Other people’s conduct can make your job unpleasant or even unsafe. Sexual harassment is a common issue that affects people of all ages and backgrounds in multiple different careers.
Many people associate sexual harassment with a hostile work environment. Co-workers teasing someone or constantly making them feel uncomfortable with suggestive statements could make someone feel very uncomfortable about going to work every day.
However, someone can experience sexual harassment at a job even if their co-workers treat them with respect. All it takes is one person in the position of authority making unwanted advances for a situation to become sexual harassment.
Leveraging someone’s job for sex or romance is inappropriate
Managers and other people in positions of authority might abuse their role and the power they have over employees. For example, a manager may offer a better performance review for someone who agrees to engage in sexual activity. Conversely, they could also threaten a poor review as punishment for non-compliance with their request.
In scenarios where one employee tries to use their position to thwart another person’s career ambitions, ability to get a raise or even to keep their job as a way to coerce them into consent, the situation may constitute quid pro quo sexual harassment. An example would be offering career benefits or threatening workplace consequences in exchange for dates or sexual favors.
Workers who have endured career consequences for not submitting to someone’s unreasonable demands may have grounds to file a sexual harassment claim. Being able to identify the different kinds of sexual harassment is necessary if someone wants to fight back against such misconduct in the workplace.