Workplace sexual harassment can involve a variety of different frustrating, abusive behaviors. Sometimes, multiple employees create a hostile work environment by targeting one worker or a group of employees.
Other times, specific professionals may experience quid pro quo harassment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when someone in a position of professional authority abuses their power. They demand romantic or sexual access to another professional by using their position as leverage. They may withhold opportunities, such as promotions or raises, from those who do not acquiesce to their inappropriate demands.
In some cases, they may even retaliate against those who demur when they make requests. If a hard-working and ambitious professional loses their job or gets demoted immediately after declining the advances of a supervisor or someone else in a position of professional authority, that could theoretically constitute quid pro quo sexual harassment.
Personal boundaries should not affect employment
Professionals have every right to choose who they socialize with and who has access to their time outside of work. While team-building exercises and company events may be important for people to attend for long-term career development, professionals do not need to make themselves available on demand to supervisors or managers who want to spend time with them outside of work.
Simply asking to take a co-worker or subordinate on a date is not automatically harassment. Provided that the inquiring party accepts rejection calmly, their inquiry is not necessarily sexual harassment. However, it may become harassment if they repeatedly ask a subordinate out or engage in unwanted flirtation.
Particularly in scenarios where they threaten the targeted individual with work-related punishment or actually penalize them for declining their advances, the situation may constitute sexual harassment. Workers dealing with unwanted advances may need help documenting what has occurred and asserting themselves.
If they notify their employers, they should receive support instead of retaliation. Sadly, many companies turn a blind eye to quid pro quo harassment and how a harasser has abused their authority to compel the compliance of their subordinates.
Filing a sexual harassment lawsuit could be possible if an employer has ignored inappropriate conduct or punished a worker for speaking up about experiencing quid pro quo harassment. Workers should not have to compromise their personal standards or ethics to continue developing their careers.