fact sheet

Workplace harassment and sexual assault have very serious and negative effects on victims. It is document- ed that sexual assault decreases job satisfaction (Gru- ber,1992), ruins relationships with coworkers (Gutek, 1985; Loy & Stewart, 1984) and loss of jobs. This ha- rassment poses a serious risk to staff ’s physical and psychological health (Fitzgerald, 1997, para.4). PTSD and anxiety are the most obvious psychological affects the victims dealt with. In an interview conducted by the CUPE (New Solutions) respondents explained the quick affects following harassment or witnessing it. Those affects were becoming fearful of going into work, becoming weary of patients they are caring for, and feeling the impact of long-term psychological trauma (Canadian Union of Public Employees, 2017, Para. 4-8). The lack of support and resources doubles their trauma and even made them fearful of taking part in the study. They feared they would be punished for speaking out. How do victims cope with the harassment? Is it a healthy coping mechanism? There are many ways woman in the workplace cope with the harassment. Some healthy while some are not. In the table “Use of Coping Strategies in the Two Samples” Fitzgerald (1997, page 408, table 2) 11 different coping strategies were recorded. Along with the percentages of woman who used these strategies. The most common coping strategy was woman staying away from the person who assaulted or harassed them, along with thinking it wasn’t important. A lot of women also explained they just “put up with it” or tried to forget about it. The most alarming information seen in this table is making for- mal complaints or talking with a supervisor has some of the lowest percentages. The most common coping mechanisms recorded in the table are the least healthy. This must be because of the lack of support staff has re- garding harassment and sexual assault, health care staff do not feel safe about speaking out to supervisors in their workplace and will most likely be victim blamed if they do (Canadian Union of Public Employees, 2017, para.11). The Effects of Workplace Harassment: What are the effects of workplace harassment? The Silence: Why are nurses/ staff not speaking out about harassment they experience/ witness? Hospital staff rarely report any sort of violence or abuse they witness or endure. This is because the health care system is not at all supportive to these victims and do not bother helping. In fact, during the poll taken by the CUPE (New Solutions) participants explained they were afraid of the negative repercussions they will face after reporting such incidents. (Canadian Union of Public Employees, 2017, para.6). A lot of wom- en in the workforce also ignore the fact that they are victims and won’t admit it to themselves. This could be because of the lack of support and resources our hospitals have to offer, so they do not see a point in re- porting the incident since nothing will be done about it. The Possible Solution How would educating staff and hospi- tal members about workplace aggression change the outcome? It is hard to control the number of cases health care workers experience but will educating them maybe change the outcome? Teaching staff how to be careful while also keeping up with their quality of work may help to keep work environments safer. But more efforts than just education need to be put in place. Education and training may create no change regarding work- place harassment and aggression (Geoffrion et al. 2020, para. 11), this education and training however may be helpful if other procedures are put into place such as: - - - - - Preventative programs Zero Tolerance policies Greater staff levels Psychological resources for victims Someone staff can specifically report harassment and sexual assault to without feeling there will be negative effects of reporting. (Canadian Union of Public Employees, 2017).