Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

877 Words2 Pages

Sexual harassment in its most basic form is the unwanted sexual attention from someone in the workplace. The problem with sexual harassment is that it creates a hostile work environment, which slows or stops productivity and workforce cooperation. Other than the productivity, acquiring legal counsel and settlements are very expensive. The three articles examined cover current understandings of sexual harassment research, gender based harassment, and a thorough breakdown of the laws.
The APA ethics guidelines are well defined standards that psychologists are expected to follow to avoid the obvious legal and professional issues that follow such violations. “Standard 3.02 states that sexual harassment can be verbal or nonverbal solicitation, advances, or sexual conduct that occurs in connection with the psychologist’s activities or role as a psychologist. To meet the standard’s threshold for sexual harassment, behaviors have to be either so severe or intense that a reasonable person would deem them abusive in that context, or if the psychologist was aware or had been told their behavior was unwelcome, offensive, or creating a hostile workplace or educational environment (Fisher, 2013, p.93).” If there is a violation by a psychologist the first step is to bring the violation to their attention with an informal resolution, sit down and explain the violation and what their behavior should be in the future. If that does not work then a formal complaint needs to be filed with the APA or a state affiliate to address the issue. Whether it is a law firm, police station, or school where psychological research is conducted the problem of sexual harassment can infect all of these areas and the proper channels of authority should be notified ...

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... into harassment and bullying and every other counterproductive behavior will be what is needed to find the answer to stopping the problem. The only other option would be to use harsh punishments for those found guilty of these ethical violations.

Works Cited

Fisher, C.B. (2013) Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists (3rd edition),
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Fisher, C. (2012). Sex, harassment and the workplace. Journal of Academic & Business Ethics
, Vol. 6, p.1-10.
Leskinen, E., Cortina, L., & Kabat, D. (2011) Gender Harassment: Broadening Our
Understanding of Sex-Based Harassment at Work. Journal of Law & Human Behavior.
Vol. 35 Issue 1, p.25-39.
McDonald, P. (2012) Workplace Sexual Harassment 30 Years on: A review of the literature.
International Journal of Management Reviews. Vol. 14 Issue 1 p.1-17

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