Typically in the fire service, any dialogue about the consequences of discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace focuses on legal liability and the amount of monetary damages awarded victims. It's necessary for fire service personnel to be aware of the detrimental legal consequences that can result from discriminatory actions. Hopefully, such information also serves as a deterrent for some who may otherwise exhibit such behavior toward a fellow firefighter.

However, seldom do such conversations mention the health consequences of discrimination or harassment. There is a significant amount of research that links poor psychological and physical health with gender and ethnic discrimination and sexual harassment. The majority of the research on ethnic discrimination and its health impact involves black and Hispanic populations. Similar research on sexual orientation is starting to emerge.

Let's discuss both the health effects of discrimination and sexual harassment and appropriate preventive actions that fire chiefs, senior staff and other commanding officers can take in local fire departments, hopefully motivating fire service professionals to embrace a new paradigm regarding workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.

Workplace discrimination and sexual harassment are considered psychosocial and job stressors. In a modified job stressors model by J.J. Hurrell and L.R. Murphy, discrimination and harassment are included in the category of organizational factors. The other two categories of job stressors are job/tasks demands and physical conditions. In the fire service, workplace discrimination typically is experienced by female, non-white and homosexual personnel. This is the result of fire service cultural and demographic norms still being male, heterosexual and white.

Fire department discrimination can manifest itself in several ways, including hyper-supervision by commanding officers, limited or insufficient skills training, lack of social support from co-workers, denial of promotions or of duty assignments necessary for career advancement, duty assignments that involve limited authority and influence over other departmental personnel, or harsher disciplinary actions for similar behaviors in comparison to white male co-workers. Some examples of sexual harassment are unwanted sexual advances; written or computer pornographic materials in the fire stations; unwanted sexual comments; verbal and practical jokes or teasing; and the demand of sexual favors in return for promotions, transfers or cessation of disciplinary actions.

Workplace discrimination and sexual harassment can have negative psychological and physical affects on their victims. Research has linked ethnic and gender discrimination to increased levels of tension, depression, anxiety, anger, sadness, hostility, over-sensitivity, decreased self-esteem, elevated blood pressure, chronic health problems, insomnia, nausea, headaches, and self-reported ill health and disabilities. Clinical researchers estimate 33% of sexual harassment victims exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The typical job outcomes of these health difficulties are increased job absenteeism, injuries and preventable accidents resulting from distraction; and decreased job satisfaction, commitment, productivity and performance. Those suffering these symptoms also prematurely quit their jobs.

Studies have demonstrated that sexual harassment affects not only the victim but also co-workers and others in the organization. This phenomenon is called ambient sexual harassment. Research has shown that men who are members of work groups or organizations in which female co-workers are being harassed report lower job satisfaction and greater psychological distress. These men exhibit greater organizational withdrawal behaviors, including absenteeism, plans of quitting the job and missing work meetings. Furthermore, women who experience ambient sexual harassment report lower job satisfaction with co-workers and supervisors, and decreased levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction.

These actions and reactions can have a detrimental impact on a local fire department. Discrimination and harassment become a budgetary issue not just from a legal standpoint but also from a daily operational perspective. The inability to retain firefighters because of discrimination and harassment represents both lost money to train and certify an individual and the monetary value of that firefighter's experience. Additionally, a department can be faced with increased hirebacks, medical expenses and equipment repair due to this aftermath.

In addition, if the fire department gains the reputation of allowing a hostile work environment, it will face difficulty in gaining the political support of the wronged communities. Political support from these groups can be the deciding factor during debates with city governments on issues pertinent to the department such as salary increases, equipment purchasing and staffing increases.

This type of reputation also serves as an obstacle to recruiting members of these groups. This is significant because the demographics of the available labor force in America is becoming increasingly more diverse. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprised 47% of the labor force in 2000 and are expected to increase to 48% by 2010. Furthermore, the white labor force will decline from 73% in 2000 to 69% in 2010. Hispanics, blacks and Asians will eventually comprise one-third of the labor force in America.

Consequently, any fire department that is unable to successfully recruit and retain female and non-white employees is disregarding a significant portion of the labor force. Thus, fire departments must take deliberate efforts to mitigate workplace discrimination and sexual harassment to establish and maintain a healthy and friendly work environment.

The detrimental health consequences and subsequent negative job outcomes of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment supports the idea that a paradigm shift must occur among fire service professionals at all levels regarding such behaviors. The fire service must recognize that workplace discrimination and sexual harassment are wellness issues with devastating legal, economic, ethical and political consequences. The negative health consequences of discriminatory and sexually harassing behavior and the fire service's self-proclaimed prioritization of firefighter wellness obligate the profession to aggressively address and prevent their occurrence.

Any disregard for these behaviors and their adverse aftermath contradicts the organization's stance that firefighter wellness is important and proves its wellness initiatives lacking. Just as there have been national initiatives by various fire service organizations to educate and prevent poor physical health habits among firefighters that contribute to heart disease and obesity, the same intensity of effort must be directed toward workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. This mandate for action must be champion by fire service professionals and organizations at the national, state and local level to achieve maximum effectiveness.

So what specific actions can fire chiefs and their senior staffs take to aggressively address and mitigate the occurrence of discrimination and sexual harassment? Fire administrators must formulate anti-discrimination and sexual harassment policies. Understandable procedures for the reporting and investigation of any occurrence of discrimination or sexual harassment must be a part of these polices. It must be clear to line firefighters and company officers that the chief and his or her staff are serious in their support and enforcement of such policies and that retaliation against anyone filing a complaint will not be tolerated. A department's mission statement and core values should contain statements about the importance of diversity and inclusion.

Also, the fire chief should appoint an equal employment opportunity officer and ensure that the person is thoroughly trained in EEO law and investigations, and given the proper authority to perform the duties of the position. The individual should report directly to the fire chief, who should consider forming a diversity committee in addition to an EEO officer. This will allow input from departmental personnel at various ranks and levels of the department as to the pertinent diversity issues of their department and possible solutions.

All departmental personnel should be educated about the importance of such issues and the negative legal and health consequences of ignoring such behavior. This education typically takes the form of equal-opportunity employment, human relations or diversity training. Such information can also be included in wellness workshops. Furthermore, objective processes should be established for key areas of the department, such as hiring, promotions, transfers, duty assignments, training opportunities, station assignments and disciplinary actions. This reduces the potential for discrimination or sexual harassment.

Finally, if despite all of these actions a commanding officer receives a discrimination or sexual harassment complaint, it should be addressed with diligence and confidentiality. The management of the complaint should be such that it clearly communicates to all involved departmental personnel that this is a serious matter.

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Portia Rawles, Psy.D., serves as an assistant professor in the Doctor of Psychology program at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. Prior to becoming a licensed clinical psychologist, Rawles served 13 years with Norfolk (Va.) Fire and Paramedical Services, now Norfolk Fire and Rescue. She retired as a captain and continues to serve locally on the regional CISM team and consult with public safety agencies. Write to her at Regent University, School of Psychology and Counseling, 1000 University Drive, CRB 215, Virginia Beach, Va., 23464; or e-mail portraw@regent.edu.