work & stress, 2000, vol. 14, no. 2 121–136

Sexual harassment over the telephone:
occupational risk at call centres

SABINE SCZESNY* and DAGMAR STAHLBERG

University of Mannheim, Chair of Social Psychology, D 68131 Mannheim,
Germany

Keywords:

Stress ; Coping; Sexual harassment ; Telephone call centres.

The phenomenon of sexually harassing telephone calls in the workplace has been studied only
marginally. In the present study 106 employees working in call centres in Germany answered a
questionnaire regarding their experiences of sexual harassment over the telephone. The following
data are presented: description of the phenomenon, i.e. prevalence and characteristics, stress reactions
of the victims, behavioural reactions and coping strategies, consequences and anticipated conse-
quences; prediction of the stress reactions by characteristics of the situation ; and employees’
recommendations for coping with sexually harassing calls. It was found that the female employees
were more often sexually harassed over the telephone at work than their male colleagues. Three out
of four female employees had experienced sexually harassing telephone calls ; in the majority of cases
the harassers were men. Characteristic patterns of harassment included groaning, sexual insults,
silence, and threats of sexual violence. Some 16 % of the harassed female employees described these
experiences as extremely stressful. If the harassment contained threats of sexual violence and groaning,
the perceived physical response was stronger. Being subjected to sexual harassment over the telephone
both at home and at work was a more severe stress than having the experience only in the workplace.
In conclusion, employees’ recommendations for coping with the occurrence of sexually harassing
calls are described.

1. Introduction

Sexual harassment over the telephone is a widespread social phenomenon that is closely
related to aggression and violence. She‰ eld (1989, p. 483) calls this phenomenon a
particular manifestation of ‘ sexual terrorism ’, a ‘ system by which males frighten, and by
frightening, dominate and control females’. Usually individuals experience this phenom-
enon within the con nes of their private surroundings (i.e. the home). However, sexual
harassment over the telephone can also occur at work, mainly in companies or institutions
that oŠ er public services over the telephone (such as call centres, crisis intervention centres,
or counselling hotlines).

Until recently the phenomenonof telephone sexual harassment in the work environment

was either ignored or went unacknowledged in the literature. In 1985 Pease pointed out
that although ‘ The writer has never heard of an obscene call being made to a woman at
work ’ (Pease, 1985, p. 276), other researchers (Clark, and Borders, 1984) have reported that
female telephone counsellors are harassed over the telephone while at work. A more in-
depth review of telephone sexual harassment studies—prompted initially by these
inconsistencies—revealed that the phenomenon of sexually harassing telephone calls
experienced in the workplace has been studied only marginally.

* Author for correspondence. e-mail : ssczesny

!sowi.uni-mannheim.de

Work & Stress ISSN 0267-8373 print}ISSN 1464-5335 on line

’ 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd

http:}}www.tandf.co.uk}journals

122

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

The present study is an initial step towards  lling this gap. Employees in call centres who

spend the majority of their working hours on the telephone were surveyed. The survey
addresses the following aspects of sexual harassment by telephone in the work environment:

(1) description of the phenomenon, i.e. prevalence and characteristics thereof, stress

reactions of the victims, behavioural reactions and coping strategies, consequences
and anticipated consequences,

(2) prediction of the stress reactions by characteristics of the situation, and
(3) employees’ recommendations for coping with the occurrence of sexually harassing

calls.

1.1.

Description of the phenomenon

As mentioned above, to date no data exist on the prevalence and characteristics of sexual
harassment over the telephone while at work. With regard to telephone sexual harassment
in private settings, some research  ndings are available. For example, a study in England
and Wales reports an annual female harassment rate of 10 % (Pease, 1985). In previous
research (She‰ eld, 1989) men have been predominantly recognized as oŠ enders and
women as their victims. Although this description is a plausible re‚ ection of reality, a more
complete (and possibly interesting) picture of the phenomenon would address the
occurrence of male victims and female oŠ enders. Therefore the present study included this
possibility. One study—based on a sample of 100 German students (49 females, 51
males)—showed that 50 % of the female respondents and only 2 % of the male respondents
had at some point in the past experienced sexual harassment over the telephone (Sczesny,
1997). In a representative study undertaken in Germany (Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999)
over 4000 people were interviewed regarding their experiences with unwanted calls.
During the preceding year 6

±

8 % of the women and 1

±

3 % of the men had been sexually

harassed over the telephone. Moreover, most cases of telephone sexual harassment were
committed by men (more than 90 %) and only a small percentage by women.

Previous studies simply de ned sexually harassing calls as ‘ obscene’ or ‘ dirty ’ calls. To

do justice to the multidimensional aspects of the construct ‘ sexual harassment’, the present
study uses a general de nition of sexual harassment by Fitzgerald (1990, p. 38). Accordingly,
sexual harassment over the telephone

consists of the sexualization of an instrumental relationship through the introduction … of … sexual
remarks (or) requests…, in the context of a formal power diŠ erential. Harassment can also occur
where no such formal diŠ erential exists if the behavior is unwanted by or oŠ ensive to the
[person].

Silence can be part of a sexually harassing phone call as well. Sexual harassment over the

telephone can therefore be characterized by groaning, personal remarks, sexual advances or
threats. For example, the most serious sexual harassment by telephone in a private setting
contained ‘ groaning’ in 55 % of the cases, ‘ sexual advances’ in 49 %,‘silence ’ in 26 %,
‘ personal remarks’ in 19 %, ‘ threats to come over’ in 7 %, and in 5 % ‘ threats of (sexual)
violence’ (Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999, p. 158). The present study should contribute to
our knowledge of whether comparable, higher or lower rates of sexual harassment over
the telephone exist for women and men while at work, and how such calls are characterized
by their victims.

