The Effect of Sexual Harassment of Female Employees on the Level of Performance among Anambra State Civil Servants

Abstract

Sexual harassment has become an issue of global discourse. This singular act was adjudged to be very offensive and is targeted mostly at female employees which violates their fundamental human rights and reduces their dignity as women. Whenever sexual harassment occurs, it creates a negative scene which harms their level of performance in the workplace. To this end, this study focused on the effect of sexual harassment of female employees on the level of performance in the Anambra State Civil Service. The study adopted the descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. Four research questions guided the study. Role identity theory was adopted as the theoretical framework of the study. The sample size for the study was 180 female employees who were selected through the proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Data for the study were collected through questionnaire administration and data collected were processed using the SPSS software package. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics like simple percentages, and frequency tables. The hypotheses were tested using chi-square (χ2) statistical inference. Findings of the study revealed that the female employees of Anambra State Civil Service at the lower cadre experience more sexual harassment and this affects the level of performance in their workplace. The study recommended the need for the Commission to come up with tough policies aimed at reducing the incidence of sexual harassment.