Unfortunately, for many people work is not a place where there is much peace and can be quite stressful to go to. There are people being harassed at work every day and they dread going in. Many feel powerless to do anything about it. Whether it’s because they are afraid of losing their income, or because they think it’s just a part of life they continue to allow themselves to be harassed.
There are many different types of harassment that people will face at work. It’s important to understand what they are since many people don’t always know if they are being harassed. When you understand there’s a problem then you can go to a lawyer who will help you get through things since that is what employment lawyers do. In this article, we will go over the most common forms of harassment so you can identify the problem and seek help.
1 – Sexual harassment
The type of harassment that most people think of when they hear the word is sexual harassment. The problem is that it can be so insidious that some people don’t even realize that they are being harassed or that the harasser even realizes that they are causing problems.
Sexual harassment isn’t always as obvious as a boss asking for sexual favors in order fo ryou to get a promotion or to not be fired. Sometimes it’s a series of denigrating comments or jokes of a sexual nature that makes you feel uncomfortable.
The problem is that it is rarely something that is so obvious as to be easy to report. Harassers often know how to cover their tracks for plausible deniability. They create an environment in which you may feel like it isn’t worth reporting since it seems like it will go nowhere.
2 – Bullying
There are bullies everywhere these days from the internet to schools. There is even a sizable number of bullies in the workplace. Some people feel the need to dominate others and need to make them feel little so they can feel big themselves. When you are bullied at work it makes for a very tricky situation.
It may feel like there is little to be done if the bully is your boss or if you are afraid to lose your income by getting fired for speaking up. Retaliation is a common occurrence in toxic workplaces which acts as a deterrent for people trying to stop being bullied.
3 – Retaliation
Retaliation is a very common tactic for unscrupulous bosses and managers. It is used as a tool to continue doing unethical and sometimes illegal things for work. The way it works is that it prevents people from coming forward to complain about things like being harassed or bullied. People may also want to come forward to complain about a company policy or because they are witnessing something they know is illegal.
Then they are threatened with being fired for no reason, have their schedules changed, are denied promotions, or are otherwise made to feel uncomfortable at work.