Until now little information has been available regarding how such calls aŠ ect their

victims in terms of stress reactions. It may be assumed—based on stress theories proposed by
Lazarus (1990)—that sexual harassment over the telephone can be conceptualized as a ‘ daily

Sexual harassment over the telephone

123

hassle ’ or ‘ critical life event’ and that the experience of such an event will induce stress, as
re‚ ected in the aŠ ective, cognitive, and physical responses.

Those who have been sexually harassed over the telephone have felt angry, uneasy,

nervous, disgusted, abused, and manipulated (telephone counsellors cited in Clark, and
Borders, 1984; Clark, Borders, and Knudson, 1986; women cited in She‰ eld, 1989).
Current research supports the conclusion that sexual harassment over the telephone is a
social stressor (Katz, 1994). In the above-mentioned representative study by the authors of
this present paper (Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999), more than one-half of the harassed
participants felt stressed. Gender surfaced as a crucial variable ; roughly two-thirds of
the women and one-half of the men who reported harassment over the telephone had felt
stressed. These  ndings suggest that in comparison to men, more women experience stress
from sexual harassment over the telephone. Men, however, are also aŠ ected. The
participants in that study assessed the most serious experience of private telephone
harassment as degrading. They described feelings of repulsion and rage}anger, judging the
event to be negative and unpredictable. The strongest physical responses were trembling
and accelerated heart rate.

No information is available on individual strategies, that is, how people react to and cope

with sexual harassment over the telephone in the workplace. With respect to coping
research on harassment in a private setting (Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999) victims reported
positive self-instruction as a coping strategy, e.g. ‘I told myself that I will get through this’.
Surprisingly, self-blame (which has partly proved itself to be a determinant of a unsuccessful
coping in research on sexual violence; cf. Frazier, 1990) played no role in the private
context. Jamming the telephone line by laying aside the receiver as a preventative measure
against further harassment was reported by nearly one-third of those surveyed.
Additionally, an intense search for social support stood out as a problem-solving action. For
example, many chose to speak about the harassment with a trusted person. These results
stand in contrast to current results on coping with sexual aggression, which claim that
victims usually meet with social isolation and seldom actively seek out social support.
Further  ndings in the representative study by the present authors (Sczesny, and Stahlberg,
1999) showed that it was particularly important to victims to maintain their composure and
self-respect. Generally, victims try to hold back the expression of emotion in the harassing
situation—especially fear, faintness, and consternation. There were also some victims who
confronted the harasser with questions regarding his or her behaviour or who countered
verbally with threats, insults or obscene answers.

Which coping strategies are used in the workplace? Research on coping deals with the

relevance of context variables and the analysis of speci c ‘ life domains’ (Filipp, and Klauer,
1991; Moos, and Swindle, 1990). This suggests that depending on the harassment
setting—at home or at work—diŠ erent strategies would be used in coping with sexual
harassment over the telephone. DiŠ erences are expected due to the individual aspects of
each situation, as well as the speci c social roles that dominate both settings (Krause, 1990).
The context of sexual harassment over the telephone at work could be characterized as
follows. The probability of the presence of others—especially those with similar
experiences—is high. This allows for social comparison processes which have been shown
to reduce stress and fear (Schachter, 1959; see also Rofe!, 1984). Self-revelation as a victim
is easier (but so is the downplaying of the event). This could also be re‚ ected in intense
discussions with others about the experience of sexual harassment by telephone. With
respect to their social role, all employees are expected to exhibit friendly behaviour and to
answer the telephone, even in the case of repeated harassing calls. This could mean that
expressive coping strategies—such as confronting the harasser with questions regarding

124

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

his}her behaviour or countering with threats, insults or obscene replies—would rarely be
used. Therefore strategies used to cope with sexual harassment by telephone in the
workplace should be further explored.

No information is available on the consequences of sexual harassment over the telephone

on the victims, e.g. on their feelings of personal safety in general or on their psychological
well-being. In particular the anticipated consequencesof further potential sexual harassment
while at work with regard to stress, job satisfaction and job performance are of interest.

1.2.

Predicting stress reactions

Let us now turn to the question of how to predict the degree of stress caused by sexual
harassment over the telephone. One potentially important predictor of stress caused by a
(critical life) event is obviously the seriousness of the event itself. The perceived seriousness
of sexually abusive calls can be expected to depend on the characteristics of the speci c
harassment event, e.g. the presence of threats. In this study we will therefore address the
question of which characteristics of sexually abusive calls at work are connected with the
degree of stress experienced by the victim.

Furthermore, we expect a less severe stress reaction to sexual harassment over the

telephone in the workplace environment as compared to a similar experience in a private
context. Besides the diŠ erences between the two contexts which have already been
described (e.g. presence of others, speci c social roles), in the workplace the identity of the
victim is usually unknown (Leising, 1985). Therefore fewer instances of intentional
‘ acquaintance harassment’ occur. In private contexts the degree of anonymity between
victim and harasser often remains unclear. That is, the identity of the caller remains
unknown to the victim whereas the harasser usually possesses information about his or her
victim, or is able to convey this impression. These diŠ erences may lead to sexual harassment
in the workplace being accompanied by fewer stress reactions.

1.3.

Employees’ recommendations

Finally, in the present paper employees’ recommendations for addressing and solving the
problem of sexually harassing telephone calls in the workplace are investigated (i.e. possible
organizational procedures). Participants were asked what companies could do to support
their employees in coping with sexually harassing calls at work. Research on incidents of
sexual harassment within the workplace has shown that the greatest problem for both
victims and organizations is the diŠ usion of responsibility (Koen, 1989). Therefore, it is
important to de ne clearly who is responsible for taking special action to solve the problem.
In this context all relevant problem}complaint policies of the company should receive
major attention (Gutek, Cohen, and Konrad, 1990; Howard, 1991; Livingston, 1982). Such
policies should consist of strategies to improve the immediate situation of the victims.
However, in the long run, it should be important to reduce or even eliminate the
phenomenon completely.

