When Leaders Take a Stand on Sexual Harassment - Employees Soon Follow

THERE are no excuses for sexual harassment at work - or anywhere for that matter.

Unfortunately, and as the recent #MeToo campaign has shown, there is certainly no shortage of candidates for sexual harassment claims.

Ina recent Harvard Business Review article, researchers from Stanford University have outlined the importance of leaders in all industries taking a stand to show their employees the problem is real, and that it should be a priority for every organisation.

The researchers pointed to the high cost of such harassment in terms of loss of morale, reduced productivity and employee attrition.

This was also highlighted in a recent study by researchers at the University of Calgary, Canada which estimated that for each employee who suffered sexual harassment, the company lost an average of $22,500 in costs associated with lost productivity alone.

When leaders communicate to their employees that preventing sexual harassment at work is a high priority - it sends an important signal to others that the issue will not be tolerated.

This message is absolutely crucial because if the organisational climate is lenient towards sexual harassment, then those employees who do engage in it will feel there are few consequences and that their position is in a sense, protected.

The problem is exacerbated even further when an organisation disregards, or even penalises, those people who do report harassment.

So, when leaders do take complaints seriously and hold the perpetrators responsible, the whole climate of sexual harassment can be changed.

As we all know, this happened recently when, after years of the complaints being ‘swept under the carpet’, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s abhorrent behaviour was finally revealed.

There are many good reasons for an organisation’s leadership to take a stand on sexual harassment, and not just humanitarian ones.

For a start, if the issue is ignored, it can actually cause more damage to the organisation in the long run: and especially if the victim takes their case to the media, as the negative fallout from that can be substantial.

Also, if an organisation’s leadership doesn’t take the victim’s claims seriously, it can actually compound the trauma and create further health or mental problems for the victim.

In effect, by doing nothing - researchers term this ‘institutional betrayal’ - leaders are actually fostering a culture that indirectly or not, fosters sexual harassment.

However, if they do the right thing and take a stand against the problem, then not only do they show much needed support for the victim, but they also send a very strong message to the rest of the organisation that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

Of course, leader communication is not the only way to help eradicate the problem, but it certainly makes a very big difference, as does following these words with actions.

And, sexual harassment is not only confined to women - but it certainly does happen to women more often. 

The term ‘sexual harassment’ can also be defined as a variety of behaviours: from unwanted advances to offensive comments.

Another real problem with sexual harassment is that some victims are unwilling to report it - fearing it may negatively influence their position at work - or even in some cases cause them to lose their job.

Obviously, when an organisation has strong and effective leadership and a good sexual harassment policy in place, this should never happen.

However, it is possible the ‘Weinstein effect’ may still not have filtered through to some workplaces.