Job performance insecurity may drive workplace sexual harassment

The prevailing notion why some men in powerful positions sexually harass women subordinates is that they are narcissists and feel entitled to lord their power over others to get what they want.

But such men may actually perpetuate these acts because they worry that others think they are not up to their jobs, according to the report, “Feeling Powerful but Incompetent: Fear of Negative Evaluation Predicts Men’s Sexual Harassment of Subordinates,” authored by researchers at Ohio State University and published by Springer Link.

Related: 4 steps to take when responding to sexual harassment claims

“An alternative explanation is that people higher in narcissism actually feel less competent and less secure in themselves, and hence they may be more likely to compensate for their insecurity by sexually harassing their subordinates,” the researchers write.

After conducting three separate studies, they concluded that sexual harassment is driven in part by harassers’ fears of being called out for ineffective leadership, and as such, they seek to maintain their high-power positions by harassing subordinates. The researchers then suggest ways that employers could mitigate these findings.

“Fostering a work environment in which employees make it clear that they recognize one another’s areas of strength and competence may help to reduce fears of negative evaluation,” the researchers write. “By contrast, organizational cultures that perpetuate insecurities — e.g., through frequent gossip, creating vast psychological distance between supervisors and employees, or instilling a sense of zero-sum competition — may as a consequence increase instances of sexual harassment, especially when such insecurities are present in supervisors.”

Sexual harassment training programs might also help a would-be harasser deal with their feelings of insecurity about what others might think of them, and also alert them to possible harassment tendencies within themselves, the researchers add.

The Ohio State study can help employers gain some insight into how to prevent sexual harassment, according to HR Dive.

“Traditionally, sexual harassment is viewed as something perpetrated by men in higher positions, but the study also suggests that anyone with power, including a shift manager, could threaten those beneath them,” HR Dive writes. “In essence: Focusing prevention efforts on high-powered execs only won’t be enough.”

In this very low unemployment environment, employers cannot afford to turn off job seekers, as more and more of them are reviewing employers ratings online and passing up on workplaces with negative reputations or damaged brands, according to HR Dive. Moreover, existing employees are increasingly leaving toxic workplaces.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member Chai Feldblum recently reminded HR professionals at a conference that they must follow up on complaints, investigate them and enforce workplace policies. “In turn, HR managers should be supported when they do take complaints seriously and launch an investigation,” HR Dive writes.