Organizational Stress: Investigating the Impact of Dual Harassment Experiences on Appraisal and Outcomes‪.‬

The current research investigated the impact of dual harassment stressors on physical health, psychological health, and work related attitudes and behaviors. A second goal was to examine the impact of experiencing dual forms of harassment on one's primary appraisal of their experience. Participants included 153 female college students who indicated working at least part-time at their place of employment. All participants completed a Workplace Experiences Survey including measures of personal and bystander harassment. Support was found for the prediction that experiencing dual forms of harassment leads to more negative work attitudes and greater work withdrawal, but no support was found for similar predictions with regard to appraisal, physical health, psychological health, and job withdrawal. Results are discussed in terms of organizational implications and directions for future research. "He has repeatedly, since I have worked there, said disgusting and vulgar things about women. I have gone home or stayed home many times so I wouldn't have to face him or hear the remarks he would make throughout the day" (Survey respondent, United States Merit Systems Protection Board [USMSPB], 1995, p. 24). It appears that this individual was subjected to recurring derogatory comments about women and, as a result, suffered emotional distress and withdrew from her job. As is apparent in much of the harassment literature, such consequences are common among victims of sexual harassment. The current study sought to extend research on harassment by examining the impact of experiencing dual forms of harassment: personal harassment and bystander harassment. An additional goal was to examine how such experiences relate to one's cognitive appraisal of their situation.