Workplace insults reduced, but not much

Insults and slurs related to ethnicity and race were heard less frequently in the workplace in 2003, according to a survey of 632 employed Americans sponsored by Boston consulting firm Novations/J. Howard & Associates. But the frequency of inappropriate workplace comments remains disturbing to HR professionals.

Ethnic and racial slurs each declined by 2 points from the previous year, from about 29 percent to 27 percent. The biggest declines, about 4 points each, were in ridicule based on sexual orientation (from 24.4 percent to 20.2 percent) and disability (from 7.2 percent to 3.2 percent). Ridicule based on age declined by 1 point.

Sexually inappropriate remarks were most often heard in the workplace by U.S. employees for the second year in a row--remaining steady at 34 percent in 2002 and 2003.

"I'm disappointed by the consistent level of sexually inappropriate comments," said Tom McKinnon, an Asheville, N.C.-based executive consultant for Novations.

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"We are showing some decreases in all categories of harassment charges, except for religious harassment," said Awo Sarpong Ansu, an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, D.C. "Overall sexual harassment charges went down but showed a slight increase in charges filed by men," she said, noting that this increase might be attributable to men's greater awareness of what constitutes harassment.

Novations reported that the incidence of workplace insults did not vary significantly by region or age group. But men were more likely than women to take notice of workplace slurs or ridicule, except for sexually inappropriate comments, which were heard equally by men and women.

People are not making "stupid comments" in front of those that might be offended as much as they did in the past, noted McKinnon. A larger number of whites--28.8 percent compared with 8.8 percent of blacks--reported hearing racial or ethnic slurs. This reinforces the notion that ethnic and racial slurs have gone "undercover," he said. People may be making inappropriate racial or ethnic slurs in front of people they perceive to be "safe." However, increased diversity training means that even if a comment isn't said about one's own racial or ethnic group, workers are still noticing the inappropriateness of the remarks.

The extent of workplace ridicule based on age is "intriguing," said Mike Hyter, president and CEO of Novations. "I expect we're seeing heightened awareness particularly because of downsizings. Age-based EEOC complaints hit a 10-year high in 2002 and already outnumber those based on sexual harassment."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for Human Resource Management
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