Workplace Harassment: Are You the Don Draper In Your Office?

Despite stereotypical male culprits, when women experience harassment in the workplace, it is twice as likely coming from another woman.

By: Jana Raver, Associate Professor, Queen’s School of Business

The celebrated series Mad Men, which portrays the 1960s world of advertising, has just wrapped up its dramatic fifth season. While protagonist Don Draper’s offside behaviour toward women in the office continues on the series and is widely regarded as an approach of days gone by, a Leger Marketing poll commissioned by Queen’s School of Business reveals that workplace harassment is still very much a part of the modern day office environment. In fact, 57 per cent of 1,505 working Canadians polled indicated that they have experienced or witnessed workplace harassment.

But what does harassment look like in today’s workplace? Aside from the obvious and inappropriate ‘love taps’ and coerced office affairs, like those portrayed on the popular show, workplace harassment can take a variety of insidious forms that are sometimes difficult to identify. These unwelcome actions may include bullying or intimidation tactics, offensive communication, verbal or non-verbal hostility, isolation, and/or sharing offensive images or materials.

While we no longer smoke and drink in the office like the characters from Mad Men, unfortunately Don Draper’s style of workplace harassment is still alive and well in 2012. Many offenders rationalize their actions as harmless, but the real workplace is not a TV show that ends in 60 minutes — it is real life, and a single incident of harassment can cause long-term suffering for the victim.

So who are the culprits? While many of us are inclined to suggest males as the primary perpetrators, workplace harassment does not occur strictly in the male versus female way that many of us may think.

While men are disproportionately identified as the perpetrators with half of the harassment inflicted solely by them, today’s office bully might very well be “Dawn Draper.” Past research shows that while men tend to bully both women and men equally, female bullies tend to disproportionately choose other female colleagues as targets. Although the research does not delve into the reasons behind this, perhaps it’s due to the fact that men are traditionally perceived as ‘more powerful’ and women view other women as comparatively easier prey. It may also be the case that there is a higher population of women in certain workplace settings, resulting in more female to female bullying.

Overall, when women experience harassment (personally or witness it), they are twice as likely as men to report that it came from another woman (30 per cent vs. 15 per cent of men). The study also found that women are more likely to reveal they have personally experienced harassment (33 per cent vs. 26 per cent of men).

And contrary to stereotypes of bullies preying on the weak for power, many targets of bullying in the office are above-average employees with solid performance records.

Regardless of gender, silence sends the wrong message. Victims of harassment should speak up and follow their organization’s policy for reporting workplace harassment, and managers should clearly communicate that such behaviours are unacceptable. Many victims hesitate to report their experiences due to a fear of retaliation or doubt that positive change will occur. The onus lies with the employer to ensure that employees feel comfortable reporting their experiences, and that the organization enforces workplace harassment policies effectively. Ultimately, the best way to deal with harassment is to focus on prevention, by building a healthy work environment where such disrespectful acts are simply not tolerated in the first place. Because after all is said and done, it’s not just a few employees and a complaint. In the grand scheme of things, it’s also a company’s brand reputation on the line.

Jana Raver is an associate professor at Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. Her academic research and teachings focus on topics related to workplace issues and organizational behaviour.