Harassment comes in many forms and most of us have, unfortunately, encountered it. It is usually first experienced as rough child’s play and bullying in school, but it may continue to follow us later in life. Some will have it with their acquaintances, others with their family or colleagues at work. Whatever the surroundings – abuse should never be accepted.
Apart from standing your ground and directly confronting the abuser – a more sophisticated, yet very effective response is taking legal actions. Recognizing your situation and knowing who to consult with is the first step towards an effective reaction.
Are You a Victim of Abuse in the Office?
Abuse in the workplace is a long-lasting problem and as much as 13% of men and 12% of women have been affected by it in the US. Some forms of it are rather self-evident, such as a superior harming you physically or yelling at you, while other forms are more hidden but will hurt you in one way or another.
Being forced to work overtime while not being adequately paid, a common problem in the hotel and restaurant industry, is sometimes shrugged off as a minor thing but is, in fact, a serious offense and should be dealt with as such. Psychological pressure that comes from mobbing is also frequent and there are various ways you can fight against that too.
And to top it all is – discrimination. A very debated topic but also a very present one, being discriminated solely for something personal and which doesn’t affect your work is also abuse and should always be brought up to HR, or the court if it cannot be solved elsewhere.
Overtime
Any hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek count as overtime when an employee is a non-exempt employee. This is, as stated in the link above, defined by law and all overwork time is supposed to be paid at least 1.5 times the regular hourly pay. If you suspect you are not being given your fair share you could contact an unpaid overtime lawyer in Nashville. But confronting your boss about it should be the first step, as it may be a simple mistake on their behalf.
In the HoReCa sector, a common scenario is being asked to stay after closing hours to clean up the establishment, even though your 8 work hours ended when the bar closed. As the boss doesn’t count the extra time needed to tidy everything up they will likely not pay you what they are due.
Mobbing
Usually a collective effort by a group of colleagues against someone who they dislike, mobbing is the cause of many serious problems. It is often seen in office workspaces where many people are working together in a tight space yet have the time to spare for such mischief.
After being mobbed at work people will start feeling left out or even paranoid, sometimes to the point of acting aggressively to people on the streets. The pattern comes in the form of subtle and obvious comments or verbal acts that make a person feel unwanted or that their work is in some way humiliating or worthless. The bullying is sometimes done even by the superior, a manager, or employer, in which case it may be wrongly interpreted as criticism instead of mobbing.
Even though it is very hard to be proven, as is with most passive-aggressive behavior, those who are abused in this way should consult a human resources department, or a psychologist, to help them recognize it as mobbing and act accordingly.
Discrimination
In diverse countries such as the US, there are many bases on which someone could be discriminated against. Race, age, sex, and religion all come into this foul play and it is a serious legal issue. Being rejected from a job just because you are African-American or a woman, for example, even if you have all the required qualifications, is outright discrimination and should be treated as such.
Legal actions can be taken as the anti-discrimination laws are very strict on the subject. If you have evidence for such behavior you can file a lawsuit against the employer.
Taking abuse is never OK, even if you think that accepting your boss’s rude behavior will be rewarded in any way. Ending up with unpaid overwork time or psychological damage is the only sure thing you can get out of such scenarios, and keep in mind that everyone should behave professionally, if not friendly, in the office.
Work is not playing, but neither should it be abuse.
