By Lee Hyo-sik
Nearly eight in 10 female salaried workers said they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, mostly by male superiors, a survey found Wednesday.
Two out of every 10 male employees also said they were sexually harassed at least once.
In a survey of 549 salaried employees, conducted by online job portal Incruit, 47.5 percent of them said they had been sexually harassed at work, with 76 percent of females and 24 percent of males reporting they were subject to various forms of sexual ridicule at least once.
Incruit said 73.6 percent were harassed by their superiors, followed by colleagues (13.8 percent) and company owners (11.5 percent) and junior colleagues (1.1 percent). About 61 percent said sexual harassment takes place on a regular basis, with only 39 percent reporting one-time incidents.
Among the various types of sexual harassment, unnecessary physical contact was cited most at 35.6 percent, followed by obscene jokes at 29.9 percent and comments on appearance at 11.5 percent.
About 10.3 percent said they felt offended when sexually approached, with 5.7 percent being forced to serve drinks and dance at a company get-together.
In response to sexual harassment, 55.2 percent said they did nothing and put up with it, while 29.9 percent took steps and expressed their feelings to the harasser.
Only 3.4 percent said they consulted with colleagues about what to do about the situation, with 2.3 percent reporting it to supervisors.
When asked about whether employers implement an education program at least once a year to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, 57.5 percent said they never benefitted from any such session, while 47.5 percent said they were asked to participate in the education program on a regular basis.