2. Method

2.1.

Overview

The participants in this study were employees of call centres within a German telephone
company (two enquiry and three complaints departments). Characteristics shared by these
 ve departments were their intense telephone contact with clients and the fact that the

Sexual harassment over the telephone

125

incoming calls are distributed among the employees by chance; employees are identi ed
only by number. Some 90 % of the staŠ were women. Initially, nine interviews (single and
group) were conducted to explore the working conditions of the participants. Afterwards,
all staŠ members of the above-mentioned departments (224 women, 22 men) were asked
to answer a questionnaire detailing their experiences of sexual harassment over the
telephone; 106 questionnaires were returned by mail, giving a response rate of 43 %.

2.2.

Participants

The participants were 93 women and 13 men. They ranged in age from 20 to 59 years
(M

¯ 37

±

3). A total of 60 % were full-time employees; 40 % worked part-time.

2.3.

Materials

The questionnaire surveyed past ‘ experiences with sexually harassing phone calls ’ at any
time in the life of the respondents. StaŠ members who reported one or more experiences
were asked to give a more detailed description of the most serious of these calls and their
own reactions to them. In this proceure subjects used their own de nition of sexual
harassment. Finally further questions were related to experiences with sexually harassing
calls as a whole. The precise operationalization of the variables is given below.

2.3.1.

Prevalence and characteristics : Concerning the prevalence of sexually harassing calls,

the employees were asked if they had experienced any such harassment in the workplace or
in a private setting. Answers were categorized as follows: sexually harassing calls had been
(1) exclusively experienced at work; (2) exclusively experienced in a private telephone
connection; and (3) experienced both at work and in a private connection. A second
question addressed the number of sexually harassing telephone calls at work and}or in a
private connection. Additionally, those who had experienced sexual harassment both in a
private setting and at work were asked about the diŠ erences between harassment in the
workplace and in a private setting. In the case of diŠ erences between the two, participants
were asked to brie‚ y describe these diŠ erences.

The characteristics of the most serious sexually harassing call at work were measured by the

following questions. The exact wording of the  rst question was: ‘ Which of the following
characteristics best describes the most serious harassment over the telephone at work? ’ The
six response categories were chosen with regard to previous research (She‰ eld, 1989) and
multiple answers were possible : silence ; groaning; sexual insults ; threat of physical
violence; threat of sexual violence; and threat to come over. Further questions addressed
the gender and the age of the harassing person (recoded as adult vs. child}adolescent), the
time of the harassing call (recoded as day vs. night), the frequency of calls (once vs. more
than once), the presence of other persons in the situation (being alone vs. others being
present) and the time when the employee became aware of the harassing intent of the call
(recoded as at once vs. during}after the call).

2.3.2.

Stress reactions : The aŠ ective}cognitive responses concerning the most serious incident

were measured by two semantic diŠ erentials (see, for example Osgood, Suci, and
Tannenbaum, 1957). The participant was asked to respond on a bipolar, 7-point scale.

The following 19 pairs of adjectives were oŠ ered to describe the participants’ feelings:

superior}inferior ; calm}nervous; sad}cheerful; strong}weak ; aggressive}peaceful; un-

126

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

concerned}worried; anxious}fearless ; con dent}helpless ; uninterested}curious; tense}
relaxed; insecure}secure ; angry}pleased; sexually-attracted}sexually-repulsed; clear}
confused; respected}disrespected; disgusted}amused; clean}dirty ; humiliated}‚ attered ;
appreciated}devalued.

Regarding the cognitive response to the event the following 8 pairs of adjectives were

presented: threatening}challenging; serious}insigni cant; controllable}uncontrollable;
positive}negative; unavoidable}avoidable; unpredictable}predictable; meaningful}sense-
less ; personally signi cant}personally insigni cant.

Physical responses perceived by the participants were measured using the following

10 items (symptoms which characterize fear reactions following DSM-IV, American
Psychiatric Association, 1994): sweating ; shortness of breath; accelerated heart rate ;
dizziness}numbness; hot ‚ ashes or chills ; choking; chest pain or discomfort; faintness;
trembling; and tingling sensations in hands and feet. These questions were to be answered
on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extraordinarily).

On the basis of three factor analyses (factor loading "

±

30 in the initial unrotated

solutions) the following three reliable scales were computed: ‘ aŠ ective response’ (18 items ;
Cronbach’s a

¯

±

93), ‘ cognitive response’ (7 items ; Cronbach’s a

¯

±

62), and ‘ physical

response’ (10 items ; Cronbach’s a

¯

±

87). The scores of the ‘ aŠ ective response’ and

‘ cognitive response’ ranged from 1 (positive feelings}cognitions) to 7 (negative feel-
ings}cognitions) and the scores of the ‘ physical response’ ranged from 1 (no physical
reactions) to 5 (very intense physical reactions).

Additionally the employees were asked to summarize the perceived stress caused by all

their experiences of sexual harassment over the telephone as follows : ‘ All in all, how burdensome
was the experience of sexual harassment over the telephone for you? ’ This question was to
be answered on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extraordinarily).

2.3.3.

Behavioural reactions and coping strategies : The immediate behavioural reactions with

regard to the most serious harassment were measured by 17 items. The survey asked if the
harassed person had ‘ hung up the receiver ’, ‘ turned to others’, or ‘ taken a break from
work ’ (for a complete list of items see Table 1). These items were to be answered with yes
or no. Participants who showed a speci c behaviour were asked to evaluate it according to
how helpful it had been for them on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all helpful) to
5 (extraordinarily helpful).

