Harassment must never happen in the work environment. You should never feel threatened in any way while doing your job. This, unfortunately, is not always the case. According to an Australian survey from 2018, one in three people has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. To fight off these numbers we all must be informed about ways of recognizing and handling workplace harassment.
The last step in handling harassment is to deal with it legally and get the personal injury lawyers involved. However, be certain to try to deal with the issue within the company as your employer has a legal obligation to provide safe and healthy working conditions and create a workplace harassment policy that every employee will be informed of.
What is workplace harassment?
Workplace harassment is verbal, psychological, physical, or any other type of abuse done by your employer, manager, colleague, or group of people at work. It can have different purposes: creating an unsafe, intimidating, or hostile work environment; interference with the victim’s working performance; or in any way affecting the performance of the bullying target.
Sexual harassment
This is the most spoken-about type of harassment. It is most known for the #metoo movement and similar public feuds among famous people. Unfortunately, it is not even close to being less known outside of Hollywood. The harasser will demand submission to conduct, usually to get the opportunity to work, to get benefits at work, or gets in between their daily duties with sexual actions to create a hostile environment. Always remember that both men and women can be victims.
Verbal harassment
As a non-physical type of violence, it is not easy to recognize as harsh words can be a grey area between harassment and a dynamic workplace. It can involve epithets, slurs, offensive jokes, name-calling, repeated conflicts, etc. Any of these will be directed toward a person that will feel threatened, and this type of harassment will definitely impact their mental health.
Psychological harassment
Often also non-physical, psychological harassment involves repeated hostile behaviour towards a worker. Keeping the information, gaslighting, exaggerating the workload, taking credit for others’ work, and other forms of single or even group bullying. Most of the behaviour is done on purpose and it should never be taken lightly.
Physical harassment
Physical harassment involves everything from light but inappropriate touches or more severe gestures like assaults and threats to violence and property damage. Even if it is a light touch if unwanted it is considered a type of harassment. Sexual harassment is a type of physical harassment, but it is noted and dealt with separately from physical harassment. If it is downplayed as a joke, it is still harassment.
Digital harassment (cyberbullying)
Even if you are working remotely, or have a co-worker that engages in inappropriate behaviour towards another co-worker only in a social media setting, this is still considered harassment. It can be anything from messages, e-mails, calls, or even dedicated hate pages. Be certain to gather evidence in this case as it is easy.
Do not retaliate
Whatever is happening, the safest way out is not to deal with the abuser on your own. It is especially important not to give the opportunity to the abuser to avert the blame from them to you. It will make the matter more difficult, especially if it comes out of the company. You also shouldn’t complain to other co-workers unless you see them dealing with a similar issue. You cannot know the relationships of others outside of work.
Keep records and get witnesses
If it has to go to the court, personal injury lawyers will easily win with every piece of evidence you gather. This is why it is so important to include each data, picture, link, or other detail you get to. With solid proof of harassment done, especially if they’re also were consequences on the victim’s performance, it should be noted. This is precisely why there should be a workplace harassment policy in each company – to inform and help in stressful situations.
Report it
Most companies will have work harassment policies that explain the process of a harassment report. If you have an HR department or responsible individual for safe work conditions, report the harassment immediately. If there is a report needed to be filed, write down everything you know and file it. Evidence or not, the responsible department must be notified. Whether witness or victim, fill out every detail, especially including dates, spaces, and other possible witnesses.
Maintain your work ethic
If you are the victim, even though it is hard to deal with seeing your perpetrator at work and you might want to run away from it all, hold. You are not the one at fault and therefore should not suffer any consequences. For some types of harassment, only disciplinary measures will be enough, whereas some will result in immediate resignation. Apart from that, the company didn’t manage to provide you with the promised working conditions so you are eligible for compensation. You have lost your rights and therefore company owes you those rights back along with compensation.
Ask for support
Whichever type of harassment you encounter or become a victim of, it is completely normal to be left troubled. It is completely normal to lean on our close ones for support and comprehension. Also, you can and should ask for professional help if you need to do so. It is not easy to deal with injustice, especially if it has been done by your supervisors who were supposed to be your and the company’s role models. Taking some time off or eventually looking for a job in another company is also completely normal.
Work harassment is a hard subject to speak about and can be a taboo in many companies. It still doesn’t make it disappear and if not dealt with cannot bring justice to victims. No matter how you want to deal with it, choose to do it within legal structures, as this will give the best result to everyone who was, is, or would have been involved if the harasser continued their career.
