The impact of organizational culture on perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment

In sexual harassment research, the importance of organizational variables h as become increasingly clear. Utilizing the results of a survey conducted a t a telecommunications company in 1997 (N = 458), this study elaborates on the impact of organizational culture on the incidence of unwanted sexual be havior in the workplace. Drawing on organizational and gender theory, we pr oposed that three organizational variables would be related to the levels o f reported experiences of unwanted sexual behavior. First, the social clima te in the organization is important: respondents who are positive about the social climate in their workplace have reported experiencing fewer unwante d sexual behaviors than respondents who perceive their organizations as les s socially oriented. Second, a relationship was found between gender-specif ic aspects of the organizational climate and the extent of unwanted sexual behavior: respondents who think that their department has a positive attitu de toward the equal treatment of women and men at work have themselves repo rted less frequently experiencing unwanted sexual behavior. Furthermore, it appears that the respondents who judge the attitude of management toward t he combination of work and family to be positive have reported experiencing fewer incidences of unwanted sexual behavior within the department. (C) 20 00 Academic Press.