The Issue of Workplace Harassment

One of the major problems that are arising in the modern day scenario is workplace harassment. This is one of the most important things that need proper observation and solutions, If this problem is not solved properly, and then this problem will be increasing at a very rapid rate. As a result of this, the organization has to make sure that they are taking some very strict actions for finding the solution to it. One of such similar incident that has taken place in the recent times is the case of sexual harassment that has taken place in Telstra (Searle et al. 2017). As was covered by the famous media site that is The Sydney Morning Herald, One of the former female employees of this company has filed a complaint against her boss (Duke 2019). The charges that have been brought by her say that she had to face immense discrimination at her workplace.

This might be seen from the viewpoint of many different theories and perspectives. This is mainly because of the fact that the boss might have analyzed his action from one point of view and the female employee is viewing the same from another. One of the theories they can be used in this context is that of monists and pluralists. The monists are of the view that they can do anything that is of intrinsic good (Matthews 2017). In other words, they think that anything is good they can give them their personal pleasure. However, it is not true because of the fact that people might do several things for getting their personal pleasure but at the end of the day, it might not be actually true. Monists usually go by the principle of hedonism.

They usually value pleasure over pain. However this philosophy might be good enough for one person, however, on the other hand, it might be equally and or negative for another person who is usually standing at the receiving end. The pluralists on the other hand usually go by the non-hedonism philosophy. They think that life is a mixture of intelligence wisdom, pure pleasures of the soul. As far as the verdict of the female employee she has been subjected to workplace harassment and also workplace discrimination. She was working as a mobile provider. She took up this post as she knew that she is intelligent and has the wisdom if satisfying all the responsibilities that are actually associated with this particular post. However, on the other hand, the boss might have thought her to be unsuitable for this post and started discriminating between her and her male counterparts. This has surely hurt the emotions and the sentiments of the female employee.

Case Study: Sexual Harassment in Telstra

However, this topic of workplace harassment is getting viral. As a result of this, female employees are facing a huge problem in each and every sphere. They are of the opinion that their managers or leaders are not being able to believe in their capabilities. There is a large scale difference in the way in which they are treated. It is really a matter of great humiliation if the female employees are being given less pay than their male counterparts only because of the fact that they are of a different gender. There is a large scale gender bias that is being carried on in each and every sphere at the workplace. However, the boss who was charged with the allegations has refused all those charges. He has shown a total refusal against the charges that have been launched against him. He was of the opinion that the female employee is just bringing false allegations against the boss. He has also said that the female employee is now trying to take back the charges that she has launched against him. She is also trying to make up for the losses that she had suffered in terms of medical bills, lost wages, interest, and other such expenses. However, this issue must properly be looked after so that the people who are working in the Multinational companies can be assured to get a free and fair job ambiance.

These kinds of incidents have been taking place all around the world. Thus, one needs to be very sure about the fact that the manners and the leaders in each and every company are showing an equal amount of respect to the male and female employees. The companies have to abide by the fact that all the employees are to be properly respected. The appreciations and the praises must be given to all the employees irrespective of their gender, socioeconomic status, linguistic background, and many other such socio-economic aspects.

As was covered by the news article The Sydney Morning Herald, the accused Mr. Coli (who was the boss) has said that he has been defending all the charges and all the allegations that have been brought against him. He has also said that he will be doing the same eve in future. They feel that this is right and it is the right way at which they have to move forward. However, as per the opinion of Stone, Jawahar and Kisamore (2016) egoism is not always good. It might be right and also wrong. People might turn out to be very harmful towards others in their attempt of being egoistic (Overall 2016). It can happen that Mr. Coli is trying to get rid of all the allegations that have been brought against him. However, this must be noted that in this context the concept of egoism is actually having a very bad impact on the female employee. It is also said that people who are egoists often think that they can take any decisions for their personal well being.

Different Perspectives and Theories

In order to make sure that they are being able to satisfy their needs and their physical well being, they try to prove their points by hook or by crook. In order to do that they always take their own decisions and do not really like to listen to the opinions or the thoughts of others.  One particular aspect of the theory of egoism deals with the fact that the old and senior telemarketers might often exhibit this notion. This is because of the fact that they often try to show their power or their dominance over the other employees or the customers who are vulnerable. They might be vulnerable because of the fact that they are subjected to the fear of losing their economic independence. This part of the theory can be very easily reflected and related to this particular case.

