Every job has a certain stress level that can never be avoided. But if that stress starts to take a toll on your mental and physical health, then understand that something is not right. You start taking all these things on yourself when an external source is building pressure on you, and you do not even realize it. When you feel that things are going wrong with you at the workplace, ensure that you look for a “Workplace harassment lawyer near me” so that you can get a direct legal consultation without any delays.
When you start to feel depressed or exploited, overburdened, and tensed at all times at work, you should know that the work environment has become toxic and is not good for any of the employees. If you feel that you have become a victim of the hostile work environment, then it is high time that you start looking for a lawyer right away. So, to make things clearer here, let’s first get into the basics so that you can understand more about the hostile work environment.
What is a hostile work environment?
In simple words, a hostile work environment occurs when the employees start to feel uncomfortable or scared due to certain inappropriate situations created by the co-workers or the employer at the workplace through actions, communication, or the kind of approach towards each other. If you feel that the conduct of your employer or any co-worker towards you has led to a discriminatory environment and you have felt that the behavior has been intimidating or abusive which is impacting your performance, then that surely comes under the hostile work environment. Here are a few more examples of what comprises a hostile work environment.
• Discussing jokes that are offensive about one’s category
• Showcasing inappropriate pictures that includes racism and sexism
• Talking about any sexual acts or inappropriate sexual language at the workplace
• Passing comments on one’s physical abilities
• Making uncomfortable gestures
• Touching uncomfortably
• Making use of language that is not morally correct and hurts the sentiments
• Deliberately sabotaging co-worker’s career
If you strongly feel that you have become the victim of any of the above situations, then it is time to get up and take the necessary step to ensure that your personal and professional future is safeguarded. Firstly, you can talk to the proper authorities at your workplace, for instance, the human resource department, and put forth the entire situation in front of them. If no action is being taken from their side, then straightaway head to a sexual harassment lawyer and get a legal consultation regarding your situation.
Contact a sexual harassment lawyer
When nothing goes right, know that it is time that you speak to a sexual harassment lawyer and fight for the claims that you deserved. A hostile work environment can highjack your mind in such a way that you lose the ability to think in the right direction and that is why consulting a lawyer becomes so important. A sexual harassment lawyer will not only advise and help you to prepare a report on sexual harassment but will also guide you to take certain steps to protect yourself in such a scenario.
• The lawyer prepares you to deal with such harassment if your employer or co-worker continues to do so.
• Documenting all the harassment situations and talks that have taken place with the employer.
• Keeping a tab on the employer’s reaction to the complaint filed by you and making sure that the employer does not retaliate.
• The lawyer also gives you an understanding of how you should be reporting the harassment complaints to the employer in the future.
A sexual harassment lawyer will help you understand all the measures that you can consider taking to challenge the sexual harassment that took place. Right from filing the discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the employer, the lawyer will help you with all the processes and let you know the upside and downside of every situation. All you need to make sure is that you are taking the right step against such a hostile work environment so that such things do not happen again in the future.
