in careers and organizations where men dominate the majority of all management positions and women have such limited representation within the organization. This case study explores an actual organizational intervention in a technical organization.
Sexual harassment is more prevalent for women supervisors than for women employees. This pattern holds in the three countries we studied – the United States, Japan, and Sweden – where women supervisors are between 30 to 100 percent more likely to have been sexually harassed in the last twelve months. Among supervisors, the risk is larger in lower- and mid-level positions of leadership and when subordinates are mostly male. We also find that harassment of women supervisors happens despite their greater likelihood of taking action against the abuser, and that supervisors face more professional and social retaliation after their harassment experience. We conclude that sexual harassment is a workplace hazard that raises the costs for women to pursue leadership ambitions and, in turn, reinforces gender gaps in income, status, and voice.
This article argues that a perpetrator‐based definition of sexual harassment that highlights corrupt aspects of sexual harassment may contribute to a shift in focus from the experience of the harassed, to the actions of the harasser. This argument is based on an analysis of testimonies of sexual harassment from the #metoo call by the Swedish police in 2017, which reference abuse of power and quid pro quo elements. By introducing the recently developed analytical framework of ‘sexual corruption’, we show how a perpetrator‐based definition of sexual harassment may contribute to attributing responsibility to harassers. Identifying sexual harassment that includes the abuse of power and quid pro quo elements as corruption centers on the role of the abuse of power and, thus, the responsibility of the person abusing their position of power. Moreover, this shift bypasses discussions of whether or not the situation was experienced as ‘unwelcome’ by the harassed, the severity of the act, and questions of coercion and consent. Identifying instances of sexual harassment that include the abuse of power and quid pro quo elements as corruption also closes off attempts to portray it in terms of ‘jokes’ or banter, which is common in the police context. The article contributes with analytical tools that enable a shift from tracing the experience of the harassed to centering on the actions and responsibility of the harasser.
The Apex Restaurant Group recently went public with several allegations of sexual misconduct against the founder and other executives. The result of the allegations includes a class action complaint lodged by 25 women working within the organization. The whole senior leadership, which was all men, has been replaced by a management team of all women. An organizational development management consultant has been brought in to investigate and recommend viable solutions. This chapter explores the utility of intervention action research to find real-world solutions through the deployment of a consultant.
This study examined how the #MeToo movement, and backlash against it (#HimToo), influence rape myth acceptance (RMA) and negative affect among female sexual trauma survivors and controls. We randomly assigned college women (N = 389) to three social media conditions that either promoted RMA (#HimToo), challenged RMA (#MeToo), or did not address rape myths (general social media (GSM)). The findings demonstrated that women in the #HimToo condition reported more RMA, whereas women in the #MeToo and GSM conditions reported less negative affect. The results highlight that the way we talk about rape on social media influences momentary affect and RMA.
Background:
Approximately 50% of women in all workplaces experience sexual harassment. Women who work in male-dominated occupations may be more susceptible to sexual harassment than those who work in non-male-dominated occupations. Research on factors contributing to workplace sexual harassment in male-dominated occupations is limited. This paper reviews the known antecedents that put female workers at risk of sexual harassment in select male-dominated occupations and to identify gaps in the literature and opportunities for future occupational health nursing research.
Methods:
A search was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Included articles addressed sexual harassment of female workers in male-dominated occupations such as law enforcement, firefighting, truck driving, and construction.
Results:
The search yielded 25 relevant research articles. Antecedents to sexual harassment in the workplace included lower rank, shorter tenure, physicality of the job, job insecurity, negative relationships with peers and/or supervisors, treating women as outsiders, exaggerated gender differences, unequal gender ratios, and promotions based on gender. Common antecedents to sexual harassment in the workplace identified in the literature include organizational culture and gender composition.
Conclusion/application to practice:
Workplace sexual harassment of women is a problem in male-dominated occupations. Research is needed to better understand the organizational antecedents of sexual harassment in male-dominated occupations within community settings to prevent workplace sexual harassment.
More than 50 years after the term “sexual harassment” was coined in 1971, the problem persists, with 59% of U.S. women undergraduates reporting that they have been sexually harassed since enrolling in college. Historical narrative offers a deeper understanding of current issues, yet the historiography of higher education has remained almost entirely mute regarding the origins of the fight to end sexual harassment on college campuses. This article addresses this gap by examining a foundational decade in this battle, 1971 to 1981. This is a historical study, and as such, the data consists of primary documents from the period. The article focuses on sexual harassment of women by men professors and administrators. While this study provides national context throughout, I chronicle the advance of protections for women students through the lens of one campus in particular: Yale University. Yale’s women activists were at the forefront of the fight against sexual harassment in this decade. It was Yale women who first coined the term “sexual harassment” in 1971, and Yale women who in 1977 filed Alexander v. Yale, the federal lawsuit that led the court to declare, for the first time, that sexual harassment was a form of sex discrimination. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for practice and future research.
