In a Superstar Economy, a Bull Market in Superstar Harassers
- 7 years ago
In a Superstar Economy, a Bull Market in Superstar Harassers
“They may be tempted to ignore the misconduct because, the thinking goes, losing the superstar would be too costly.”
Superstar harassers account for a fraction of the harassment allegations in the workplace, according to Chai R.
Feldblum, one of the commissioners who oversaw the report, but these individuals can have considerable impact.
“They seem to also get away with things,” he said, “in a way they would never be able to do if they were not viewed as superstars.”
Professor Katz cited a study by two economists in which corporate chief executives who won high-profile awards, typically those conferred
by major business publications, subsequently spent more time away from the job on outside pursuits like writing books.
A study by two researchers in 2015 found that the benefit to an employer of retaining a “toxic” employee, such as a sexual harasser, who was in the top 1 percent of productivity was outweighed by the cost of keeping
that employee — by a ratio of more than two to one, and probably by far more than that.
In a CNN report, women who worked at ABC News made allegations of inappropriate advances and sexual contact by Mark Halperin, a prominent journalist who was once the division’s political director,
but said they feared reporting him to network executives because Mr. Halperin had been a powerful figure there.
Whether it was Bill O’Reilly at Fox, which reportedly gave Mr. O’Reilly a $100 million contract extension just weeks after he signed a $32 million settlement with an accuser, or Harvey Weinstein, who paid out at least eight settlements to women who had accused him of harassment
and unwanted contact, employers and board members appear to have gone to great lengths to avoid jeopardizing the careers of luminaries accused of misbehavior.
Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard University, said in an interview
that although he had seen no reliable data on superstars and sexual harassment per se, evidence showed that organizations tended to tolerate a wide range of misbehavior from people they perceived as stars.
“They may be tempted to ignore the misconduct because, the thinking goes, losing the superstar would be too costly.”
Superstar harassers account for a fraction of the harassment allegations in the workplace, according to Chai R.
Feldblum, one of the commissioners who oversaw the report, but these individuals can have considerable impact.
“They seem to also get away with things,” he said, “in a way they would never be able to do if they were not viewed as superstars.”
Professor Katz cited a study by two economists in which corporate chief executives who won high-profile awards, typically those conferred
by major business publications, subsequently spent more time away from the job on outside pursuits like writing books.
A study by two researchers in 2015 found that the benefit to an employer of retaining a “toxic” employee, such as a sexual harasser, who was in the top 1 percent of productivity was outweighed by the cost of keeping
that employee — by a ratio of more than two to one, and probably by far more than that.
In a CNN report, women who worked at ABC News made allegations of inappropriate advances and sexual contact by Mark Halperin, a prominent journalist who was once the division’s political director,
but said they feared reporting him to network executives because Mr. Halperin had been a powerful figure there.
Whether it was Bill O’Reilly at Fox, which reportedly gave Mr. O’Reilly a $100 million contract extension just weeks after he signed a $32 million settlement with an accuser, or Harvey Weinstein, who paid out at least eight settlements to women who had accused him of harassment
and unwanted contact, employers and board members appear to have gone to great lengths to avoid jeopardizing the careers of luminaries accused of misbehavior.
Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard University, said in an interview
that although he had seen no reliable data on superstars and sexual harassment per se, evidence showed that organizations tended to tolerate a wide range of misbehavior from people they perceived as stars.