Organizational sexual harassment: Translating research into application

Abstract

Using videotaped scenarios, this study tested factors believed to predict the identification of verbal remarks and nonverbal behaviors associated with workplace flirting and sexual harassment. Hypotheses representing four applied communication perspectives—experimental, work experience, victim, and sexualized work environment— addressed alternative positions from which sexual harassment can arguably be examined. An additional hypothesis tested the assumption that empathy is a suitable foundation for sexual harassment training. Results (1) contradict earlier findings that women are better at identifying social‐sexual behavior. Further, results demonstrate that (2) employees view social‐sexual behavior differently than students, (3) victims of sexual harassment do not identify more social‐sexual cues, (4) employees in a sexually charged environment are not better at identifying social‐sexual cues, and (5) empathic ability does not increase participants’ abilities to identify social‐sexual cues. The article concludes with a description of how the results guided the selection of training strategies.