Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T16:05:11.740Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An empirical investigation of sexual harassment and work engagement: Surprising differences between men and women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Julie Ann Cogin  and
Alan Fish
Julie Ann Cogin
Affiliation:
School of Organisation and Management, Australia School of Business (incorporating AGSM), University of NSW, Sydney NSW, Australia
Alan Fish
Affiliation:
International School of Business, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga NSW, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the growing prevalence of sexual harassment (SH) across continents, industries and occupations as well as the associated negative outcomes (Glomb et al. 1999). Not surprisingly, job satisfaction is one of the job-related variables that is frequently investigated in the SH literature, with Lapierre et al. (2005) meta-analytically establishing that SH significantly diminishes job satisfaction. Other studies have argued, however, that ‘satisfied’ employees do not necessarily perform to the best of their abilities (Crossman & Abou-Zaki 2003) and that work engagement is a better construct to understand what makes employees ‘go the extra mile’ (Hallgerg & Schaufeli 2006; Buckingham & Coffman 1999). This study, conducted in Australia, adopted the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al. 2002a), as an empirical gauge of the construct ‘work engagement’ and the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (Fitzgerald et al. 1988) to measure SH. A strong negative relationship was established in addition to significant differences in the SH experiences of men and women.

Keywords

sexual harassmentequal employment opportunitygenderengagement
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 47 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antecol, H and Cobb-Clark, D (2004) ‘The Changing Nature of Employment Related Sexual Harassment: Evidence from the US Federal Government 1978 – 1994.’ Industrial and Labour Relations Review 57(3): 443.Google Scholar
Arvey, RD and Cavanaugh, MA (1995) ‘Using Surveys to Assess the Prevalence of Sexual Harassment: Some Methodological Problems.’ Journal of Social Issues 51: 39–52.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2005) Nursing Labour Force. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra, Australia. Available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10475Google Scholar
Bakker, AB, Hakanen, JH, Demerouti, E and Xanthopoulou, D (2007) ‘Job Resources Boost Work Engagement, Particularly when Job Demands are High.’ Journal of Educational Psychology 99(2): 274–284.Google Scholar
Barling, J, Dekker, I, Loughlin, CA, Kelloway, EK, Fullagar, C and Johnson, D (1996) ‘Prediction and Replication of the Organizational and Personal Consequences of Workplace Sexual Harassment.’ Journal of Managerial Psychology 11(5): 4–25.Google Scholar
Bates, S (2004) ‘Getting Engaged’, HR Magazine 49(2): 44–51.Google Scholar
Buckingham, M and Coffman, C (1999) First, Break all the Rules. Simon & Schuster, New York.Google Scholar
Cogin, JA and Fish, AJ (2007) ‘Managing Sexual Harassment more Strategically – An Analysis of Environmental Causes.’ Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 45(3): 333–352.Google Scholar
Cogin, JA (2008) ‘Man Handling of Men: A Neglected Issue in the Sexual Harassment Literature’ Proceedings of the Academy of Management, Anaheim CA.Google Scholar
Cox, HC (1987) ‘Verbal Abuse in Nursing: Report of Study.’ Nursing Management 18: 47–50.Google Scholar
Cropanzano, R and Mitchell, MS (2005) ‘Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary Review.’ Journal of Management 31: 874–900.Google Scholar
Crossman, A and Abou-Zaki, B (2003) ‘Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance of Lebanese Banking Staff.’ Journal of Managerial Psychology 18(2): 368–376.Google Scholar
Daly, J, Speedy, S and Jackson, D (2004) Nursing Leadership. Churchill Livingstone: Sydney.Google Scholar
Dan, AJ, Pinsof, DA and Riggs, LL (1995) ‘Sexual Harassment as an Occupational Hazard in Nursing.’ Basic and Applied Social Psychology 17(4): 563–580.Google Scholar
Dansky, BS and Kilpatrick, DG (1997) ‘Effects of Sexual Harassment.’ In O'Donohue, WT (Ed.), Sexual Harassment: Theory, research and treatment, Boston MA: Allyn&Bacon, pp.152–174.Google Scholar
Diaz, AL and McMillin, JD(1991) ‘A Definition of Description of Nurse Abuse’ Western Journal of Nursing Research 13(1): 97–109.Google Scholar
DuBois, CLZ, Knapp, DE, Faley, RH and Kustis, GA (1998) ‘An Empirical Examination of Same - and Other - Gender Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.’ Sex Roles 39(9–10): 731–749.Google Scholar
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2005) ‘Trends in Harassment Charges Filed with the EEOC.’ Available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/harassment.htmlGoogle Scholar
Fitzgerald, LF, Drasgow, F, Hulin, CL, Gelfand, MJ and Magley, VJ (1997) ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Sexual Harassment in Organisations: A test of an Integrated Model.’ Journal of Applied Psychology 82: 578–589.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, LF and Schullman, SL (1993) ‘Sexual Harassment: A Research Analysis and Agenda for the 1990s.’ Journal of Vocational Behaviour 42: 5–27.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, LF, Shullman, SL, Bailey, N, Richards, M, Swecker, J, Gold, Y, Ormerod, M and Weitzman, LM (1988) ‘The Incidence and Dimensions of Sexual Harassment in Academia and the Workplace.’ Journal of Vocational Behaviour 32: 152–175.Google Scholar