The coping strategies used were measured with 21 scales from a short version of a

German coping questionnaire (Jahnke, Erdmann, and Kallus, 1985). Every scale consists of
two items. All items had to be answered on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The items were introduced as follows: ‘ When I experienced
the most serious sexual harassment over the telephone at work’. The scales were : (1)
rejection of blame (e.g. ‘ I thought, that is not my fault’) ; (2) positive self-instruction (e.g. ‘ I told
myself that I will get through this ’) ; (3) downward comparison (e.g. ‘ I took it easier than
others in the same situation ’) ; (4) controlling reactions (e.g. ‘ I tried to control my behaviour’) ;
(5) helplessness (e.g. ‘ I felt somehow helpless’) ; (6) trivializing (e.g. ‘ I said to myself, it’s not
so bad’) ; (7) ‚ight tendency (e.g. ‘ I wanted to run away ’) ; (8) relaxation (e.g. ‘ I tried to take
deep breaths’) ; (9) avoidance (e.g. ‘ I have avoided those situations since then ’) ; (10) brooding
(e.g. ‘ I kept thinking about the situation for a long time’) ; (11) distraction (e.g. ‘ I did
something that took my mind of it ’) ; (12) controlling the situation (e.g. ‘ I tried to change the
situation actively ’) ; (13) request for social support (e.g. ‘ I asked other people to help me ’) ; (14)
compensation (e.g. ‘ I did something nice for myself’) ; (15) self-pity (e.g. ‘ I thought, bad
things always happen to me ’) ; (16) aggressiveness (e.g. ‘ I got mad at someone else for no

Sexual harassment over the telephone

127

reason’) ; (17) self-a‰rmation (e.g. ‘ I did something that gave me a feeling of ac-
complishment’) ; (18) resignation (e.g. ‘ I was inclined to resign myself to the situation ’) ;
(19) social isolation (e.g. ‘ I isolated myself from my environment’) ; (20) self-blame (e.g. ‘ I
blamed myself ’) ; and (21) using alcohol}sedatives (e.g. ‘ at  rst I drank alcohol’).

In order to detail the search for social support more fully, the survey asked participants

who had been harassed who they had spoken to about their experiences at the time. Seven
relevant groups were oŠ ered as possible choices: partner (male or female) ; friends (male or
female); female co-workers; male co-workers; female superiors; male superiors; and
women’s representatives. In the case of discussions, participants were asked to evaluate the
conversation according to how helpful it had been for them on a 5-point scale ranging from
1 (not at all helpful) to 5 (extraordinarily helpful). Of those who had spoken with others,
the survey asked whether the reactions experienced had been those of rejection or support
and whether those surveyed were satis ed or dissatis ed with the support received. To
answer both questions, a bipolar 7-point answer scale ranging from 1 (rejected}unsatisfying)
to 7 (supported}satisfying) was presented.

2.3.4.

Consequences and anticipated consequences: Regarding all experiences of sexual

harassment over the telephone, participants evaluated consequences by answering 15 items.
For example, questions were asked regarding any consequences for their physical well-
being, their feeling of personal safety, and their psychological well-being (for a complete
list of items see Table 2). In those instances in which consequences were reported,
participants were asked to evaluate these as negative or positive on a 7-point scale, ranging
from 1 (very negative) to 7 (very positive).

Then participants were asked how stressful they estimated the possibility of future sexual

harassment over the telephone while at work (5-point scale, ranging from not stressful at
all to extremely stressful). How the possibility of future sexual harassment by telephone
while at work aŠ ects job satisfaction and}or job performance was assessed by two further
questions (bipolar 7-point scale, ranging from very negatively to very positively).

2.3.5.

Employees’ recommendations : Finally, in order to identify possible strategies for the

company to use in dealing with sexually harassing telephone calls, the employees were
asked open questions regarding possible workplace solutions to this problem.

3. Results

3.1.

Description of the phenomenon

3.1.1.

Prevalence and characteristics : Regarding the gender of the victims, 15 % of the

male employees reported experiences with sexual harassment over the telephone at work (2 out
of 13 males; furthermore in one case the answers were contradictory). Three out of four
female employees reported being exposed to sexually harassing telephone calls either
exclusively at work (42 %) or both at work and in private (32 %). In addition to these
experiences with sexually harassing telephone calls at work, 1 % of the women reported
that they had been sexually harassed only over a private telephone connection. Some 25 %
of the women had no experiences with sexual harassment over the telephone. A total of
72 % of the women harassed at work reported repeated occurrences. The mean number of
calls received by the harassed female employees was 17 at work (N

¯ 54; SD ¯ 27

±

2 ;

Range

¯ 1–150) and 3 calls at home (N ¯ 61; SD ¯ 7

±

51 ; Range

¯ 0–50) at any time in

their life. Women who were harassed at work as well as in private reported in 40 % of the
cases diŠ erences between the contexts. They were repeatedly called by one person in the

128

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

Table 1.

Behavioural reactions to the most serious episode of sexual harassment over the

telephone at work.

