Intimate relations in the workplace and sex harassment – remarks following the Supreme Court ruling of 23 January 2018, number III PK 13/17

Abstract

In the paper, the author, revolving around the Supreme Court’s ruling linking close human relations in the workplace to the deterioration of management practices, critically analyses the dominant viewpoint espousing the need to strike out intimate behaviours from organizations. The author points to the significant impact of management theories, feminist trends and managerialization of law on the escalating de-sexualization of the workplace. In the article, it is evidenced that the overbearing conviction about the negative impact of intimate and sexual bonds on the working relations demands reinterpretation. It is also shown that consideration of sexual and intimate behaviours in organizations, irrespective of sex structures in these organizations, may paradoxically contribute to sex discrimination. The author offers the idea to modify the rules of employers’ liability depending on the sex structure and the number of women holding positions of authority and responsibility.

Keywords

• sexual harassment
• sex segregation
• sex discrimination
• equality in workplace