The victims of sexual harassment who have recently come forward are far from alone: Nearly half of women say they have experienced some form of it at work at least once in their careers. But there has been little research about those responsible.

In a new survey, about a third of men said they had done something at work within the past year that would qualify as objectionable behavior or sexual harassment.

We asked: In the last year at work, have you …

Told sexual stories or jokes that some might consider offensive?

Made remarks that some might consider sexist or offensive?

Displayed, used or distributed materials (like videos or cartoons) that some might consider sexist or suggestive?

Made attempts to draw someone into a discussion of sexual matters even though the person did not want to join in?

Made gestures or used body language of a sexual nature, which embarrassed or offended someone?

Continued to ask someone for dates , drinks or dinner even though he or she said no?

Made attempts to establish a romantic sexual relationship with someone despite that person’s efforts to discourage it?

Touched someone in a way that made him or her feel uncomfortable?

Made uninvited attempts to stroke, fondle or kiss someone ?

Offered or implied rewards if someone engaged in sexual behavior? Or treated someone badly if he or she didn’t?

Each face below represents one man who responded to the survey, and the behaviors he admitted to. Taken together, the faces give a sense of just how widespread this conduct is, and the forms it may take. The colors show how each of the 615 men responded:

Men with several colors admitted to more than one behavior. Show All 615 Responses

The survey — the result of a collaboration between The New York Times, leading sexual harassment researchers and the polling and media company Morning Consult — was nationally representative of men who work full time.

The percentage of men who say they performed each behavior in the last year 19% 16% 7% 1% 4% Jokes or stories Sexual materials Sexist remarks Gestures Unwanted sex talk 4% 3% 2% 1% 2% Ask relationship after no Stroke Touch Sexual coercion Ask dates after no Sexist remarks Sexual materials Unwanted sex talk Jokes or stories Gestures Ask dates after no Ask relationship after no Touch Stroke Sexual coercion Unwanted sex talk Sexual materials Jokes or stories Sexist remarks Touch Ask relationship after no Ask dates after no Gestures Stroke Sexual coercion

How many men admit to one of these actions?

The most common type of action is what researchers call gender harassment. This includes telling crude jokes or stories and sharing inappropriate videos. About 25 percent of men in the survey said they had done at least one of these things.

Another category is unwanted sexual attention: actions like touching, making comments about someone’s body and asking colleagues on dates after they’ve said no. About 10 percent of men reported such behavior. Least common is sexual coercion, which includes pressuring people into sexual acts by offering rewards or threatening retaliation. Two percent of men said they had done such a thing recently.

Some men were probably unwilling to tell the truth in the survey. But the results captured just how many admitted to some form of harassing behavior.

After answering questions about particular behaviors, the men were asked if some of their own actions might be considered harassment. Many did not identify harassing behaviors as such. But even counting only those who said yes, the survey suggests that, at a minimum, one in 25 men in the average American workplace identifies himself as a harasser. (An additional two in 25 said they did not know whether their actions could be classified in this way.)

The actions in the survey don’t necessarily meet the legal standard for sexual harassment. But they fall under a psychological standard that is used more often by researchers, in corporate policies and in everyday life.

Legally, harassment is considered problematic if it is severe, like groping or offering favors for a sexual interaction, or if the behavior is frequent and continuing, even if it is not severe.

“In general, frequency is the most important component,” said Louise Fitzgerald, a leading researcher on sexual harassment, who for the past 30 years has advised on the issue for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. “Even milder forms of harassment can be extremely damaging if they happen frequently and continue over time.”

In the Times polling, 12 percent of men said that they had either engaged in at least three of the listed actions in the past year, or performed the same action at least three times. Excluding jokes or remarks cuts that figure in half.

But actions like jokes may not be entirely benign. Men who admitted to telling sexual stories or jokes were about five times as likely to report other harassing behaviors.

The crucial role of workplace culture

The phenomenon cuts across demographic divides, the poll shows. Harassing behaviors are committed by blue-collar and white-collar workers, Democrats and Republicans, the young and the old, the married and the unmarried, high earners and low ones, people who feel powerful at work and those who do not.

