Harassment in whatever form can be such a big impediment to the progress of work in any workplace if it’s allowed to go unchecked. Many employees have bemoaned the serious level of harassment in their workplace with less attention or help be given to nip it to where it belongs. Harassment has crept into the workspace with many employers looking on, as an employee you need to devise a mechanism to combat this canker by finding ways of dealing with it professionally.
Harassment is not gendered specific, both genders are at the mercy of this accursed norm; harassment can be defined as a behavior of using intimidation or aggression, threatening or use of abusive words or language on someone. It is an unlawful form of discrimination - harassment conduct may include: offensive jokes, name-calling, physical assault or threat, ridicule, mockery, indecent exposure, uninvited comment/remarks, slur, sexual innuendos, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and any other acts which don’t conform to the rule and regulation of a work environment. It is also akin to bullying, both can be considered the same thing depending on the circumstances.
It’s is important to understand workplace harassment so you can put in the right measures to confront or avoid such hostility at work. How you do deal with cases of harassment at work? Does your company have a policy in place to curb the happenings of such behaviors? Fundamentally, nobody expects to be harassed by exercising their responsibilities but a work environment constitutes people with a diverse background with a different mindset of how to deal with people.
As delicate as the subject is, let’s talk about ways to deal with harassment at the workplace and how you can put up a strong defense to avoid its happenings.
Firstly, report any incident of harassment – the immediate action to take is to report this behavior to your superiors or employers to intervene before it gets out of hand. Most organizations have a person designated to handle issues of such cases. If the behavior doesn’t stop or is addressed, the perpetrator becomes emboldened. If your organization has a policy of harassment, read through, and get a better understanding of how to deal with such an act in case it happens.
Reporting workplace harassment is very important as it could be a lead voice to other victims in similar situations to speak up; though, sometimes there is difficulty in obtaining hard physical footage or evidence to make your report. When dealing with workplace harassment, try to avoid retaliation, since retaliation can escalate the issue. One of the ways to keep a record in writing of the exact date or diary of the events. Keep a copy of any written complaints you make and make one available to your HR or employer.
1. There are other approaches you could use to efficiently deal with this behavior:- Calmly approach your harasser, preferably ask for a meeting in private so they can stop directing such behavior at you because it is making you underperform.
3. If you feel the issue isn’t dealt with to your satisfaction, gather enough evidence as you could but not putting yourself in harm’s way and get a lawyer to handle it legally.
Secondly, try to document the act. The only chance you have in the face of this accusation is the amount of evidence you’ve gathered over the period. People tend to believe a story with evidence of substance to support such accusations.
As soon as you experience such an incident, make sure to document the time, date, and possible eye witness, and exactly what happened. When it occurs reputations are at stake, you need to gather sufficient record of evidence to put forward the matter of harassment to your HR or employer; most companies take serious exception to these cases because of the reputational damage it may cause them.
The proper way of dealing with this is, the incidence should be properly documented and be kept in a proper safe or home to avoid anyone tampering with it. Create an avenue for the document where it is accessible by people you wish to have access to in case you’re incapable of reaching it yourself.
Thirdly, form association with other victims - The issue of harassment sometimes spreads beyond just one person, a lot of people in your work environment might be affected but can’t talk about it. If one person can lead the way in the fight against it then there is a need to form a band of victims of harassment so you can share stories and be a comfort to one other; also, to create a stronger force with the sense of togetherness to put pressure on HR or employers to deal with the perpetrator. Most of the time, you are not the only person who has experience such a distasteful act, encourage co-workers to write down their incidents then you can all come together to achieve a positive result.
Finally, Keep going as much as possible, as much as the whole ordeal must affecting your performance and mental state, you need to seek counseling. When a complaint is being investigated; work could become an uncomfortable place to find yourself. You need courage for this period in your life.
In conclusion, people need to stand up against harassment of any kind. Employers and HR have to institutionalize punitive measures to deal with anyone who harasses others in the workplace. Nobody deserves to be exposed to such work hazards at the workplace but unfortunately, such behaviors still exist.
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