Harassment among university employees (n = 338; 162 males, 176 females) was investigated by help of the Work Harassment Scale (WHS), developed for the study. Nineteen cases of severe victimization by harassment were interviewed. Subjectively experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety were estimated with two subscales from SCL-90 [Derogatis LR, Lipman RS, Covi L (1973): Psychopharmacology Bulletin 9:13-28] and aggressiveness was measured with the Buss-Durkee Inventory [Buss A, Durkee A(1957): Journal of Consulting Psychology 21:343-349]. Females experienced themselves as significantly more harassed than men. Position was related to harassment: individuals in superior positions harassed more often than individuals in subordinate positions. Less victimization by harassment was experienced among individuals involved in research and teaching than among individuals involved in administration and service. The experienced reasons for harassment were predominantly envy and competition about jobs and status. In 25% of cases, victims felt that their sex might be a reason. Victims of harassment experienced higher levels of depression, anxiety, and aggression than others. The interviewed cases showed evidence of symptoms reminiscent of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Aggression among university employees

Three studies were conducted to develop and validate a measure of sexual harassment proclivities in males. Previous studies of sexual harassment were reviewed and a gap in the current knowledge of the psychological characteristics of sexual harassers was revealed. A possible technique for studying sexual harassment proclivities was suggested by recent research on rape proclivities. Two initial studies using this technique found (1) that the likelihood of sexually harassing can be reliably measured and 2) that this measure correlated with related attitude and belief measures. The third study demonstrated that the likelihood of sexual harassment measure can predict sexual behaviors in a laboratory setting.

Sexual harassment proclivities in men

This study explored two competing hypotheses about social-sexual behavior at work, which we defined as any non-work-related behavior having a sexual component, including harassment, flirting, and m...

Predicting Social-Sexual Behavior At Work: A Contact Hypothesis

Interpreting social-sexual behavior in a work setting

This empirical study of sexual harassment extends the current critical‐interpretive approaches to organizational communication by exploring and examining the role that framing devices play in sequestering stories that might otherwise challenge the dominant interests of organizations. Six framing devices are proposed and reviewed in terms of their relation to hegemony. A quota sample based on figures garnered from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was selected. Working women were interviewed about their experiences with sexual harassment and their accounts were interpreted according to their reliance on the proposed framing techniques. The findings suggest that the most prominently employed framing devices by the subjugated group are trivialization, denotative hesitancy, and invoking the private domain or private expression. Furthermore, mutual negation, minimalization, self‐defacing, and self‐effacing/erasing emerged as framing techniques. The implication of these findings is that the subjugated group a...

The use of framing devices to sequester organizational narratives: Hegemony and harassment

Is sexual harassment a serious issue for managers, and does it occur as much in business as the popular press would have us believe? How difficult will it be to implement the newly issued EEOC guidelines? Out of a joint survey with Redbook magazine, HBR takes a look at these and other questions. Eliza Collins and Timothy Blodgett explore definitions of harassment, analyze respondents' replies, and suggest ways to counter the problem.

Collins Eg

Papers

Sexual harassment . . . some see it . . . some won't.