Different Types Of Harassment In The Workplace
Harassment in the workplace or workplace bullying can have a serious negative impact on individuals and on companies, but is unfortunately common. Everyone in a company benefits from recognizing and stopping workplace bullying. If you are a bully or being bullied at work keep reading to learn what is harassment at workplace and how to stop it.
Workplace bullying occurs when an employee experiences a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes harm. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation. This type of aggression is particularly difficult because, unlike the typical forms of school bullying, workplace bullies often operate within the established rules and policies of their organization and their society. Bullying in the workplace is in the majority of cases reported as having been perpetrated by someone in authority over the target. However, bullies can also be peers, and on occasion can be subordinates. Bullying can be covert or overt. It may be missed by superiors or known by many throughout the organization.
Unfortunately, a hostile work environment can include much more than just open sexual harassment or obvious discrimination. Employees may be subject to more subtle -but equally illegal - forms of unfair treatment like religious, ethnic, or gender discrimination.
So What Are Different Types Of Harassment In The Workplace?
1. Sexual: Many people falsely believe that sexual harassment has to be overt and only affects women. But sexual harassment takes many forms, and both subtle and aggressive tactics can be used on men and women of any job description. Furthermore, even coworkers should not make any suggestive or sexual remarks, regardless of whether or not one is a supervisor. Even an offensive photograph or computer screen saver can qualify as sexual harassment.
2. Gender: Gender discrimination usually involves hiring a man over an equally qualified woman solely because of her gender, but gender harassment can also take more innocuous forms. For example, a woman may be belittled or otherwise made to feel inferior simply because she is a woman. In male-dominated industries, jokes about a woman’s ability to perform her job are sometimes all too common.
3. Religious: Employers are prohibited from treating any worker differently because of an affiliation with a particular religious group. Religious harassment can take the form of inappropriate comments, jokes about head coverings, facial hair, or footwear, or any commentary that isolates the individual because of her religion.
4. Retaliation: Retaliation occurs when an employer demotes, terminates, verbally harasses, or singles out an employee who does not submit to harassment or who files a discrimination complaint. Retaliatory measures are illegal, and no employee should feel intimidated or unable to report harassment to a supervisor.
Harassment in the workplace is very bad for company and business in general. Negative effects are not limited to the targeted individuals, and may lead to a decline in employee morale and a change in company culture. We all have to resist to workplace harassment and fight for future without it.
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