Perceptions of Non-Sexual Workplace Harassment

Non-sexual workplace harassment (NSWH) is a prevalent issue, yet there is limited experimental research investigating how this harassment is perceived. In the present study, male and female participants (N = 242) read eight vignettes in which a supervisor insulted an employee. Participants then rated the extent to which each vignette involved harassment, as well as reactions to the employee (e.g. sympathy toward employee) and supervisor (e.g. anger toward supervisor). The supervisor’s gender (man or woman), employee’s gender (man or woman), and the type of verbal insult (regarding the employee’s weight or intelligence) were varied. Results indicated higher ratings when vignettes involved (a) a supervisor and employee of different genders (vs same-gender dyads); (b) weight (vs intelligence) comments, especially made by a male supervisor; and (c) a female employee who received a weight comment (vs other employee gender, comment type combinations). In addition, female (vs male) participants returned higher ratings of reactions to the employee and supervisor, but not attributions of harassment. These findings indicated that not all contexts of NSWH are perceived as equally severe.