Purpose
Based on the socially embedded model of thriving at work and using the conservation of resources and job demands-resources theories, this study aims to examine the mediating role of thriving at work, as a personal resource, in the relationship between workplace safety, as job resource, and well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used structural equation modeling to test the mediation model on a sample of 350 correctional officers.
Findings
The results provided support to the authors' model. The authors found that workplace safety is positively linked to job satisfaction and negatively to health complaints, and these relationships are partially mediated by thriving at work. Consistent with the conservation of resources theory, thriving at the workplace is a mechanism that translates the positive effect of workplace safety on well-being.
Originality/value
The contribution of this research resides that a safe work environment leads to improved health and job satisfaction via thriving at work because thriving correctional officers feel energetic and able to acquire and apply knowledge and skills at workplace.
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. In 2011, the Department of Education under President Obama issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) advising schools of their obligation to protect Title IX rights by more effectively responding to campus sexual assault. Many observers hoped that this would promote gender equity. Yet it also generated a backlash, as critics charged schools with stripping accused students of due process rights in campus adjudication procedures. We conducted content analysis of the 2016–17 sexual misconduct policies of 381 American colleges and universities to analyze how well adjudication procedures created in response to the DCL attended to both gender equity and due process requirements. The state of adjudication at this pivotal moment provides an empirical baseline from which to assess equity in university sexual misconduct procedures. We found that most school procedures for investigating and adjudicating complaints of sexual misconduct included hybrid models that incorporated due process protections while acknowledging (but often not fully meeting) Title IX obligations. To our knowledge, this is the only large-scale national study of how schools have reconciled Title IX and due process rights in adjudication procedures.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Laws of the United States, 1964) defines two types of sexual harassment – quid pro quo (requesting sexual favors for a business advantage) and a “hostile environment.” This paper examines the “hostile environment,” since it is a subjective standard as to the perception by the employee of objectionable behavior. There are two clear trends identified here - the evolution of legal decisions in the courts toward a more protective view of the employee and the evolution toward more tolerance by younger employees as to acceptable sexual behavior but less tolerance of abusive behavior.
Early court decisions in sexual harassment cases favored employers, requiring highly egregious behavior to justify a penalty. There was a pervasive attitude that sexual comments were excused as just flirting or normal social interaction and no actual harm was done unless there was physical contact. Even unwanted touching or staring was excused as harmless behavior. The public attitude toward sexual harassment has changed, as evidenced by the #MeToo movement and by punishment of high-profile men for sexual assaults and harassment. A younger judiciary and younger jurors probably also contribute to a less tolerant view of sexual harassment.
This paper is about the shifting standards of the law regarding sexual harassment, particularly as to low-wage earners such as typically found in the restaurant industry. It is not a fixed standard, so employers must govern themselves by being aware of trends and recent decisions.
The clinical training of healthcare professionals and the delivery of safe healthcare is reliant on a vigorous organizational safety culture, one where the workplace and medical training environment is free of
Purpose
In many countries, service workers' (e.g. restaurant staff, bartenders) income depends highly on tips. Such workers are often female and targeted by sexual harassment. The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether the mode of compensation (tips vs. no tips) could play a causal role in the perceived legitimacy of sexual harassment.
Design/methodology/approach
In an experimental study ( N = 161), the authors manipulated the source of income of a fictional female bartender (fixed income vs. smaller fixed income + tips) as well as whether she or her boss chose her (sexualized) clothing. The authors then asked male participants in an online survey to imagine being her customer and to form an impression of her.
Findings
The bartender was viewed as more sexualized, more manipulative and sexual behaviors toward her were perceived as more legitimate when she received tips. Further, the effect of tipping on the legitimacy of sexual behaviors was mediated by perceptions that she was manipulative. The target was perceived as more manipulative when she chose her clothes than not.
Research limitations/implications
The study is an online scenario study and, as a consequence, assesses only judgments rather than actual behaviors.
Practical implications
Encouraging fixed salaries rather than tipping could reduce the occurrence of sexual harassment.
Social implications
The present work suggests that tipping may play a detrimental role in service workers' well-being by contributing to an environment in which sexual harassment is perceived as legitimate.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study showing that mode of compensation can increase the objectification of workers and legitimize sexually objectifying behaviors toward them.
