In the current age, work from home (WFH) environments has dominated the general workspace. As more people continue to join mobile workforces and adapt to work environments that largely happen online, old problems associated with in-person workplaces fade and new problems begin to emerge.
Some issues stay the same and simply adapt to a new environment, though. Unfortunately, the ongoing issue of sexual harassment at work falls into this category.
Non-physical sexual harassment
The New York Times discusses sexual harassment in the age of the digital workplace. Sexual harassment often ends up tied directly to assault cases in which physical contact between a victim and a perpetrator occurs. However, sexual harassment covers a much wider range of actions and even words.
For example, a person who makes a snide derogatory comment about someone’s sexuality has committed sexual harassment. Same with a boss who bribes an employee with a raise if they perform a sexual favor, even if this exchange never actually takes place.
Mobile-specific forms of harassment
Many of these instances of sexual harassment still occur in mobile spaces. Not only that, but new forms of sexual harassment can occur in digital environments. For example, a colleague can text his coworker’s inappropriate photos in lewd, suggestive positions, or without clothing. They may send unsolicited pictures of sexual organs. They could send links to sexual content that they did not produce.
Of course, sexual harassment still carries the same consequences even if it occurs over digital space. Anyone suffering from this form of harassment can and should take immediate action to ensure the perpetrator faces an appropriate penalty.