Percentage

Helpfulness

Behavioural reaction

(N)

M

SD

During the harassment

Hung up the receiver

66 (42)

3

±

74

1

±

38

Put the receiver aside

30 (19)

3

±

53

1

±

39

Passed the call on to a supervisor

24 (16)

3

±

63

1

±

31

Confronted the caller with questions concerning

his}her behaviour

22 (15)

2

±

47

1

±

06

Gave a threatening answer

21 (14)

2

±

86

1

±

51

Ignored the harassment and continued with work

20 (13)

3

±

62

1

±

45

Gave an insulting answer

19 (12)

3

±

58

1

±

38

Let others answer the telephone

10 (8)

3

±

75

0

±

71

Gave an obscene answer

10 (9)

3

±

33

1

±

58

After the harassment

Concentrated on the next incoming call

82 (50)

3

±

14

1

±

18

Turned to others

55 (35)

3

±

68

0

±

96

Took a break from work

30 (21)

3

±

29

1

±

06

Turned to superiors

25 (17)

3

±

24

1

±

20

Let others answer the following calls

14 (9)

3

±

22

1

±

20

Engaged in another activity

10 (6)

3

±

50

0

±

84

Brought others into the room

6 (4)

3

±

00

0

±

82

Contacted the police

2 (2)

1

±

50

0

±

71

Total N

¯ 68 female employees; the degree of helpfulness of the behaviour was judged on a 5-point

scale ranging from 1 (not at all helpful) to 5 (extraordinarily helpful).

private context, the telephone calls came more deliberately and with less anonymity than at
work. A few experienced the event in private as more injurious and damaging (see also
3.1.2.)

In the two cases of harassed male employees the experience rarely led to stress or to

negative consequences. Therefore only the data on the female employees (N

¯ 69) is

presented in detail in the present study.

Characteristics of the most serious telephone sexual harassment at work reported by female

employees were groaning, sexual insults, silence, and threats of sexual violence. In detail,
83 % of the harassing calls included groaning, 52 % contained sexual insults, and 25 % were
composed of silence, 14 % contained threats of sexual violence, 6 % of the callers threatened
to seek out the victim at the workplace, and in 2 % of the cases threats of physical violence
were expressed.

Regarding the gender and the age of the harassing person in these incidents 94 % were

committed by male callers and 82 % of the harassers were adults. In two-thirds of these cases
(67%) the harassing call was at night. In 48 % of the cases the most serious incident consisted
of more than one call. The presence of other persons at the time of the call occurred in most
cases (79 %). Regarding the time when the female employees became aware of the harassing
intent of the call, 42 % answered ‘ at once’.

3.1.2.

Stress reactions : Concerning the most serious incident, the female employees

reported that they had felt disrespected (M

¯ 5

±

71 ; on bipolar 7-point scales ranging from

1 to 7), disgusted (M

¯ 5

±

95), angry (M

¯ 6

±

03), and sexually repulsed (M

¯ 6

±

36).

Sexual harassment over the telephone

129

Table 2.

Percentage of female employees who reported consequences of

the experience of harassment over the telephone on various aspects of

their lives.

Percentage

Direction of eŠ ect

Aspect

(N)

M

® }­ SD

Feeling of personal safety

25 (15)

2

±

93

® 1

±

49

Attitude to men

25 (19)

2

±

74

® 1

±

41

Psychological well-being

21 (15)

2

±

87

® 0

±

74

Job satisfaction

19 (14)

2

±

36

® 0

±

84

Self-con dence

13 (10)

3

±

90

® 1

±

45

Daily life

8 (8)

3

±

66

® 1

±

19

Job capability

8 (6)

3

±

17

® 0

±

75

Private life

8 (8)

3

±

13

® 1

±

13

Attitude to women

6 (7)

4

±

71

­ 1

±

70

Friendships

6 (7)

4

±

14

­ 1

±

07

Physical well-being

6 (7)

2

±

57

® 1

±

27

Sexuality

6 (7)

2

±

86

® 1

±

35

Work atmosphere

3 (5)

3

±

20

® 1

±

10

Job performance

3 (4)

3

±

00

® 1

±

41

Relationships with co-workers

2 (4)

3

±

75

® 0

±

50

Total N

¯ 66 female employees; the experience of each consequence could

also be con rmed or denied; the nature of consequence was rated on a 7-
point scale ranging from 1 (very negative) to 7 (very positive) ; negative
direction of eŠ ect if M !

4 ; positive direction of eŠ ect if M "

4.

Cognitively the event was described as unavoidable (M

¯ 5

±

98), negative (M

¯ 5

±

98),

unpredictable (M

¯ 6

±

37), and meaningless (M

¯ 2

±

48). All other aŠ ective and cognitive

responses were moderate (Ms "

2

±

5 or Ms !

5

±

5). The strongest physical responses were

trembling (M

¯ 1

±

98) and accelerated heart rate (M

¯ 2

±

59 ; on a 5-point scale ranging

from 1

¯ not at all to 5 ¯ extraordinarily). All other physical responses were less intensive

(all Ms

% 1

±

71).

3.1.3.

Behavioural reactions and coping strategies : The behavioural reactions during the most

serious harassment that were reported with the highest frequency were to end the call by
replacing the receiver (66 %) or to put the receiver aside (30 %). After the harassment most
female employees concentrated on the next incoming call (82 %) or turned to someone else
(55%). Regarding the evaluation of these behaviours, most were judged on average to be
helpful. Table 1 shows these results in detail.

The coping strategies for the most serious incident were particularly ‘ rejection of blame ’

(M

¯ 4

±

21), ‘ positive self-instruction ’ (M

¯ 3

±

62), and ‘ trivializing ’ (M

¯ 3

±

52). The least

reported coping strategies were ‘ using alcohol}sedatives ’ (M

¯ 1

±

01), ‘ self-blame ’ (M

¯

1

±

10), and ‘ social isolation ’ (M

¯ 1

±

27 ; on a 5-point scale ranging from 1

¯ disagree

strongly to 5

¯ agree strongly). Table 3 contains descriptive statistics for these coping

strategies.

