___________ occurs when an employer or other employee subjects an employee to sexual innuendos, remarks, and/or physical acts so offensive that it alters the conditions of the employee's employment and creates an abusive work environment.

The term that describes the situation where an employer or other employee subjects an employee to sexual innuendos, remarks, and/or physical acts that are sufficiently offensive to alter the conditions of the employee's employment and create an abusive work environment is known as a hostile work environment. This concept is a specific type of sexual harassment recognized in law, where the actions of one or more individuals create a work setting that is intimidating, hostile, or abusive.

In a hostile work environment, the behavior is pervasive or severe enough that it negatively impacts the victim's ability to perform their job. This is distinct from other terms such as sexual harassment, which encompasses a broader range of behaviors that could be non-hostile, workplace bullying, which may not specifically involve sexual undertones but relates more generally to mistreatment, and discrimination, which covers unfair treatment based on any characteristic such as race, gender, or religion rather than specifically focusing on the creation of a hostile work setting. Thus, a hostile work environment captures the specific dynamics of how offensive behavior can damage the workplace climate and an employee's work experience.