People often fail to recognize one of the most common forms of sexual harassment in the workplace. They know that a supervisor shouldn’t try to solicit sexual favors from them and that their co-workers shouldn’t create a hostile work environment for them.
What they may not realize is that their employer should also protect them from sexual harassment on the part of clients or customers. No one should have to deal with unwanted sexual advances and other forms of abuse just to keep their job. Repeated sexual harassment from customers can damage a worker’s mental health and ability to keep performing their job. Workers who report customer sexual harassment should receive support from their employers rather than punishment if they assert themselves.
What does customer sexual harassment entail?
Frequently, customer sexual harassment involves unwanted advances. A regular at a coffee shop might make suggestive and inappropriate comments to a barista who they find attractive. Other times, sexual harassment from customers can be similar to quid pro quo harassment. A client negotiating a contract from renewal might try to ask a salesperson on a date to leverage their power in that situation.
Customers could assault workers by touching them inappropriately. Even those who don’t have face-to-face encounters with the public can face sexual harassment. People may say explicit and inappropriate things to customer service professionals on the phone, for example.
How can companies help?
Workers who experience harassment from customers should be able to report the matter to management and receive support. A supervisor could handle the inappropriate customer on behalf of the harassed employee. They could prevent that customer from returning to the business because of their misconduct.
What the company should not do is ignore the worker’s complaint or punish them for speaking up. Organizations have an obligation to provide a harassment-free workplace regardless of who engages in inappropriate sexual behavior. The law prohibits punishing workers for reporting sexual harassment, even if it comes from a customer.
If an employer refuses to address customer sexual harassment, or if they punish a worker for reporting it, the employee may need to consider filing a sexual harassment lawsuit. Holding employers accountable for permitting sexual harassment can help to change a toxic work culture.