The results on the search for social support oŠ er the following picture. The majority of

those seeking support discussed their experiences of sexual harassment over the telephone
with female (87 %) and male (42%) co-workers as well as with others outside the
workplace, such as partners (78 %), and friends and acquaintances (64 %). Regarding the

130

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

Table 3.

Coping strategies for the most serious

sexual harassment over the telephone at work.

Coping strategy

M

SD

Rejection of blame

4

±

21

1

±

03

Positive self-instruction

3

±

62

1

±

19

Trivializing

3

±

52

1

±

18

Controlling one’s reactions

3

±

26

1

±

17

Helplessness

3

±

18

0

±

81

Downward comparison

2

±

89

1

±

14

Flight tendency

2

±

80

0

±

90

Relaxation

2

±

70

1

±

25

Avoidance

2

±

68

1

±

24

Brooding

2

±

68

1

±

23

Distraction

2

±

49

1

±

17

Controlling the situation

2

±

39

1

±

00

Request for social support

2

±

20

0

±

92

Compensation

2

±

17

1

±

12

Self-pity

2

±

02

0

±

84

Aggressiveness

2

±

00

0

±

96

Self-a‰ rmation

1

±

77

0

±

80

Resignation (i.e. giving up)

1

±

40

0

±

61

Social isolation

1

±

27

0

±

50

Self-blame

1

±

10

0

±

28

Using alcohol}sedatives

1

±

01

0

±

00

Total N

¯ 60 female employees; 5-point ranging

scale ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree
strongly).

Table 4.

Percentage of female employees who discussed the experience of harassment over the

telephone with diŠ erent persons or groups of persons and the further evaluation of how helpful

the discussion was.

Discussions with the following person}

Percentage

Helpfulness

group of persons

(N)

M

SD

Female co-worker

87 (56)

3

±

40

1

±

08

Partner

78 (53)

3

±

76

1

±

00

Friends and}or acquaintances

64 (42)

3

±

21

0

±

98

Male co-worker

42 (26)

3

±

31

1

±

26

Female supervisor

32 (21)

3

±

43

0

±

98

Male supervisor

13 (8)

2

±

88

1

±

46

Women’s representative

4 (3)

3

±

00

1

±

73

With no one*

7

Total N

¯ 45*}66 female employees; the question gauging the discussion of the event could be

answered with yes or no; the degree of helpfulness of the discussion was judged on a 5-point scale
ranging from 1 (not at all helpful) to 5 (extraordinarily helpful).

evaluation of these discussions with others, all were judged on average to be helpful. Table
4 illustrates these results in detail.

The reaction of those the harassed women had talked to was described as supportive

(M

¯ 5

±

60 ; SD

¯ 1

±

77 ; N

¯ 58; on a bipolar 7-point scale ranging from 1 ¯ rejected to

7

¯ supported; 69% described this reaction as at least rather supportive: M " 4). On

Sexual harassment over the telephone

131

average the harassed women were satis ed with this support (M

¯ 5

±

76 ; SD

¯ 1

±

45 ;

N

¯ 59; on a bipolar 7-point scale ranging from 1 ¯ unsatisfying to 7 ¯ satisfying;

74 % evaluated the reaction as at least rather satisfying : M "

4).

3.1.4.

Consequences and anticipated consequences: Participants were asked whether the

harassment had led to any long-term consequences. One out of four women reported that
the experience had negative eŠ ects on her attitude towards men (25 %) and on her feelings
of personal safety (25 %). One out of  ve women indicated a negative in‚ uence on her
psychological well-being (21 %) and on her job satisfaction (19%). The experience of
sexual harassment led therefore to serious and varying consequences, especially in the
personal lives of the surveyed female employees (all Ms !

2

±

93 ; on a bipolar 7-point scale

ranging from 1

¯ very negative to 7 ¯ very positive). Table 2 shows the results in detail.

The possibility of future sexual harassment over the telephone while at work caused

medium stress for most women (M

¯ 2

±

78 ; SD

¯ 1

±

33 ; N

¯ 69; 5-point scale ranging

from 1

¯ not at all stressful to 5 ¯ extraordinarily stressful). For 13% of the victims, the

possibility of future telephone sexual harassment was quite stressful (M "

3). Roughly one-

third of the women reported that the possibility of future sexual harassment over the
telephone has negative consequences for their job satisfaction (32 % : M "

4 ; M

¯ 3

±

57 ;

SD

¯ 0

±

92 ; N

¯ 68) and 19% for their job performance (M " 4; M ¯ 3

±

87 ; SD

¯ 0

±

81 ;

N

¯ 68; on bipolar 7-point scales ranging from 1 ¯ very negative to 7 ¯ very positive).

3.2.

Predicting stress reactions

To answer the question as to whether the degree of the stress reactions could be predicted
by characteristics of the abusive call itself, three multiple simultaneous regression analyses
with the predictors ‘ characteristics’ and the criteria ‘ aŠ ective response’, ‘ cognitive
response’, and ‘ physical response’ to the most serious sexually abusive call at work were
conducted. The following 12 characteristics of the most serious incident served as predictor
variables in the regression analyses : silence ; groaning; sexual insults ; threat of physical
violence; threat of sexual violence; threat to seek out the victim ; the gender and age of the
harassing person; time of the abusive call (day or night); its frequency (once vs. more than
once); the presence of other persons in the situation (being alone vs. others being present);
and the time when the employee became aware of the harassing intent of the call (at once
vs. during}after the call). The results show the following picture. AŠ ective response: R

