Understanding A Hostile Work Environment And What You Can Do About It
by Abdul Aziz Mondal How to Guides Published on: 14 September 2021 Last Updated on: 30 December 2024
Work is something that most people need to do, and when you have a job, you can’t just quit. It’s generally only an option when you have found something else. That means, if you have a hostile work environment instead of having a positive one(usually everyone seeks for), you may feel trapped. This can make it hard to find the enthusiasm to go to work.
In turn, this will reduce productivity and is more likely to give you further issues, which can even result in termination. You should note that if you are terminated because of a hostile work environment, then you’ll want to see an unfair dismissal employment lawyer as quickly as possible to take further action.
But, you shouldn’t wait for termination! There are things you can do if you have a hostile work environment.
What Classifies As A Hostile Work Environment?
The official description of a hostile work environment is one where there is discrimination against a protected group of people. This could be due to religion, age, sex, nationality, disability, or even pregnancy.
If you feel that you are being picked on because of your ethnicity, religion, or any of the other examples listed above, you are facing discrimination. If this makes it challenging to come to work and others are not subjected to the same issues, you have a hostile work environment.
3 Tips For Dealing With The Hostile Work Environment
You may feel that your only choice is to put up with it in order to keep your job. But, this is not the right decision. If the behavior toward you is persistent, you need to take steps to deal with a hostile work environment.
Check out the three easy tips for dealing with a hostile work environment.
1. Report It
If you feel able, you can speak directly to the person or people creating a hostile work environment. Tell them that you do not appreciate their jokes and comments and would like them to stop. Sometimes having a proper conversation in an understanding way can easily keep up the prime reason for such miscommunications or hostalities. So, speak out!
If this isn’t an option, then you need to go to the HR or management team. You’ll want to choose someone that isn’t involved in the discrimination and has the power to do something about it.
Your complaint should trigger a proper investigation. That means you’ll be asked why it is a hostile environment, what other employees you believe are experiencing the same issue, if any, and who is instigating the negative behavior.
They can then investigate and speak to other workers before talking to you about what action they intend to take and what you would like them to do.
2. Take Further Action
If the company doesn’t find a hostile work environment, but you still feel it is, you’ll need to go higher up the management chain if this is possible.
If not, it’s a good idea to visit a specialist in unfair dismissal, even if you haven’t been dismissed. They can assess your case and help you to rectify the situation.
It can help to record incidents and comments. Writing down the details is fine. Just make sure you do it as soon as possible after the event to get the details correct.
3. Gather The Knowledge About Office Internal Protection Laws
Every company has different employee protection rules. And your company is not apart from it. For dealing with a hostile work environment, the company laws are going to protect you.
Even some of the companies have also had separate departments to take care of these types of problems. To deal with the office’s hostile work environment, your company’s internal laws are the best protection.
Take the information about all the laws and then gather the proof of the toxic, hostile work environment and place your companion to the management.
Conclusion:
The hostile work environment is one of the most significant drawbacks of any organization. If you are currently dealing with these types of problems, better deal with the issues with more efficiency. And every time, you have to develop an explicit knowledge about your company norms and protocols. Only the company protection rules are the easy solution to deal with these types of hostile work environments.
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