4 Critical Steps to Take if Harassed at the Workplace

Workplace harassment comes in various forms. It might be something as minor as being verbally derided, or something as serious as sexual harassment. Whatever the case, you need to make sure you identify the form of harassment and take the necessary steps to handle it.

If someone is trying to make you uncomfortable, afraid or angry, they are probably harassing you. Harassment is simply a series of actions or comments that a person makes or does yet he knows you don’t like. Harassment can be from other employees, a client or your boss.

Here are the various steps you need to take to handle workplace harassment.

Step 1: Document What Happened

It is a good idea to write down everything that happened during the harassment; you can do this on a notepad or in an email that you send to yourself. Either way, make sure you have a record of all that happened at that time.

Don’t focus on how the event left you feeling, instead write down the facts that will help your case. Note down the date and time of the event, who was involved, the order in which things happened, any injuries you sustained and who you reported the issue too.

Step 2: Talk to Your Employer

The next logical step is to report the issue to your employer. Employers are required to have a workplace harassment policy that he needs to refer to each time before taking a decision. The policy needs to outline the steps to get help when an employee is in danger, how to report the issue to the employer and how the employer needs to handle the issue.

The employer needs to give you information and training to that you know what to do when you are a victim of harassment. Once you have an idea of what to do, follow the steps that are documented in the policy.

For safety purposes, it is wise to get legal advice before you talk to the employer about the harassment incident. A lawyer will look at the events that preceded the harassment and tell you if you are a victim of harassment and the kind of rights that you have. For claims against public entities, you need a lawyer that has the right experience for such situations.

Step 3: Get Witnesses

If it is safe to do so, then talk to other people that might have witnessed the harassment. You might find allies, witnesses and other victims of the same form of harassment who are willing to support the case.

Once you have the witnesses, map out the situations and people that are involved in the case and give the investigating officer all the information they need to conduct an investigation based on the current situation.

Step 4: Don’t Get Distracted

Hard as it might be, try not to get distracted by the issue at hand. Continue with your good work and keep posting perfect performance records.

Final Thoughts

Workplace harassment is common, and when you become a victim, you need to make sure you know what steps to take to be protected. Before you can do anything else, try and document the happenings of the day.