# ¯

±

25 ; adjusted R

# ¯

±

04 ; F

¯ 1

±

20 ; p

¯

±

322; cognitive response: R

# ¯

±

32 ; adjusted R

# ¯

±

13 ; F

¯ 1

±

72 ; p

¯

±

102; physical response: R

# ¯

±

37 ; adjusted R

# ¯

±

21 ; F

¯ 2

±

34 ; p

¯

±

023. Whereas the aŠ ective response cannot be predicted by the characteristics of the

situation, and the analysis of the cognitive response narrowly missed being statistically
signi cant, the degree of the physical response can be successfully predicted with two out
of the 12 characteristics. If the sexual harassment contained threats of sexual violence
(b

¯ ®

±

55 ; t

¯ ® 4

±

17 ; p

¯

±

001) and groaning (b

¯ ®

±

22 ; t

¯ ® 1

±

69 ; p

¯

±

098), the

perceived physical response was stronger. Together these two predictors accounted for
21 % of the variance of the criterion ‘ physical response’. Further analyses (stepwise
regressions) showed that regarding all three kinds of stress reaction the predictor ‘ threats of
sexual violence’ was the single best predictor of stress reactions, explaining 7 % of the
variance of the criterion ‘ emotional response’, 8 % of the variance of the criterion
‘ cognitive response’, and 21 % of the variance of the criterion ‘ physical response’.

To answer the question as to whether the degree of stress could be predicted by the

context, as a  rst step an independent t-test with the context ‘ harassed only at work’ vs.

132

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

‘ harassed at work and at home’ as grouping variable was performed. The dependent
variable was the perceived stress caused by all experiences of sexual harassment over the telephone.
The expected less severe stress reaction at work as compared to a private context was
con rmed. Being subjected to sexual harassment over the telephone at home, as well as at
work, was a more severe strain (M

¯ 2

±

70) than having had the experience only at work

(M

¯ 2

±

13 ; on a 5-point scale ranging from 1

¯ not at all stressful to 5 ¯ extraordinarily

stressful ; t

¯ ® 2

±

08 ; df

¯ 66; p !

±

05). This diŠ erence could possibly be attributed to a

diŠ erence in the number of calls in total (at work and at home "

only at work). To rule out

this possibility we conducted two further analyses. We compared the total number of calls
in both groups ‘ harassed only at work ’ vs. ‘ harassed at work and at home’ : the groups did
not diŠ er in the total number of calls reported (independent t-test : M

¯ 18

±

6 vs. M

¯ 20

±

6 ;

t

¯ ®

±

26 ; df

¯ 51; p ¯

±

799). Furthermore, we conducted a multiple simultaneous

regression analysis with the perceived stress caused by all experiences of sexual harassment
over the telephone as criterion and the number of calls in total and the context of previous
experiences as predictors; R

# ¯

±

16 ; Adjusted R

# ¯

±

12 ; F

¯ 4

±

69 ; p

¯

±

014. The degree of

stress could be successfully predicted by the context (b

¯

±

35 ; t

¯ 2

±

70 ; p

¯

±

01), but not by

the total number of calls (b

¯

±

18 ; t

¯ 1

±

36 ; p

¯

±

18). The context accounted for 12 % of

the variance of the criterion.

3.3.

Employees’ recommendations

The reported  ndings on sexually harassing phone calls at work provide evidence that the
company and}or its employees have to deal with a highly stressful phenomenon. Most
employees suggested that victims should not display any aŠ ective reaction to the harasser.
Actions such as confronting the harasser or informing the police were recommended.
Verbal exchange with others was also described as helpful. In general, the employees
focused on technical solutions (e.g. interception circuit, display of the caller’s telephone
number, etc.) to intervene or to prevent sexual harassment over the telephone.

4. Discussion

Sexually harassing telephone calls at work were a frequent phenomenon at the telephone
company studied here. The results con rm the expectation of a high occurrence of such
calls in speci c work environments with intensive employee telephone use, and probably
at call centres in general, especially for female employees. In this context the prevalence of
harassment has proved to be fundamentally higher than in the private context (Sczesny, and
Stahlberg, 1999). Therefore Pease’s (1985) supposition—that sexual harassment on the
telephone is rarely found in the workplace environment—has been seriously challenged.
On contrast to the absence of discussion of this experience in research to date, this study
con rms the phenomenon empirically. Experiences of harassment over the telephone have
to be acknowledged as a risk factor in telephone-related jobs. As the number of call centres
in such workplaces (e.g. telephone banking, phone ordering services, business hotlines, etc.)
increases, especially in relation to women—the spreading of this special form of harassment
will have to be dealt with.

With respect to the forms of sexual harassment occurring over the telephone, the

characteristics—which in the present study were assessed for the most serious case of
harassment—suggest that alongside the primary characteristic of groaning, other distin-
guishing features must also be incorporated to fully describe the phenomenon. Most

Sexual harassment over the telephone

133

importantly perhaps, more than one-tenth of the described incidents contained threats of
sexual violence. As in the private context (Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999), the stereotypical
harassment pattern—man harassing woman—was overwhelmingly manifest.

The results for the employees’ stress reactions to sexual harassment by telephone show

that the aŠ ected organizations—and especially their female employees—have to cope with
a stress-inducing problem. As expected, sexual harassment over the telephone in the
workplace turned out to be a stressful experience. Most women who were victimized
reported feeling disgusted or disrespected. These aŠ ective, cognitive and physical reactions
are in agreement with the feelings described in previous studies for the private context
(Sczesny, and Stahlberg, 1999; She‰ eld, 1989; Smith, and Morra, 1994). The results
regarding fear appear to deviate from previous assumptions. In the present study this
emotion was not particularly dominant, either in the workplace or in the private context.
Furthermore, in the workplace context the experience was accompanied by less concern
and anxiety than in private circumstances. As already outlined in the introduction, it is
assumed that this may be due to sharing the experience with others and to the anonymity
maintained on the telephone at work.

