Harassment issues in the hospitality industry (part 1)

Sometime ago, I received an email from a hotel employee highlighting an issue that is rarely spoken about but very pervasive in the workplace – particularly in the hospitality sector. Reproduced below is a condensed version of that email:-

‘Dear Sir, Having read you articles in news papers and online about tourism, I am bringing this to your notice. I felt that with your experience and hospitality background, you will understand the serious problems faced by some females at work. My wife and I are both students of the hotel school. After completing our basic levels, we found employment-in different hotels. My wife began work at a newly opened resort hotel in Waikkal as a Receptionist. In the 4 months she worked there, she received positive comments from both guests and tour agents for her sincerity and PR. Very recently, the hotel hired a new person as the executive in charge of the front office. This person is in the habit of using obscene language. Soon, he began addressing my wife as b***h, including using the vulgar four-letter word and other swear words. He justifies this type of behaviour by saying that is how he treats staff, particularly receptionists. Unable to bear this mental torture and feeling absolutely fearful, my wife and I decided that she will stop working in this hotel. How can one stand up against such sexual harassment of women in the workplace? We love our motherland, our culture, and we try to be disciplined, believing that women in Sri Lanka must be allowed to live with self respect. I am requesting some guidance from you, as many of us including my wife, who belongs to the future generation, love the hotel and tourism industry.”

After reading this note written in obvious anguish, I promptly wrote back:-

“Dear Ranjan, (Actual name withheld), I am really sorry to read about what happened to your wife. It seems that she is a victim of sexual and other forms of harassment at work and this can certainly lead to severe loss of morale and trust. That your wife has ceased working in this hotel is a good thing- for several reasons, namely:-

• If this hotel does not any policies to eliminate the occurrence of sexual harassment - it will create poor working relationships which can harm the individuals directly and indirectly involved within the hotel, and project a bad image of the hotel.
• The ‘culture’ of this hotel will encourage unhappiness amongst employees.
• This Front Office executive should be protecting his staff against harassment of any kind. What he is doing instead is deplorable. Eventually this kind of person who exploits others will go on to make unreasonable demands in exchange for recommending promotions, suggesting increments or for good appraisals. Failing this, he would make the lives of employees who stand up to him or females who reject his advances, in the workplace, miserable.

Whilst it was sensible for your wife to leave, it may be good to let someone of responsibility at this hotel know about this executive’s abusive conduct. By his continued bad behaviour, he could destroy the life of another innocent girl. Some employees desperately need a job; the more dependent they are on the job, the more they suffer in silence. This is the type of situation such predators enjoy. Happily, there are decent supervisors and managers in other hotels who treat their staff with dignity and respect. Please advise your wife not give up on her dreams, but to keep looking out for such a work-place. ‘

What is Harassment or Bullying?

Harassment or bullying (used interchangeably), is a generic term that covers all kind of abuse; it may be offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to weaken, humiliate, denigrate ,injure or damage a person's well-being, value or dignity. It may be related to age, sex, disability, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or any personal characteristic of the individual, and may be continual or an isolated incident. Bullying or harassment may be caused by an individual against an individual (perhaps by someone in a position of authority such as a manager or supervisor) or involve groups of people. It may be obvious or it may be subtle. The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning, unwarranted and unacceptable to the recipient.

The hospitality industry, described as a ‘people serving people’ sector, is fast moving and demanding. It is a non-stop theater of engagement.  Imagine been cast to act in five different plays running simultaneously on the same stage. Coping with everyday pressure from conflicts, both, within and between departments, employees in service organisations have to interact with frontline staff, back-of-the-house workers, external partners, participating customers and live-in guests. This leads to pressures which can cause staff to react aggressively and become emotionally distressed towards others. Sometimes this can be bullying or harassment or might appear to be so. Employees acting in such a way may not be aware of this and may not feel that they are behaving wrongly.

To be continued.

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