As the title indicates, this paper explored the relationships between social (dis)organisation and social ties and workplace sexual harassment. The authors’ aim was to identify predictors of sexual harassment victimisation in the workplace.

Sexual harassment has been defined by the (USA) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as, “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature” (pp.137-138).

Sexual harassment in the workplace has received a lot of media attention recently, with incidents of sexual harassment being widespread across all sectors, including cases reported in the Australian Parliament [my comment – this is not from the article]. It has been estimated that approximately 40% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work.

To date, attempts to prevent incidents of sexual harassment at work have focused on the behaviours and interactions between men and women in the workplace. The authors argue that we need to look beyond these actions and behaviours and examine the interplay between workplace characteristics that create the environment for workplace sexual harassment to occur. In this paper, the authors apply ‘Social Disorganisation Theory’ to the workplace to gain a better understanding of workplace characteristics that create an environment for this behaviour.

Deeply rooted in criminology, Social Disorganisation Theory posits that the informal structural characteristics of a neighbourhood (e.g., poverty, mobility, ethnic heterogeneity) can contribute to breakdowns in social ties within the community which then leads to increases in crime. The theory suggests that informal social controls like social cohesion, social ties, and trust between residents help to self-regulate community behaviour. When these controls deteriorate, victimisation rates increase.

Previous research has identified that organisational factors like job insecurity, anonymity, workplace climate (perceived tolerance for sexual harassment), power imbalance, and male-dominated workplaces contribute to the prevalence of sexual harassment at work, while strong relationships and strong social ties between managers and workers act as protective factors for sexual harassment risk.

The authors hypothesised that disorganised workplaces and organisations that had weak social ties between management and employees were at a higher risk of sexual harassment. They also hypothesised that organised workplaces with strong social ties are likely to have a lower prevalence of work-related sexual harassment and that the stronger the social ties are, the less of an impact that workplace disorganisation has on victimisation rates.

The study involved reviewing the historical data from the General Social Survey (including the supplementary Quality of Working Life Module) for 2002-2006 and theming it in line with Social Disorganisation Theory variables.

Results:

• Women who had poor time management, less administrative support, less productivity, and lack of praise from supervisors were at a significantly higher risk of sexual harassment
• Women who reported having poor relationships with coworkers were significantly more likely to experience sexual harassment
• Women who reported bad relationships between management and employees were also at a significantly higher risk of sexual harassment exposure
• When social ties between employees and management were strong, other factors had less of an influence on the prevalence of sexual harassment
• Social organisation and strong social ties between workers and management reduce the risks of sexual harassment victimisation at work

Real-world application:

To reduce the risks of sexual harassment victimisation at work, leaders should focus on improving:

• Time management skills amongst themselves and team
• Providing better administrative support for staff
• Improving the productivity of the team
• Reward & recognition
• Relationships between management & staff
• Relationships between staff

Reference:

Snyder JA, Scherer HL, Fisher BS. Social organization and social ties: their effects on sexual harassment victimization in the workplace. Work. 2012;42(1):137-50.