The #MeToo movement has shaken corporate America in recent months, leading to the departures of several high-profile executives as well as sharp stock price declines at a number of firms. Investors have taken notice and taken action: Shareholders at more than a half dozen publicly traded companies have filed lawsuits since the start of 2017 alleging that corporate fiduciaries breached state law duties or violated federal securities laws in connection with sexual harassment scandals. Additional suits are likely in the coming months. This Article examines the role of corporate and securities law in regulating and remedying workplace sexual misconduct. We specify the conditions under which corporate fiduciaries can be held liable under state law for perpetrating sexual misconduct or allowing it to occur. We also discuss the circumstances under which federal securities law requires issuers to disclose allegations against top executives and to reveal settlements of sexual misconduct claims. After building a doctrinal framework for analyzing potential liability, we consider the strategic and normative implications of using corporate and securities law to address workplace sexual misconduct. We conclude that corporate and securities law can publicize the scope and severity of sexual harassment, incentivize proactive and productive interventions by corporate fiduciaries, and punish individuals and entities that commit, conceal, and abet sexual misconduct in the workplace. But we also address the potential discursive and distributional implications of using laws designed to protect shareholders as tools to regulate sexual harassment. We end by emphasizing the promise-as well as the pitfalls-of using corporate law as a catalyst for organizational and social change.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers react to sexual harassment as a function of the harasser role that includes a customer as a source of harassment and an organization’s climate for sexual harassment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an experiment with a 2 (harasser role: coworker or customer) × 2 (organizational climate of sexual harassment: tolerates or does not tolerate) between-subjects design, 162 hotel managers were randomly assigned to read one of four conditions.
Findings
Both the harasser role and organization’s climate for sexual harassment influenced the managers’ sexual harassment reactions, specifically whether they label the incident as sexual harassment and attribute responsibility to the organization. The managers’ gender was found to moderate these relationships.
Practical implications
The results underscore the importance of understanding reactions to sexual harassment because, regardless of who harasses (coworker or customer) and the organizational climate (tolerates or does not tolerate sexual harassment), sexual harassment of any form can be harmful for the well-being of hospitality employees. These results also provide educational implications.
Originality/value
This is the first known experimental study to examine how hospitality managers react to sexual harassment when the harasser role includes a customer versus a coworker. The results illustrate that the same sexually harassing behavior was perceived less negatively – in regard to both the labeling and attribution of organizational responsibility – when it was done by a customer than by a coworker.
Before the 1970s, the term “sexual harassment” would have been met with a blank look. Sexual overtures and disparaging remarks about workers’ competence based on their gender were widely considered acceptable behavior. In 1974, a US district court judge found that a woman whose job was eliminated in retaliation for refusing to have sex with her supervisor was not protected under employment law but was instead facing the personal consequences that may arise when sexual advances are rebuffed.
Recognition of sexual harassment as an illegal workplace behavior originated in the US following influential work by Catharine MacKinnon, who argued that sexual harassment is sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1980, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidelines defining workplace sexual harassment. Many countries quickly followed the US’s lead in recognizing sexual harassment as an illegal form of workplace behavior. Sexual harassment in the workplace is now internationally condemned as a form of sex discrimination and as a violation of human rights. It is costly to workers and organizations. Yet it remains pervasive. What market failures prevent its eradication, how effective is legislation, and what policies can reduce the incidence?
What is the legal status of sexual harassment policy? A coordinated policy against sexual harassment, a primary concern of employment discrimination in the 1990s, is emerging as a result of judicial decisions and executive-branch actions. This has included definitions of what constitutes quid-pro-quo and hostile-environment harassment, as well as a policy that encompasses gender harassment and seemingly the standard of the reasonable woman. Both public and private employers can be held responsible for acts of their supervisors, co-workers, and even nonemployees. The greater protections afforded public employees perhaps place a more significant responsibility on public sector employers. Several legal questions remain unanswered, and pending before Congress is legislation that would clarify the definition of harassment and impose additional requirements on employers.
Cites sexual harassment as one of the most complex and emotional issues facing the business community. Briefly defines sexual harassment and the circumstances in which it can occur. Looks at the evolution of sexual harassment politics and discusses some landmark case law. Outlines the obligations of employers and provides the guidelines of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Suggests that the best way to avoid potential litigation is to take the issue seriously.
The authors investigated how individual factors (age, gender, gender role, past experiences of sexual harassment) and organizational factors (gender ratio, sexual harassment policies, the role of employers) related to workers' attitudes toward and perceptions of sexual harassment. In Study 1, participants were 176 workers from a large, white-collar organization. In Study 2, participants were 75 workers from a smaller, blue-collar organization. Individuals from Study 2 experienced more sexual harassment, were more tolerant of sexual harassment, and perceived less behavior as sexual harassment than did individuals from Study 1. For both samples, organizational and individual factors predicted workers' attitudes toward and experiences of sexual harassment. Individual factors-such as age, gender, gender role, past experiences of sexual harassment, and perceptions of management's tolerance of sexual harassment-predicted attitudes toward sexual harassment. Workers' attitudes, the behavioral context, and the gender of the victim and perpetrator predicted perceptions of sexual harassment. The authors discussed the broader implications of these findings and suggested recommendations for future research.
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