badworkplace

Archive for the ‘WORK – Harassment’ Category

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HARASSMENT: WORKER’s GODLY DUTY?

In WORK - Bad Workplaces, WORK - Harassment, WORK - Workplace Violence on 01/08/2010 at 11:57 pm

Individuals who would probably scream the loudest if subjected to bullying, threatening remarks, or sexual harassment are often unaware that their own behavior, although nonsexual, is considered as harassment by their coworkers.

  • CASE: What can you say when a coworker in the office constantly annoys everyone with her religious talks? A get-together at her home turns out to be a recruiting meeting for her church, not an office party. She sends emails and pamphlets and corners workers in the break room and at lunch to push her views. Conversations start as a pretext to something that’s office-related but always end up with her turning the subject to her religion and how we need to experience what she experiences. By the way, her boss goes to the same church.

Someone, preferably HR rather than a coworker, needs to inform her that harassment is not necessarily sexual in nature and that it can be subtle (shunning, annoying, or avoiding an individual) or very overt (propositioning or making explicit requests). Harassment of any kind can affect workers deeply, although some individuals may be able to cope with them so that they are not so disruptive of the work environment.

We personally have dealt successfully with religious harassment by simply telling the other person calmly, eye-to-eye, that we are happy that she has found the religion of her choice and that it brings her much joy – but that we also have made our choices, that we have our own religious views, and are not open to changing. “We respect your choices; please respect ours.”

If that doesn’t work, tell the person that you would appreciate her not discussing personal, non-work matters at work, as religion is a very private matter and that probably no one here is interested in changing his or her choice.

Notice that we do not suggest telling the person whether we attend church or believe in her God. All such personal questions should go unanswered as they are inappropriate for office discussion.

Have you experienced this type of workplace problem?  Let us hear from you.

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Health and Work Safety: Food Safety and the Food Supply

In 1, disgruntled worker, food safety, terrorism, WORK - Bad Workplaces, WORK - Harassment, WORK - Safety, WORK - Workplace Violence on 12/28/2009 at 11:35 pm

So we forgot that terrorists were still looming large until the little Nigerian hopped aboard the big jet plane to Detroit just a half hour before it lifted off. Let us use this Christmas Day event as a reminder that we are vulnerable in other venues as well. The food industry, for example. Whether it involves international political extremists or just your everyday disgruntled worker who “has had it” with his boss, a coworker, or the company.

If you work in the food industry – or if you buy food at someone’s workplace – workplace violence could suddenly and unexpectedly take on a whole new meaning for you.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 76 million food-borne illness cases occur “naturally” or “non-intentionally” in the United States every year.

This amounts to one in four Americans becoming ill after eating foods contaminated with pathogens such as E. Coli O157: H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus and Listeria.

Every year about 325,000 people are hospitalized with a diagnosis of food poisoning, and 5,000 die.

How easy would it be, then, for a disgruntled worker or customer to intentionally contaminate our food supply?

Is it any wonder that our Government and the food industry are concerned that terrorists might also target our food supply?

Are you concerned? Should you be?

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT: MANLY FUN?

In WORK - Bad Workplaces, WORK - Harassment on 10/11/2009 at 9:54 pm

Whether it is the result of a personality or cultural clash, harassment is unacceptable; and a company that wishes to avoid litigation must make an effort to stop the problem. This woman needs to go back to HR and request that they hold a training session that deals with the problem of defining harassment:

Case: Male coworkers sometimes leave rather  explicit pictures (sometimes with phone numbers on them) on the desk of an attractive female who maintains that she does nothing to attract attention to herself.  Her supervisor and HR say they cannot do anything about it since they do not know who is leaving the pictures.  Some coworkers apparently consider it her fault; others say that she “just can’t take a joke.” What can she do?

Those who harass need to understand that what constitutes harassment is defined by the recipients; and both the harassers and the recipients need to understand that everyone’s work world is larger than anyone’s private world, thus requiring that all workers adjust to some degree, just as we do in our homes, our churches, schools, etc. However, when harassment is directed toward a particular individual, as in this case, the only one who needs to change is the harasser, who needs to cease his activity.

Regardless of whether the perpetrator thinks it’s fun or that the female “asks for it,” this behavior is totally unacceptable.  We suggest confronting the entire office (do we know that the guilty one is a male?) in a low-key manner, straightforward, non-whining manner. Explain in one or two sentences that, while it’s no doubt funny to someone, it really does upset you and that you are pleading with them to stop.  In other words, put them on notice that YOU are defining this behavior as harassment.

Depending on your personality, you could ask a few females and males to tell you any behaviors that you should perhaps change.  That feedback would be good information for future reference, allowing you to correct an innocent habit that less astute persons might misinterpret again. Don’t ask, though, if you are the type who gets defensive when told the truth.

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HARASSMENT TO GET REVENGE

In WORK - Bad Workplaces, WORK - Harassment on 09/20/2009 at 11:42 pm

Some individuals never seem to discard  their childhood playground antics, regardless of how high they rise in the workplace.

CASE: An employee is  experiencing retaliatory harassment after speaking (confidentially, she thought) with her supervisor and that person’s supervisor about the difficulty in concentrating with all the extraneous noise in a room of cubicles — workers talking and laughing, radios playing, loud telephone conversations, etc., in addition to the normal office noise such as file cabinets being opened and closed, normal conversations and telephone voices, etc.   A memo was sent to everyone, pointing out that the area sometimes gets very noisy and that all should work together to create a better working environment.  The person who “complained” is now the big-E, as in Enemy.  She experiences dirty looks, talking behind her back, bumping her, ‘accidentally’ messing up her papers, and other things. Also, some workers now seem to be intentionally noisier—slamming books on tables, banging file cabinet drawers shut, bumped carts into walls, etc.

You can surely sympathize with this worker if you have ever complained or reported to a supervisor in confidence, only to find later that the entire office knows about your conversation and the subsequent action, which now makes you Enemy #1 and the subject of ostracism.  The supervisor is probably as surprised as the worker to find that the positive memo would cause a problem for the worker who requested help.  Such an ugly reaction is frequently caused by one individual who functions as a “leader” in agitating others – often by circulating incorrect information. This same “leader” may sabotage other persons and projects without suffering any personal blame.

Does the worker in this case dare go back to her supervisor and explain that the situation has worsened? Can we assume that her coworkers received accurate information about what she said in that “confidential” meeting? Should she try talking with some or all the coworkers to be sure that her complaint has been fairly represented by the boss?

Should she try to pretend that the intentional noise is not bothering her, so they don’t get the “sick joy” of thinking that they are “pushing her buttons”?  Should she just smile at the worst offenders and hope that most offenders will cease to annoy her if she stays quit and friendly?

What has worked for you or someone you know in a similar circumstance?  Let us  hear from you.