Workplace sexual harassment can be demoralizing and humiliating. It can affect a professional’s career development and possibly also their mental health. Some workers experience a hostile work environment. Multiple coworkers might mistreat them because of their sex, appearance or related matters.
Other times, workers experience quid pro quo harassment. Workers who experience quid pro quo sexual harassment may need support as they document their experiences and explore their options for holding their employers accountable.
What do professionals generally need to know about quid pro quo sexual harassment?
Workers experience an abuse of authority
Quid pro quo harassment typically involves one party leveraging the career ambitions of another for personal gain. The phrase quid pro quo means something for something and is meant to imply a mutually-beneficial exchange of favors.
In a sexual harassment scenario, quid pro quo harassment typically entails promising job-related benefits or threatening job-related consequences in return for certain favors. A supervisor might demand that an employee agree to go on a date with them or provide much more degrading favors in return for a positive performance review or a recommendation for a promotion.
A manager might threaten to withhold an annual raise or certain bonuses if a worker does not agree to their demands. Other times, they may threaten to punish the worker for refusing their advances. They might claim that they intend to write a worker up for their bad attitude because the worker has stated multiple times they do not feel comfortable with the flirting or touching that occurs in the workplace.
No employee should have to compromise their personal ethics or their right to select their own sexual and romantic partners to keep their job or develop their career. Quid pro quo harassment typically involves the inappropriate use of workplace authority for personal gratification. Demands can be as much about power as they are about attraction.
How do people fight quid pro quo harassment?
Workers enduring quid pro quo sexual harassment may need help learning about their options. They need to find appropriate ways to document the mistreatment they have experienced.
They may also need help bringing the topic up to their employers. They may also need help while preparing to take legal action against the company for ignoring their complaints or punishing them or reporting the quid pro quo harassment.
Many sexual harassment lawsuits occur because companies retaliate against those who report misconduct. Therefore, employees enduring quid pro quo harassment often need help to protect themselves from the possibility of inaction or retaliation.
Understanding quid pro quo sexual harassment empowers a worker to stand up against it. Professionals who fight back can work to hold their employers accountable and potentially secure compensation for the mistreatment they have endured in the workplace.