The Effects of Sexual Harassment On A Workplace When It Goes Unchecked

It is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and secure workplace. This includes everything from accident safety to things like sexual harassment. However, there are some companies that take this responsibility lightly. They may say all the right things and provide training, but when there are reports, they often get swept under the rug in these types of companies.

This has an effect in a number of ways besides just the way it affects the person who was harassed. Sexual harassment can lead to depression and other problems for the victim, but it also can send ripples throughout the company and beyond.

In this article, we will go over what happens when there is sexual harassment that happens in a company.

Impact on the individual

We are taught from an early age that our body belongs to us and nobody can touch us when we don’t want to. However, it isn’t so easy to make sure that happens when you factor in power imbalances and even harassment that isn’t physical.

The effects on one’s emotions when they’ve been victimized come in the form of anger, fear, and embarrassment. This is only the beginning of the effects. As time passes, whether or not the harassment has continued, there will be lingering effects that can include low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.

Those mental issues can then manifest themselves physically. Often, victims will end up having frequent stress headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia.

Having to go through these emotions and effects takes their toll on a person and compounds when they are afraid to do anything about it. Some will avoid reporting due to fear of retaliation or causing problems in the company.

Even those that decide to quit a job and move on may suffer financial repercussions if they end up taking a lower paid job, or having a longer commute than they previously had. These things can affect their relationships and family life.

What happens to the company?

One of the first ways that sexual harassment takes a toll even on the workplace is that there could be financial considerations that have to be paid to the victims. When they are sued, it can end up costing the company a lot of money and affect the bottom line. When there are multiple victims over a long period these payouts can end up sinking a company.

There are less obvious ways, too, however. For instance, the company can end up making less money and lose a competitive advantage due to lower employee productivity. When sexual harassment occurs, there is a moral problem that tends to discourage hard work.

This isn’t just to say the victims will be less productive but also other employees. This is especially true if people feel the company didn’t do enough to prevent it or even to remedy the situation after the fact. When employees feel the company doesn’t have their back then this will result in lower productivity across the board.