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1. Introduction
Workplace sexual harassment (WSH) refers to any form of unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature (verbal, non-verbal or physical) that is perceived by the recipient as hostile, humiliating or threatening his/her well-being (Fitzgerald et al., 1997; Ram et al., 2016). WSH is a universal phenomenon. In the past two decades, research has devoted considerable attention to WSH and has accumulated empirical evidence on the subject (O’Leary-Kelly et al., 2009; Li et al., 2016). Research has shown that WSH has adverse effects on employees’ work behaviors, attitudes and well-being, including reduced productivity and job performance, increased job and work withdrawal, decreased organizational commitment and job satisfaction, life dissatisfaction, mental health issues and stress (Collinsworth et al., 2009; Fitzgerald et al., 1997; Gettman and Gelfand, 2007; Willness et al., 2007).
As suggested by previous research, WSH is widespread in hospitality organizations (Li et al., 2016; Madera et al., 2018; Ram et al., 2016). Considering the harm of WSH, extensive research to enhance the understanding of WSH in the hospitality context is vital. However, the current studies in the hospitality industry remain surprisingly insufficient and limited (Ram et al., 2016). Among the current literature, researchers have investigated mainly the effect of WSH on employees’ positive behaviors, including service performance (Liu et al., 2014) and proactive customer service behavior (Li et al., 2016). However, hardly any studies have focused on the effect of WSH on hospitality employees’ negative behavior, both in the workplace and in family life. As workplace stressors that create outrage and frustration are major causes of deviant behaviors (Colbert et al., 2004), we contend that WSH, characterized by unwanted and offensive sexual-related behaviors, can drive hospitality employees to engage in deviance as an outlet for rage and depression. Thus, our first objective is to investigate whether WSH leads to hospitality employees’ workplace deviance, including organizational deviance and interpersonal deviance.
Moreover, the current literature has focused mainly on the impact of WSH on employees’ work-related consequences. Much less research has paid attention to the effects of WSH on employee family life (Liao et al., 2016), especially in the hospitality context. It is crucial to fill this gap as the family...