{"id":5756,"date":"2017-05-26T14:15:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T12:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/?p=5756"},"modified":"2017-05-26T14:37:03","modified_gmt":"2017-05-26T12:37:03","slug":"workplace-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/fi\/workplace-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"Workplace Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workplace harassment is something people experience on a daily basis, but are too afraid to speak out about it… By law, harassment is described as any unwanted verbal or physical behaviour which are based on ideas such as colour, race, sex, religion, nationality, age, either physical or mental disabilities, and last but not least, gender identity. A harassing behaviour can take many forms which include: slurs, offensive jokes, intimidation, ridicule, insults, name calling, physical threats or assaults, offensive pictures and many more.<\/p>\n

Many people encounter harassment even during interviews. It is important to know what rules apply to the employers and what they can and cannot ask you. Moreover, recruiters cannot ask you about your religion, race, marital status, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, age or sexual preferences. Next time you\u2019re going into an interview, pay attention at what and how they ask about information regarding yourself.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, anyone can be in a situation where he or she is the harasser or the person being harassed. The harasser can range from being your boss, a co-worker, a supervisor from a different department, or even a non-employee, whilst the victim of the harassment doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be the one directly harassed, but it can be any person in the office who feels affected by the harassing behaviour.<\/p>\n

How to Deal with Harassment at the Workplace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually, people who are dealing with workplace harassment have the intention of solving the incident internally. The first option would be to approach the offender personally and explain how his behaviour and language have offended you. If you feel uncomfortable with the direct approach, the other option would be to contact your manager or supervisor and ask him to handle the situation before it develops into something more problematic.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are cases in which the offender is your manager or supervisor and your only course of action is to contact the HR department or your manager\u2019s boss and request an analysis of the situation.<\/p>\n

Types of Harassment<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are numerous ways in which harassment takes place in the workplace. Unfortunately, sexual harassment continues to be one of the primary courses of harassment, although that does not mean that non-sexual harassment must be treated lightly. It is essential that people understand that harassment at the office can affect them, whether they are victims or not. One way or another it could impact people\u2019s state of mind and even their careers.<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, harassment can take many forms at the office. It could vary from being both physical and sexual and ending up with it being based on religion or race.<\/p>\n

In the United States, the definition of harassment ranges from state to state. For example, in Florida a court decided that \u2018fat jokes\u2019 are offensive, while in Wisconsin and New York harassing people based on their criminal record is against the law. It is obvious that this issue represents a tricky subject everywhere around the world.<\/p>\n

Sexual Harassment<\/strong><\/p>\n

This type of harassment does not limit itself to just physical contact or words and just between co-workers of the opposite sex. All of the following examples classify as sexual harassment:<\/p>\n