A higher degree of stress (e.g. as re‚ ected in a physical response such as trembling or

accelerated heart rate) was reported when the harassment contained groaning or threats of
sexual violence and if the female employee had been harassed at home as well as at work.
The higher level of stress caused by harassment at home can be explained by diŠ erences
between the contexts (see section 3.1.1 for the experienced diŠ erences), which include
speci c social roles, the probability of the presence of others (especially those with similar
experiences), or the degree of anonymity of the victims. In general, the degree of stress
experienced by victims of sexual harassment increased if the harasser focused on private and
sexual contents during the interaction (Breakwell, 1988; Gruber, 1992).

Behaviour during and after the event varied individually. With regard to eŠ ective

behaviour strategies in the women’s evaluations, no particular strategy stood out. As in a
private context, most of the telephone calls were ended simply by the recipient hanging up
the receiver. However, in the workplace as in private instances, the recipient of the call
sometimes countered the harasser with threats or insults or confronted him with questions.
This can be evaluated as evidence that the harassed female employees did not allow the
parameters of their professional role—that of an employee engaged in a work-related call
(e.g. representing the  rm to the outside, friendliness to customers)—to suppress a personal
response.

With respect to forms of coping in a professional setting, harassed female employees

reported the use of eŠ ective strategies such as positive self-instruction (e.g. ‘ I told myself
that I will get through this’), verbal exchange with others about their experiences
(especially with their female co-workers, who shared the same experiences to a great extent)
and expressing their feelings (threatening, confronting). Coping strategies such as social
isolation or self-blame (which have proved to be determinants of unsuccessful coping in
research on sexual violence; cf. Frazier, 1990; JanoŠ -Bulman, 1979) play no role in the
coping process with sexual harassment over the telephone at work ; rejecting blame
received the highest scores. The choice of coping strategies reveals that victims of sexual
harassment over the telephone, unlike other victims of sexual harassment, are able to (and
do) more easily understand themselves to be victims selected by chance. This understanding
probably allows the victim to develop fewer feelings of guilt or shame. Further research is
needed to analyse the eŠ ectiveness of diŠ erent coping strategies.

With regard to consequences,the experience of sexual harassment over the telephone and

its anticipation aŠ ected job satisfaction and job performance in a negative way. In the long

134

S. Sczesny and D. Stahlberg

run, these kinds of eŠ ects could have negative consequences for whole organizations, such
as higher absenteeism and employee turnover.

Based on previous research on sexual harassment in  rms (Gutek et al. 1990; Howard,

1991; Livingston, 1982) and on the employee proposals in the present study, diverse
company-wide intervention and prevention strategies for coping with sexual harassment
over the telephone were developed. The following strategies address the organization, the
supervisors, and the employees.

(1) The company and}or employer bears the responsibility for reducing the probability

of sexual harassment (MacLennan, 1992), because in the workplace many individual
strategies are dependent on company policy. In solving the problem, the company
should inform the public of the detrimental eŠ ects such telephone calls can have and
of possible legal consequences (public relations campaigns). Information regarding
sexually harassing calls in the workplace should be continuously passed on to the
employees (especially to newcomers) and to the management. Condemnation of
these incidents should also be made clear throughout the company (internal
information campaigns). At present, a caller can harass employees of most companies
in complete anonymity. Concerned companies should therefore take advantage of
new technologies that would enable them to follow up on a harassing caller, for
instance by displaying her}his telephone number. To facilitate direct employee
action, companies could provide technical equipment that would broadcast a taped
warning to stop the harassment and give notice to the harasser of the potential legal
consequencesof her}his calls (technical innovations). Information on existing sources
of support for victims, such as personnel departments or counselling services, should
be disseminated throughout the company (social support). In cases of sexual
harassment, social support from other aŠ ected persons can be extremely helpful. It
is also important that subjects of harassment receive support from their supervisors.
In the case of the company analysed in the present study, the interviews showed that
the employees had already received this kind of support in the past. The small
percentage of women who sought help from the women’s representative points to
the assistance such o‰ ces can provide, but also to the fact that this route has been
rarely used in the past. For cases of extreme harassment, co-operation with local
support organizations outside the company should also be considered.

(2) Supervisors and managers are responsible for quickly recognizing and solving

problems in the area of on-the-job harassment. Therefore management training
should include information on the phenomenon. Well-informed supervisors can
reduce the high costs of an unproductive workplace environment.

(3) Employees should be responsible for reporting incidents of harassment and taking

appropriate actions. Preventive measures should be introduced either in the initial
training of employees or in the form of continued education once they have been
hired. In these ways knowledge regarding sexual harassment would be transferred.
These include behavioural strategies for harassing situations, strategies for coping
with the experience, information about recognizing harassment, legal recourse, and
established organizational procedures.

This study has produced preliminary information on the topic of sexually harassing calls

at work. Further studies are certainly needed. Still waiting, but indispensable, is the further
investigation into the exact motives and causes behind this phenomenon(see for a  rst study
Stones, 1992). The theories and conjectural models brought to focus on the problem must

Sexual harassment over the telephone

135

be con rmed by experimental and longitudinal studies (for example, appropriate proposals
for investigating daily hassles within longitudinal designs: Brown, 1990). More concretely,
a longitudinal diary study (Weber, and Laux, 1990) in a call centre may lead to new data
on causal relationships between the experience of sexual harassment, stress reactions, coping
strategies, and long-term consequences.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are extended to Sabine Nitz and Josephine Welbers for their assistance with data
collection, and to Heather Perry and Gretchen Wiesehan for their advice on the English
translation.

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Submitted June 1999.
Revised version accepted April 2000.