Effects Of Sexual Harassment On The Performance Of Female Guards In Private Security Companies In Nairobi City County.

Abstract

Sexual harassment has been in a virtual assumption of not being in existence in our workplaces and the society at large but in reality the majority of the workforce is subjects to the vice. With global occurrences, the female guards are not exempted from such harassments. In Kenya, deployment is overly done with conditions not discriminating the gender bias hence providing a loophole for sexual harassment incidents. The stigma involved as a result of sexual harassment therefore, drains the cumulative workforce output otherwise known as performance. Thus, this study undertook an investigation into the effects of sexual harassment on performance of female guards in Private Security Companies as a case of Nairobi City County. The study was guided by three specific objectives; To assess the contribution of law and company policies in instances of workplace sexual harassments and how it affects the performance of female guards in PSCs; To examine how deployment of guards influence sexual harassment of female guards and how it affects their performance; To explore how the process of grievance management in instances of sexual harassment of female guards and how it affects their performance. The study was grounded on the argentic harasser and organizational theories. It applied descriptive research design, with a target population of 380 from 38 PSCs and sample of 25% of the sample size for observation. The data was collected using structured questionnaires targeting female guards and interview schedules targeting female line supervisors and managers. Data analysis was incorporated in a linear model and outcomes presented in graphs, charts, tables and narratives. The study found out that the Banking Institutions are the largest employers of private security services. The findings showed that a good number of the respondents were aware that there are policies or laws used to discipline the perpetrators. The study further found out that, female guards assigned to work in a group of their fellow female colleagues receive no cases of sexual harassment and they are more productive and less prone to sexual harassment cases as opposed to when deployed to a team of male guards. The study recommended that regulation on the institutionalization of code of conduct, and key policies in private security companies should be put in place by the relevant ministry. The study will benefit the Private Security Companies; provide solutions to sexual harassment incidents and act as precedence and textual reference study to researcher.