SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN NPOs: HOW THE NATURE OF WORK FACILITATES MORAL LICENSING

Nunez and Ollo-Lopez (2022) recently outlined how organizational dysfunctions and characteristics or behavior of a harasser explain the occurrence of sexual harassment in nonprofit organizations (NPOs). In this Exchange I highlight that the nature of the work that is performed in such NPOs is an additional, important risk factor that might facilitate sexual harassment due to moral licensing processes. Specifically, I argue that the prosocial nature of the work that is often conducted in NPOs functions as a driver for moral licensing and the occurrence sexual harassment in two ways: (a) potential harassers will be more likely to engage in sexual harassment due to their history of past moral behavior, and (b) observers will be more likely to tolerate such instances of sexual harassment because they perceive these harassers in overly positive manner. I end this Exchange by discussing potential avenues for future research and appropriate actions.