Sexual Harassment in the Workplace as a Function of Initiator's Status: The Case of Airline Personnel

Abstract

This study focuses on women's perceptions of socio‐sexual behaviors in the workplace initiated by males with varying degrees of status. Using an airline population, female flight attendants were asked to record the incidence of sexual harassment by personnel of higher, equal, and lower status. Subjects then rated their affective responses to hypothetical scenarios involving similar interactions. It was hypothesized that the lower the status of the harasser, the more negative the recipient's affective state. Results show the affective state of the recipient is most negative with lower‐status personnel engaging in moderate verbal and physical harassment. With mild harassment, status has no differential effect. Social exchange and habituation explanations are used to account for the data.