Gelfand, MJ, Fitzgerald, LF and Drasgow, F (1995) ‘The Structure of Sexual Harassment: A Confirmatory Analysis Across Cultures and Settings.’ Journal of Vocational Behaviour 47: 164–177.Google Scholar
Glomb, TM, Munson, LJ, Hulin, CL, Bergman, ME and Drasgow, F (1999) ‘Structural Equation Models of Sexual Harassment: Longitudinal Explorations and Cross-Sectional Generalizations.’ Journal of Applied Psychology 84(1): 14–28.Google Scholar
Gopal, A (2006) ‘Worker Disengagement Continues to Cost Singapore.’ Gallup Management Journal. Available at: http://gmj.gallup.com/content/22720/Worker-Disengagement-Continues-to-Cost-Singapore.aspx.Google Scholar
Grieco, A (1987) ‘Scope and Nature of Sexual Harassment in Nursing’. The Journal of Sex Research 23(23): 261–266.Google Scholar
Gutek, BA (1985) Sex and the Workplace: The Impact of Sexual Behaviour and Harassment on Women, Men and Organisations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Gutek, BA and Morasch, B (1982) ‘Sex ratios, sex spillover, and sexual harassment of women at work.’ The Journal of Social Issues 38: 55–74.Google Scholar
Haire, JF Jr, Anderson, RE, Tatham, RL and Black, WC (1998) Multivariate Data Analysis (5th edn) New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hallgerg, UE and Schaufeli, WB (2006) ‘Same Same but Different? Can Work Engagement be Discriminated from Job Involvement and Organisational Commitment.’ European Psychologist 11(2): 119–127.Google Scholar
Harter, JK, Schmidt, FL and Hayes, TL (2002) ‘Business-Unit-Level Relationship between Employee Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, and Business Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis.’ Journal of Applied Psychology 87: 269–279.Google Scholar
Hochschild, A (1983) The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. Berkeley, University of California Press.Google Scholar
Houldsworth, E and Jirasinghe, D (2007) Managing and Measuring Employee Performance. Kogan Page London UK.Google Scholar
International Survey Research (2003) ‘Engaged Employees Drive the Bottom Line’, Research Summary, Chicago IL.Google Scholar
Kahn, WA (1992) ‘To be Fully There: Psychological Presence at Work.’ Human Relations 45: 321–50.Google Scholar
Kowalski, B (2003) ‘The Engagement Gap’, Training 40(4): 62.Google Scholar
Lapierre, LM, Spector, PE and Leck, JD (2005) ‘Sexual versus Nonsexual Workplace Aggression and Victims' Overall Job Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis.’ Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 10: 155–169.Google Scholar
Luthans, F and Peterson, SJ (2002) ‘Employee Engagement and Manager Self-Efficacy.’ Journal of Management Development 21(5): 376–387.Google Scholar
Maslach, C and Leiter, MP (1997) The Truth About Burnout. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Maslach, C, Schaufeli, WB and Leiter, MP (2001) ‘Job Burnout.’ Annual Review of Psychology 52: 397–422.Google Scholar
May, DR, Gilson, RL and Hartner, LM (2004) ‘The Psychological Conditions of Meaningful, Safety, and Availability and Engagement of the Human Spirit at Work.’ Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology 77: 11–37.Google Scholar
Robinson, D, Perryman, S and Hayday, S (2004) The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton.Google Scholar
Rothbard, NP (2001) ‘Enriching or Depleting? The Dynamics of Engagement in Work and Family Roles.’ Administrative Science Quarterly 46: 655–84.Google Scholar
Rotundo, M, Nguyen, D and Sackett, PR (2001) ‘A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences in Perceptions of Sexual Harassment.’ Journal of Applied Psychology 6(5): 914–922.Google Scholar
Schaufeli, WB and Bakker, AB (2004) ‘Job Demands, Job resources, and their Relationship with Burnout and Engagement: A Multi-Sample Study.’ Journal of Organizational Behaviour 25: 293–315.Google Scholar
Schaufeli, WB, Salanova, M, Gonzalez-Roma, V and Bakker, AB (2002a) ‘The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach.’ Journal of Happiness Studies 3: 71–92.Google Scholar
Schaufeli, WB, Martinez, IM, Marques Pinto, A, Salanova, M and Bakker, AB (2002b) ‘Burnout and Engagement in University Students: A Cross-National Study.’ Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 33(5): 464–481.Google Scholar
Shaw, K (2005) ‘An Engagement Strategy Process for Communicators.’ Strategic Communication Management 9(3): 26–29.Google Scholar
Stanko, B and Miller, GJ (1996) ‘Sexual Harassment and Government Accountants: Anecdotal Evidence from the Profession.’ Public Personnel Management 25: 2 (Summer).Google Scholar
US Merit Systems Protection Board (USMSPB) (1995) ‘Sexual Harassment in the Federal Government: Trends, Progress, Continuing Challenges.’ US Government Printing Office: Washington DC, USA.Google Scholar
US Merit Systems Protection Board (USMSPB) (1988) ‘Sexual Harassment in the Federal Government: An Update.’ US Government Printing Office: Washington DC, USA.Google Scholar
Waldo, CR, Berdahl, JL and Fitzgerald, LF (1998) ‘Are Men Sexually Harassed? If so, by Whom?’ Law and Human Behaviour 22: 59–79.Google Scholar
Willness, CR, Steel, P and Lee, K (2007) ‘A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Workplace Sexual Harassment.’ Personnel Psychology 60: 127–162.Google Scholar