Human Resources topic reflection

Name:

HR Topic: Sexual Harassment

Source:

Johnson, S. K & Madera, J.M (2018, January 18). Sexual harassment is pervasive in the restaurant industry. Here’s what needs to change. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/01/sexual-harassment-is-pervasive-in-the-restaurant-industry-heres-what-needs-to-change

Summary of Article

A major problem that the hospitality industry faces is sexual harassment. There are more reported sexual harassment claims in this industry than any other. The harassment usually comes in different sources like employers and customers. There are various reasons why workers in this industry are vulnerable to sexual harassment such as high turnover ratio, reliability on tips and the “customer is always right” mentality. The article discusses the reasons why sexual harassment is rampant in this industry and how to minimize it. Sexual harassment is a vice that negatively impacts this industry. Necessary measures should be taken to curb sexual harassment.

New Things I Learned

Major lessons learnt are the reasons that sexual harassment is rampant and how to stop it. Most employees fear filing complaints as little to no action is usually taken from the management. The hospitality industry is often regarded as a ‘looks’ industry and managers prefer that their employees, mostly female, express themselves sexually. A high turnover ratio also contributes to employees not reporting harassment. Sometimes they do so just for tips due to low wages. Anti-sexual harassment policies can be a good start to prevent sexual harassment in the industry. Employees also should have bystander intervention training so that if they witness harassment they know the proper protocol to follow. Lastly, reliable reporting authorities other than managers should be put in place as managers usually try cover up harassment for the reputation of their organization. Over 70% of employees in this industry have reported sexual harassment but not to relevant authorities. It is essential to find long lasting solutions to this problem.

How It Impacts the Hospitality Industry

It is with no doubt that sexual harassment impacts the industry negatively. The industry already has the image of being sexually oriented. This discourages major investments and efforts to grow the industry. This also discourages citizens to try work in this field due to fear of the known abuse. The abused employees are also primarily affected. Some get trauma and depression as they usually feel that nothing can be done to improve their situation. Sexual harassment destroys the public view of the industry and also has a negative human factor on the employees. Part of the employees view sexual harassment as part of the job and the normalizing of these acts is dangerous to the industry. As an important industry, measures should immediately be taken so as to restore the pride of the industry and have it grow more. Sexual harassment can only impact the industry negatively and strides should be taken to diminish it.

References

Johnson, S. K & Madera, J.M (2018, January 18). Sexual harassment is pervasive in the restaurant industry. Here’s what needs to change. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/01/sexual-harassment-is-pervasive-in-the-restaurant-industry-heres-what-needs-to-change