Dirty Jokes at Work Are Non-Productive

We all know the extrovert who gets laughs and pats on the back for his ability to tell a series of raunchy jokes. And quite a lot of them are really funny. But two Canadian studies reported in the Journal of Applied Psychology failed to find any positive effects of such non-harassing sexual behavior.

The first study surveyed 238 manufacturing and social service workers about their psychological well-being, work withdrawal, and exposure to sexual behavior at work. They were asked how often they were exposed to different non-harassing sexual behaviors (jokes, innuendos, discussions about sex, or flirtation) and how much they enjoyed or were bothered by them. Replies showed that 58% of them – more men than women - were exposed to such behavior during the past 2 years.

The second survey questioned 1,004 university staff about their psychological well-being, drug use, feelings of being valued at work, and exposure to sexual behavior at work (as in the first study). The results reported 40% of them had been exposed to sexual behavior in the past year.

Some participants enjoyed sexual behavior at work; over a quarter of them found it fun or flattering, but slightly more found it stressful or bothersome. Most felt neutral about it. Men tended to enjoy sexual behavior, but women tended to dislike it, as expected.

In contrast to the researchers’ expectations, participants who experienced sexual behavior (either positively or negatively) reported more work withdrawal than those who did not experience such behavior. (‘Work withdrawal’ meant absenteeism and/or wanting to quit.) Similarly, those who rarely experienced sexual behavior and who disliked it had the highest levels of psychological well-being, whereas those who enjoyed sexual behavior at work and/or experienced a lot of it had low levels of well-being.

Smart managers will respond to these findings, and work to eliminate the sources of sexual behavior at work, no matter how non-harassing it may be.