Hostile Work Environment

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There has been a lot of talk lately about diversity in the workforce, sexual harassment, and hostile work environments. Many of us do not understand the differences between some of these terms. In this article, we're going to focus on the concept of a "hostile work environment."

Perhaps you think that you've worked in one of these "hostile" environments already. If you suspect your boss, manager, or coworker is creating a hostile work environment, this publication may be able to help you form an objective opinion. We're going to provide some definitions, as well as examples, of unacceptable behavior in the workplace.

Government Protections in the Workplace

Additional Resources

The government provides workplace protection via the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Commission broadly defines Sexual Harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

Submission to such conduct is explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment.
Rejection of conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions.
Such conduct interferes with work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile or sexually offensive work environment.

If we examine these three elements of sexual harassment more closely, we can see that sexual harassment can be grouped into two types: Quid Pro Quo, and a Hostile Work Environment.

Quid Pro Quo

If you've ever seen the movie Silence of the Lambs, then you would understand the concept of Quid Pro Quo. The character Clarice bargains with Dr. Quinn for information on a "you give me this" and "I'll give you that" basis. So the workplace example would be a supervisor or manager soliciting or coercing a sexual favor from a subordinate with the promise of a future promotion.

Hostile Work Environment

A Hostile Work Environment is present when the unwelcome sexual advances interferes with a person's job performance or creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment.

The example often cited for this type of environment is the displaying of nude photographs, pinup calendars, or other demeaning pictures. Hostile Work Environments also exists where there is offensive jokes, remarks, or unwelcome touching.

Liabilities Associated with Hostile Work Environments

Fortunately for employees, there is protection granted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Sexual Harassment and a Hostile Work Environment. Specifically, in the form of a liability created:

The Employer is liable if management knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Most large companies understand the law and realize that it is not in their best interest to have hostile work environments. In fact, many companies state that they have a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to this type of harassment.

However, the larger the company, the more it begins to look like a cross section of America. That means some of the workers hired are not smart enough to realize what behavior is, and what behavior is not, appropriate at the workplace.

Sadly, you also find extremely intelligent people that simply ignore all of the information they've learned about creating hostile work environments. In both of these examples, it remains the employer's responsibility to take the appropriate corrective action.

Victims of Hostile Work Environments

If you think you are a victim of a hostile work environment, then you can check to see if your workplace has a process to conduct investigations into the allegations. Investigations are usually coordinated through the human resources departments of large companies.

It's always best to first work with your company to resolve any situation leading to a hostile work environment. If you work for company that does not have a formal process, or ignores your requests to deal with such events, then you may want to seek the advice of an attorney. It's always a good idea to keep a written record of the events, circumstances, witnesses, and the dates of all significant actions.

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