Implications of #MeToo On Business Students' Perceptions

Abstract

Recent media coverage of high profile sexual harassment scandals and subsequent #MeToo publicity confirms continual issues related to sexual harassment in today’s workplace. Our research objectives were to examine if business students felt that #MeToo has changed perceptions regarding workplace misconduct and has influenced the development of anti-harassment cultures. We anticipated that the #MeToo movement has provided emerging professionals with increased knowledge and resources regarding workplace harassment. In Fall 2018, 45 college juniors and seniors volunteered to participate and completed a survey of 12 questions designed to (a) determine students’ expectations of their future employers regarding harassment training, (b) discover students’ familiarity of social media anti-harassment movements, and (c) examine how students would anticipate handling sexual harassment violations. Students indicated a variety of preferred reporting methods including sources within and outside of businesses. Findings also indicated that students felt that increased training (more than yearly) from internal and external sources was recommended to address anti-harassment cultures.