Result of surveys
Study: Many employees experience sexual harassment
Companies also report incidents. There are differences between the sexes and the industries.
According to a survey, 20 percent of the employees have experienced sexual harassment themselves or in their work environment. This emerges from a recently published study by the Nuremberg Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research. The proportion of women concerned was therefore 24 percent higher than that of men with 15 percent.
The study is based on two surveys, both among employees and among companies with 50 or more employees. Sexual harassment is often not reported for fear of negative consequences or shame, the authors of the study write. Therefore, it is important to also grasp the perspective of the employees.
Probably high number of unreported cases
Around 13 percent of the companies surveyed stated that at least one case of sexual harassment in the workplace had occurred in the past two years. The majority were cases among the employees. This was followed by cases in which the sexual harassment of external ones such as customers or patients went out. A manager was involved in one percent of cases.
According to the study, the majority of the companies surveyed with at least one case of sexual harassment reported negative consequences, especially for work morality and productivity. However, absence times and personnel fluctuation also increased.
Differences between women and men
The study also showed that the likelihood of men to experience sexual harassment or in the work environment depends more on the industry than in women: in health and social affairs as well as to a lesser extent in public administration, education and lessons, these reported much more often than in other industries.
The study between women and men shows a further difference: According to this, women trust operational countermeasures significantly less in the case of harassment allegations than men. The difference is a good 7 percentage points when it comes to the question of whether the manager would clarify the allegations and take the necessary measures. The question of the assessment of whether the management would take action to measures such as a warning or termination.
dpa
Source: Stern
