Digital harassment (cyberbullying)Įven though digital harassment takes place online, it can be just as detrimental as in-person bullying. “Behaviors such as taking credit for someone’s achievement, making impossible demands, imposing unreasonable deadlines on a particular employee, constantly requiring an employee to perform demeaning tasks that are outside of their job scope or persistently opposing everything someone says may not seem like harassment, but this can be a form of deliberate psychological bullying,” he said. Chancey said that these actions are intended to mentally break down the victim, chip away at their self-esteem and undermine them. Psychological harassment is similar to verbal harassment, but it is more covert and consists of exclusionary tactics, like withholding information or gaslighting. “Often, yelling, cursing or making inappropriate remarks or jokes about a co-worker is seen as a case of personality conflict and not as harassment, even when such behavior can have a negative psychological impact on the victim and result in outcomes such as depression, high blood pressure and anxiety,” said Chris Chancey, founder and CEO of Amplio Recruiting. Verbal harassment can be difficult to recognize and is often a gray area, since it is a nonphysical form of violence. It can involve insults, slurs, unwanted jokes and hurtful comments. It consists of demeaning remarks, offensive gestures and unreasonable criticism. Verbal harassment can be an ongoing battle of destruction that threatens your health and career. Knowing the various ways workplace harassment can manifest itself can help you identify it when it’s happening to you or a colleague.

Workplace harassment can take many forms, and it doesn’t always look the same. If this is your situation, consider these ways to handle a bad boss. Tip: Workplace harassment is always hard to deal with, and it can be especially tricky to navigate if the person who is harassing you is also your manager. Understanding what is happening to you can help when broaching the subject with the HR department. Harassment in the workplace may or may not have physical evidence. “If you know someone who is being harassed at work, you cannot lose your job by reporting it yourself.” “Not only are you protected from the person harassing you, you are also protected from your employer failing to protect you,” Garvin said. If you’re worried about losing your job in retaliation, remember that you’re protected by workplace harassment laws. If you witness a crime or experience harassment in the workplace, it is your obligation to report it. Workplace harassment is a serious issue with a lot of gray areas. Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.įirst and foremost, it is critical to know when you are being harassed at work, said Becca Garvin, executive search consultant at Find Great People.The victim does not have to be the person harassed it could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.The harasser could be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker or a non-employee.Harassment also occurs in a variety of circumstances, such as these: What constitutes workplace harassment?Īccording to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), harassment can include “offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.” They not only affect an employee’s productivity, comfort and safety at work, but they can also expose an organization to legal liability if it does not handle harassment properly. All types of workplace harassment are illegal.

While the most basic types of harassment are verbal and psychological, there are also more serious forms, such as physical and sexual. By creating a workplace harassment policy, you can take the necessary steps to create a safe working environment for all your employees. From bullying to outright discrimination, it’s important to understand workplace harassment so you can avoid a hostile work environment in your small business. Workplace harassment exists throughout all types of workplaces in the U.S.

This article is for employees who feel they or a colleague may be experiencing workplace harassment, as well as business leaders who want to ensure their employees’ safety within the work environment.

If you think you’ve been experiencing workplace harassment, make sure that you contact your human resources department as soon as possible to protect yourself.

It’s not just women who are impacted by workplace harassment.

Workplace harassment can include physical, verbal, sexual and emotional harassment.

Harassed on the job