Walk into any workplace in America today, and you may unfortunately overhear inappropriate comments, off-color jokes or derogatory language aimed at women and minorities. This ambient harassment — sexist, racist or otherwise demeaning remarks made without targeting any one individual — has become a challenge for many employees to cope with in modern work cultures. Yet, little is known about how individuals feel after hearing such harassment, and what behaviors they may later enact.

In research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology coauthored by Professor Joel Koopman at Mays Business School and his colleagues investigated how ambient harassment impacts employees. In an initial experimental study, they found that simply exposing participants to hypothetical ambient harassment was enough to elicit feelings of fear and anger, with anger then contributing to intentions to report the perpetrating individual. 

To examine ambient harassment in a real-world setting, the researchers then conducted an experience sampling study, surveying employees about ambient harassment and emotions three times a day for two weeks. As in the experimental study, ambient harassment was linked to higher levels of fear and anger in employees. Further analyses revealed divergent behavioral consequences associated with each emotion. While anger was related to engaging in more voice behaviors aimed towards pointing out possible problems within the workplace, fear undermined these voice behaviors. Further, these detrimental emotional and behavioral effects were exacerbated for employees working in organizations perceived as more tolerant of sexual harassment. And perhaps surprisingly, men also reacted more negatively than women to ambient harassment, feeling greater fear and anger in response to witnessing harassment at work. In turn, this contributed to men enacting more voice via its effects on anger.

Key Findings:

1. Exposure to ambient harassment can contribute to feelings of fear and anger.
2. Anger encourages individuals to voice their concerns, while fear suppresses this response.
3. Organizations with a high tolerance for sexual harassment amplify these feelings and reactions.
4. Men, in contrast to popular belief, were found to have stronger reactions to ambient harassment than women, suggesting that they are crucial allies in curtailing harassment at work.

Implications for Organizations and Individuals

Though not directly targeted, the research indicates that ambient harassment has a subtle but pernicious effect on employees and workplace culture. How can organizations and individuals help counteract these harmful repercussions?

Organizations clearly need to implement more training, enforce anti-harassment policies and encourage speaking up against offensive comments. Role modeling respectful behavior throughout the organizational hierarchy is equally essential.

Individual bystanders to ambient harassment should also reflect on ways they may be able to voice opposition constructively, within their comfort zone. Simply not laughing at a joke or remarking directly to the harasser about the inappropriateness of slurs, without accusations, may help diminish future occurrences.

Key Takeaways 

More research is still needed to determine what interventions are most effective and how individual and contextual factors shape reactions, but we cannot afford to underestimate the hidden dangers of ambient harassment. With more awareness and collective action, we can move toward true workplace equality and respect.