 This is because of the fact that the boss or Mr. Coli is the one who is the powerful and the dominant factor here. On the other hand, the female employee which had launched the complaint is the one who is the vulnerable and the weak person. However, the news article has also tried to throw light on the other part of the story. They have also tried to add a tinge of spice in their news article by saying that there is still no evidence regarding the charges that have actually been filed by the female employees. This is also one of the important parts of the story. It can also happen that the female employees trying to bring some false charge over her boss and the company as a whole due to some kinds of grudges or complaints that she might be having against them.

However, at the same time, the Sydney Morning Herald has also thrown light on the fact that the company has promised to show full support in order to bring a free and fair environment within their organization. They have promised that they will be trying their best to help and support their employees. Telstra has supported the protest against the sexual or the workplace harassments that often take place within the office premises. As far as the highlights of the article that has been covered by The Sydney Morning Heralds.

A Telstra spokesman said the company was “committed to maintaining an environment … that’s inclusive and supportive”. This is evident of the fact that the organization is trying their level best to make the work ambiance free from all these issues. They will be taking the matters of sexual harassment very seriously and will make sure that the victim gets proper justice and at the same time, the person who is actually guilty gets the proper punishment. However, there is still no evidence regarding the fact on whether the boss or the female employee is the culprits. However whatever may be the case people are waiting for the proper justice (Matthews 2017). They will wait and will go to the end in order to see if Mr. Coli is really at fault or the female employee is just trying to ruin the reputation of Mr. Coli or the Telstra Company as whole just in order to bring out her personal grudge(Cheung, C., Baum, T. and Hsueh 2018).

Initiatives by Telstra to Address Workplace Harassment

At the same time, one cannot ignore the several other examples where the female employees have faced workplace discriminations and workplace harassments as well. A good example in this context is the mass walk out that was started by the Google employees in order to show a protest against workplace discrimination. Many of the employees gathered outside the office in order to make sure that they are being able to show their anger and their protest against the kinds of disparities and the sexual abuses that they have been facing in the workplace (Sethi 2016). This shows that there is a possibility in the charges that are brought by the female employee against their boss Mr. Coli. If a hugely famous and well know company like Google can be involved in such scams then there is no doubt that the female employees in all rye other companies might also be suffering through this problem. Same was also seen in the case of the world famous food chain Macdonald’s. The female employees at this organization were also subjected to a huge discrepancy or kinds of harassment. They have also said that these harassments were mainly caused by the bosses or the leaders. In other words, the management was mainly responsible for subjecting the female employees to these workplace harassments.

Same was the case in Google harassment as well. This was mainly because of the mass walk out and the protest marches that made the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai has also responded to the protests and said that he will make sure to provide proper protection to all the people who are living here. This has made a remarkable effect on the fact that the workplace harassments are actually very common and are taking place at a very rapid rate (Joseph and Hashmi 2018). It is for this reason that this matter must be taken proper care of and the industry must always try to solve these kinds of problems. Sundar Pichai has also made sure that he will be making the policy much more transparent and will take care of the interests of each and every employee (Valentine et al. 2017). It is a huge time that the management treats all the employees in a fair and sound manner. Thus, Telstra hopes to set some very transparent and true policies that will help the company to maintain a clear and transparent balance between the male and the female employees. The case of Telstra has been brought into the court and the case is still proceeding. Thus, the actual cause can be brought to the limelight only when the court gives out the final judgment.

Examples of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment

Thus, it can b concluded that the theory of egoism is most relevant in this work as They will make sure that the female employee is not being able to attain success in all the false charges or the false allegations that she has brought against the company and the boss Mr. Coli in particular. In this context, the theory of egoism might come into force. This is mainly because of the fact that people who are egoists think themselves to be correct at every point in time. They feel that they are right and do not usually think it right to take up the views or the opinions of others.

References

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