Spotlight on harassment in the workplace
Published: 29 April 2008
In 2007, the government’s Office for Equal Opportunities (Urad za enake možnosti, UEM [1]) carried out a survey on the incidence of different forms of harassment in the workplace and on the reactions of victims. The survey was conducted in cooperation with 13 trade unions representing workers in both private and public industry and services sectors.[1] http://www.uem.gov.si/en/
Among different forms of workplace harassment in Slovenia, sexual harassment is the most prevalent, especially in its verbal form. Women are the main victims of workplace sexual harassment, while other forms of harassment are more gender neutral. More than half of the victims – particularly male victims – do not tell anyone about the harassment. Victims are most likely to confide in co-workers, friends and family, and rarely in superiors or trade unions.
About the survey
In 2007, the government’s Office for Equal Opportunities (Urad za enake možnosti, UEM) carried out a survey on the incidence of different forms of harassment in the workplace and on the reactions of victims. The survey was conducted in cooperation with 13 trade unions representing workers in both private and public industry and services sectors.
A total of 5,000 questionnaires were distributed to trade union representatives in organisations, who distributed them to both union members and non-members, following certain methodological steps taking into account factors such as age, sex, education and employment position. The response rate was 36.4%, amounting to 1,820 respondents. Overall, 75.3% of the respondents were female, 69.1% were aged 26–45 years and the large majority (82.3%) were employed in the public sector.
Sexual and other forms of harassment at the workplace
Different forms of sexual harassment were measured: verbal, non-verbal – for example, gestures, sexual exposure, unwanted messages or emails – physical and in terms of career, that is, promised career advantages in exchange for favours of a sexual nature. Other forms of harassment measured in the survey were related to one or more of the following: gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or health condition, nationality or race, education level, age and career. The table below outlines the proportion of respondents who experienced any of the stated forms of workplace harassment in the past year.
| Form of harassment | Women | Men | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal sexual | 28.3 | 23.4 | 27.1 |
| Non-verbal sexual | 16.9 | 9.3 | 15.0 |
| Physical sexual | 17.1 | 8.1 | 14.8 |
| Career sexual | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| On grounds of gender | 8.3 | 3.8 | 7.2 |
| On grounds of religion | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| On grounds of sexual orientation | 0.9 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| On grounds of disability or health condition | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| On grounds of nationality or race | 5.1 | 8.3 | 5.9 |
| Education-related | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.5 |
| Age-related | 5.2 | 6.6 | 5.6 |
| Career harassment related to gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or health condition, nationality or race, education or age | . 1.3 | . 1.2 | . 1.2 |
Source: UEM, 2007, Sexual and other workplace harassment. Research report, p. 9. Available (in Slovenian, 97Kb PDF) at the UEM website
Verbal sexual harassment is the most frequent form of workplace harassment, followed by non-verbal and physical sexual forms. Gender differences are evident in all forms of sexual harassment, with women much more frequently the victims than men.
In the case of verbal, non-verbal and physical sexual harassment, as well as harassment related to gender, religion, sexual orientation and nationality, women are most often harassed by male co-workers. Male superiors are most often perpetrators of career sexual and other career harassment of women. Female co-workers are very often the perpetrators of harassment directed at women which is related to religion and disability or health situation.
Regarding harassed men, the perpetrators are very often male co-workers, especially in the case of verbal sexual harassment, harassment related to gender, sexual orientation, disability or health condition, and age. The most frequent perpetrators in the case of career sexual and other career harassment are male superiors, while female co-workers more commonly harass men in terms of non-verbal sexual harassment, physical sexual harassment and religion.
Reactions of victims
By far the most frequent reaction of victims of workplace harassment was to respond with a joke: 44% of harassed women and 53% of harassed men adopted this strategy. Harassed women felt embarrassed more often than harassed men, did not say anything or avoided the perpetrator. Some 24% of harassed women told the perpetrator to stop, compared with only 10% of harassed men who did the same.
Overall, 46% of female and 70% of male victims of workplace harassment did not tell anyone about the incident(s). The most frequent reasons given for not telling anyone were that it would not change anything and that the victim hoped it would all end quickly. Female victims most often did not tell anyone in the case of non-verbal or verbal sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of nationality or race. Male victims most often did not tell anyone in the case of career sexual harassment, harassment related to age and verbal sexual harassment.
The victims that did tell someone about the incident(s) most often confided in co-workers, friends and family. Only 4% of male victims and 8% of female victims who told someone about the harassment confided in a male superior, while 5% and 7% respectively confided in a female superior. A total of 7% of male victims and 3% of female victims who told someone about the harassment turned for protection and support to the trade union, while only 2% and 0.5% respectively reported the incident to the labour inspectorate. No victims reported their experience to the police.
Recommendations for employers
The authors of the study particularly recommend preventive actions, including information, education and raising the awareness of employees about different forms of workplace harassment and the help that is available for victims. Organisations are advised to adopt a policy statement against sexual and other workplace harassment, and to inform all employees about it. The study also recommends that establishments ask all employees to sign a special statement declaring that they are fully aware of the organisational policy against workplace harassment and the potential sanctions against perpetrators. Companies should prepare practical guidelines for procedures to be followed in cases of reported sexual and other workplace harassment.
Reference and further information
UEM, Spolno in drugo nadlegovanje na delovnem mestu [Sexual and other workplace harassment], Ljubljana, 2007.
For further information at European level on this subject, see the reports Violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace (TN0406TR01) and Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace.
Martina Trbanc, Organisational and Human Resources Research Centre (OHRC), University of Ljubljana
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), Spotlight on harassment in the workplace, article.
