Workplace sexual harassment is a persistent problem. Encouraging bystanders to intervene, directly or indirectly, therefore seems like a promising approach for dealing with it. How can these bystanders act to prevent or reduce the harm done to victims? To answer this question, we interpreted the study of McDonald and colleagues, carried out in collaboration with the Australian Anti-discrimination Commission and published in 2016. These authors’ objective was to examine the behaviours of bystanders to sexual harassment in various workplaces by analyzing the content of formal complaints filed by victims.
Legend: Recommendation of our expert
Expert advisor:
- Geneviève HERVIEUX, professor, human resources management, Université du Québec à Montréal
Authors:
- Rachèle HÉBERT, research professional, Université de Sherbrooke
Rébecca LEFEBVRE, research professional, Université de Sherbrooke
Étienne FOUQUET, research assistant, Université de Sherbrooke
Michel PÉRUSSE, associate professor, Université de Sherbrooke
This initiative was made possible through a collaboration with the Université de Sherbrooke.
What do we mean by :
Sexual harassment
Generally speaking, it is a matter of behaviours, words or actions that are sexual in nature:
- humiliating, offensive, abusive, hostile or unwanted;
- repetitive;
- affect the employee’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity;
- create a harmful work environment.*
Bystanders
According to the analyzed study, bystanders are people who directly observe harassment, people to whom sexual harassment is reported, or people from whom victims of sexual harassment seek support or advice.
- In the workplace, they can be directors of human resources or supervisors, colleagues or customers/clients;
- Outside the workplace, friends, life partners or family members in whom the victim confides can be considered bystanders.
*CNESST definition: https://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/in-case-of/psychological-harassment-at-work/index.html
Clarification from our expert
Other types of interaction, all as complex as sexual harassment, must be considered when examining workplace sexual harassment:
- The organizational context must be taken into account. Using a policy as a framework to deal with workplace sexual harassment will not be enough to resolve the problem if the complexity of the environment is not considered (e.g., organizational context, culture or unhealthy group dynamics).
- Social, cultural and individual norms define, among other things, male/female relationships and behaviours that are judged to be acceptable or not. These norms vary by country: for example, a flirting gesture that is socially acceptable and usual in one country will not necessarily be so in another country.
- At individual level, the threshold of tolerance for behaviour, words and actions of a sexual nature at work depends on daily and past experiences and social interactions in the workplace environment. The ability to affirm and name one’s limits is indispensable for all.
It is therefore difficult to know with certainty where to draw the line when it comes to limits that should not be exceeded. The grey area of workplace sexual harassment: Analysis of a situation does not involve only factual elements; it also depends on the interpretation done by the person involved.Do these behaviours, words or actions bother them? What one person might consider flirting, another person might take very badly. A shared responsibility regarding workplace sexual harassment? Our perception of sexual harassment is necessarily influenced by social norms, whether implicit or explicit. “They’re adults” or “If the person doesn’t want to say anything, it’s none of my business; it has nothing to do with me!” are frequently heard comments that reflect a trend, which still exists, to opt out of the situation. For this reason, in an organizational setting, a change of culture is sometimes needed so that everyone feels involved and so bystanders and victims feel comfortable naming and reporting sexual harassment. The elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace must become a responsibility shared by all!
Watch Out for Clichés!
The harasser does not always fit the cliché of someone who is provocative, indifferent or doesn’t mince their words. In fact, there is no profile type for a harasser. Also, sexual harassment is not a question of hierarchy. Sexual harassment can involve inappropriate behaviours, words or actions
- by a manager toward a subordinate employee;
- by a subordinate toward his/her manager;
- between colleagues at the same hierarchical level;
- by a group toward a single person (e.g., a manager harassed by members of the team he/she supervises).
Method
Detailed descriptions of sexual harassment cases from a range of Australian work contexts. 74 sources examined in the study:
- 54 formal complaints filed with the Australian Anti-discrimination Commission (women 89% / men 11%)
- 20 telephone interviews with workplace victims (women 86% / men 14%)
Profiles
- 84% = men toward women
- 8% = men toward men
- 4% = women toward women
- 4% = women toward men
Around 66% of sources involved a harasser with organizational status that was higher than the victim’s (e.g., manager or employer), while 33% were harassers without a hierarchical relationship with the victim (e.g., colleague / customer / client).
Because studies must always be interpreted with caution
- Information came from victims: adding supplementary information from other sources (e.g., bystanders) could reinforce the objectivity of evidence for analyzing results.
- Differences in contextual and cultural sectors could influence the results obtained.
- Factors such as the severity, duration and nature (physical, non-physical) of harassment are not taken into account in the study and can affect bystanders’ decision-making process when it comes to intervening.
What do the results of the study tell us?
What types of interventions are most often used by bystanders of workplace sexual harassment?
The authors categorized the actions (and inaction) of bystanders based on the immediacy of their intervention and their involvement when an incident of sexual harassment happened.
- Immediacy refers to the time that elapsed between the sexual harassment and the bystander’s intervention. Immediacy is higher when the intervention happens during the incident.
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