The World of Work

This chapter presents some of the moral issues connected to the world of work. It aims to present multiple perspectives and an example of how to use the moral perspectives to decide what is right and to justify that decision. The chapter discusses the features into two categories. First, there are things about specific work activities that can be unpleasant for workers. Second, there are aspects of working conditions at some companies that people particularly hate. The moral arguments against sexual harassment are essentially the same as the arguments against discrimination, since sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. The effects of sexual harassment accrue to the individual worker in the form of loss of job, wages and/or position, retaliation, and stress. Employers are legally liable for sexual harassment by supervisors, whether or not management knew about it, and by coworkers, if management knew or should have known about the harassment.