The definition of sexual harassment may be difficult to produce because of numerous subtypes and meanings that relate to inappropriate sexual advances. This type of harassment can also be displayed by request for physical favors. Nonetheless, harassment can take a verbal form as well. The majority of organizations perceive sexual harassment as a gender discrimination-based behavior that seriously affects female employees.
Within the framework of the current paper, the researcher will investigate a type of sexual harassment in the workplace that is based on the use of social media and text messages. This issue was reviewed in the article written by Mainiero and Jones (2013), and this topic is relevant because, in the modern world, we are practically obliged to apply social media technologies in professional environments. Accordingly, there is nothing strange in the fact that employees use social media technologies outside the office, but this aspect of social media may also hurt employees that tend to use social networks more actively than others. The core issue lies in the fact that workplace behavior is impacted by the use of social media and the type of connection that is established between employees of different sexes (Mainiero & Jones, 2013; Nielsen & Einarsen, 2012).
Even though this cannot be defined as a direct representation of sexual harassment, the absence of a well-defined social media policy may lead to both victimizing behaviors and the development of covert harassment-based attitudes. The researcher is interested in investigating this question further and conducting a literature review on the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace but with the focus on the use of social media websites and applications both in and out of the office. The article written by Mainiero and Jones (2013) presents a great deal of information on the subject and will significantly contribute to the research process.
References
Mainiero, L. A., & Jones, K. J. (2013). Sexual harassment versus workplace romance: Social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 27(3), 187-203.
Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. (2012). Prospective relationships between workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress. Occupational Medicine, 62(3), 226-228.