Undue Stress Due to Workplace Harassment
Focus on the Job, be Confident in Abilities, Know Employment Rights
Oct 20, 2009
It may be unlawful, but it happens all the time. Harassment at work, especially about the quality of work produced, is hard to endure and hard to prove. What are the options available for the employee who endures unfair treatment in the workplace?
What follows is a summary of a letter sent by a reader disillusioned in her job while enduring harassment at her work, and being treated unfairly, and the reply given by CareerAdvice. What was a dream job turned into a nightmare, through no fault of her own. Note that specifics have been deleted to protect confidentiality.
Undue Stress Due to Work Harassment
Q. Summary: I think they wanted to hire another person to take my place and she started last week. This person has no specific industry related experience and just went to take the test the other day to get her specific License. There is also another employee who does specific job who wanted to be a specific duty when they had hired me. She has been trying to get that position somehow ever since.
Bottom line is that I am very upset and have been experiencing undue stress while trying my best to do my job. Mr & Mrs wanted me to be more productive but they will not let me do any production if they can help it and the humiliation will not cease. There are X employees and they all know what is going on so this adds to how bad I am feeling.
What are my options since I truly believe they do not want me there? I loved my job and I am so upset that I have been crying all weekend and I feel heartbroken.
I feel like talking to an attorney. Please tell me what you think would be best for me at this point.
Employment Working Conditions
A. Unfair treatment and harassment in the workplace is to be abhorred, yet so many employees endure this situation, which demeans their work and environment. While leaving is always an option, it is better to have another job in place. Employment working conditions play an important part in your work environment; and the emotional setting is just as important as the physical safety environment.
While an attorney can advise you on your employment rights, and you do have them; getting an unfair employer to settle or compensate you takes time and money. Before you approach an attorney who is skilled in Labour and Employment laws, make sure you document everything and can prove almost everything. Otherwise it becomes merely a "he-said she-said" scenario. Keep a notebook handy, and record the date and general time each incident occurs. Try to also write down what has happened up to this point - hopefully with dates and general time. Make sure you write the names of any employees who witnessed these outbursts. Do not approach the other employees though, just make note of what has happened and who has witnessed the situation.
Your employers seem to relish the control they have over employees, and the incidents in your letter (while not stated in this article) show they try to pit each employee against each other. Remember though, it is not you that needs changing – it is them. It is doubtful they will fire you. Have you seen any other employee there fired, or have others quit? Usually, employers who want control to the point of demeaning their employees rarely fire. They prefer the fear they may fire someone – more control.
Know or Learn Your Employment Rights
However, that does not help you. See if you can talk to an attorney or someone in the Human Rights Labour Law division within your city and state or province, about your situation. The idea here is to learn your employment rights, and what you have to do to protect those rights.
You really should also be looking now for another place of employment. Yes, this will be hard due to the responsibilities you mentioned in your full letter, but it will benefit you in the long run. You need to get away from that toxic environment. It's tearing down your confidence level. You do know your area of specialization; your employers are just trying to get you to stay with them for a lesser salary. They cannot be the only office in your town that offers the specific services.
You must also be honest with your spouse about the job situation, so that he can help buoy you up on the bad days, or understand the need for you to change jobs.
One important point: you signed the "written up" papers. Make sure you note this situation and that you had not been previously told of any complaints until the formal document. Do not sign any other papers unless you write on the same page and side as your signature of any discrepancies, or that this is the first you were told of the problem, etc. Get a copy of any document you sign as well. You can say it is so you can improve on whatever the paper said.
For now, focus your efforts on what you do at your work. Try to ignore the efforts of your employers to bring you down and finding fault with your production. Be confident that they must really be worried about your abilities and so to try to demean you and your efforts. There is no reason why, if they were truly disappointed in your work, they have not fired you already. Obviously they know they are getting good value for the money they pay you. Concentrate on just your job, and ignore the drama around you as much as possible.
But the most important part is to find another place of employment. Your health and well being is not worth any job, and it will affect your work as well as your family life.
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