The percentage of men who say they engaged in one of these behaviors 38% Blue-collar worker White-collar worker 24 38% Blue-collar worker 24 White-collar worker Blue-collar worker 38% White-collar worker 24

“Most harassment is not by high-profile celebrities,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “This is so common in places that are very far from the spotlight. This is endemic.”

A major difference between those who harass and those who don’t is the culture at their workplace. Behaviors associated with harassment are especially prevalent among men who say their company does not have guidelines against harassment, hotlines to report it or punishment for perpetrators, or who say their managers don’t care.

The percentage of men who say they engaged in one of these behaviors Thinks immediate supervisor makes reasonable efforts to stop all sexual harassment 31% Thinks immediate supervisor does not 43 Thinks immediate supervisor makes reasonable efforts to stop all sexual harassment 31% Thinks immediate supervisor does not 43 Thinks immediate supervisor makes reasonable efforts to stop all sexual harassment 31% Thinks immediate supervisor does not 43

In short, organizations play a big role in curbing or permitting harassment, said Vicki Magley, a professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut.

“Research finds that sexual harassment occurs when it is tolerated — that is, when policies are not enforced and when incidents are not taken seriously,” she said.

The behavior of colleagues, especially immediate leaders, also has a powerful effect on whether men engage in harassing behavior, according to research by John Pryor, an emeritus distinguished professor of psychology at Illinois State University. “We find that they won’t do that when there is a presence of a role model who models professional behavior,” Professor Pryor said. “Social norms come into play.”

The resentment factor

Men who worked in the food and beverage industry and in blue-collar jobs, as well as those who were white or Republicans, were more likely to acknowledge harassing behavior. So were those who described a feeling of resentment, saying that they were unappreciated by coworkers or superiors or that colleagues received undeserved promotions.

Men with graduate degrees or strong disapproval of President Trump reported lower rates of harassing colleagues. Those who said that they never showed up to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or didn’t socialize with colleagues outside of work, were also significantly less likely to acknowledge such actions.

The percentage of men who say they engaged in one of these behaviors Strongly approves of the job Donald Trump is doing as President 37% 31 Somewhat approves Somewhat disapproves 28 Strongly disapproves 25 Strongly approves of the job Donald Trump is doing as President 37% 31 Somewhat approves 28 Somewhat disapproves 25 Strongly disapproves Strongly approves of the job Donald Trump is doing as President 37% Somewhat approves 31 Somewhat disapproves 29 Strongly disapproves 25

Why the problem might be even worse

The Times and Morning Consult started with a widely used survey of harassment of women at work, the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire. With help from Professors Fitzgerald, Pryor and Magley, the questions were adjusted to ask about people’s actions, instead of their possible experiences as victims.

Polls asking people to self-report bad behavior are inherently challenging. To ensure that responses were as accurate as possible, respondents were promised confidentiality, and questions about harassing behaviors were mixed among less sensitive ones, about topics like using Facebook at work or commuting by bike.

Research suggests that online surveys, as this one was, may be more likely to elicit socially undesirable opinions than surveys that reach people in other ways. But a separate telephone survey of 500 men that included several of the core questions found very similar rates of reported behavior. (That survey was conducted for The Times by SSRS of Glen Mills, Pa.)

A third approach to determine the prevalence of possible sexual harassment was to ask men and women not about their own behavior but about that of their colleagues. Those results were generally within a few percentage points of the self-reported ones.

There are reasons to doubt the absolute numbers from these surveys. Misreporting might make the numbers too low. Counting harmless actions might make them too high.

In separate, smaller surveys, women were only somewhat less likely than men to admit to harassing behavior, even though men, in polls and in formal complaints, are far less likely to say they’ve been sexually harassed. It could be that men and women see the same behavior in different ways.

What women say

Workplace harassment may be decreasing. In surveys of federal government employees, the percentage of women who said they had experienced one of eight harassing behaviors in the last two years was 18 percent, less than half the percentage it was in 1994.

Still, harassment is widespread in American workplaces. And perhaps most notably, culprits are not restricted to the bad actors themselves, but include the climates created by their co-workers and supervisors.

Studies that ask about specific behaviors instead of general questions tend to find greater prevalence of harassment, as do studies that ask about longer time periods.

Professor Fitzgerald emphasized the role that companies play, and the ability of perpetrators, especially those who aren’t famous, to deny any allegations and walk away unscathed.