You all have been asking a lot about what to do when a situation occurs at work and how to approach and tend to the situation.
I have had many work complications myself and today I want to let you know you are not alone. Work whether you enjoy your job or not should be a safe environment. Let me go over the steps you should take at your workplace when you feel going to work is just unsafe.
More than likely an incident occurred at work making you feel this way and we will go over the steps you should take in time of this occurrence.
More than likely an incident occurred at work making you feel this way and we will go over the steps you should take in time of this occurrence.
What does "unsafe mean in a work environment?
Unsafe would mean you feel threatened as if someone is going to hurt you physically, sexually, or verbally. Emotional abuse would fall into this category as well more likely after you have been verbally, or physically abused. If someone has yelled , or threatened you whether it be about your work ethic or the way you are dressing this is verbal abuse in a workplace. You are the only one who can contest if the context was in a joking matter or serious matter but if you feel upset and distressed about the situation it is more than likely verbal abuse. We will go over whether or not you should report this and who you should report this too. Physical abuse in a work place is when someone has hit you, tossed you around, maybe even thrown something at you. Sexual abuse is when someone is hurting you sexually and in a context where you are not agreeing to this. If sexual actions occur in a workplace they are more than likely forced and should be reported even if they were agreed too. You may have agreed to something not knowing that everyone time you work with that person it will occur again even at times you do not agree. Sexual actions are not to take place in a work environment and should be reported. Emotional abuse in a workplace is when you emotionally feel distressed, depressed, anxious, and nervous at work or about a situation that occurred at work. Now that you know how abuse is defined in a workplace you need to think about who you are in the situation.
Who are you? and Who is the person you are working with?
Are you the abuser?
You are the abuser if you took actions in any way to physically, sexually, verbally, or emotionally hurt somebody whether or not that was your intention.
Are you the victim?
You are a victim when you feel unsafe and threatened in your workplace. You may seem work hard to come to and are more than likely unsure what steps to take to feel safe again. You may have been physically hit, sexually abused, verbally yelled at, or emotionally unstable in your workplace. These occurrences are not your fault and no one deserves to be treated unfair in a workplace.
Are you a witness?
You are a witness when you saw a incident of abuse occur with one or more people.
What steps should you take to better your work environment?
1. Asses who you are in the situation. All steps go the same for each person.
2. Asses what forms of abuse occurred and write down the date, time, and names of employees and there roles that were there including yourself.. Think through the situation and think about what happened and what should have happened.
Abuser: If you feel you did something wrong you more than likely did even if it was a yelling incident talk to your manager and he/she can discuss whether or not you did and what steps to approach this situation in the future. If you did something such as sexual abuse definitely still report it or quit and stop doing what you are doing if you have not already. Do not stay and make that person feel more uncomfortable.
Victim: If you feel the situation was a form of abuse report it to your manager and the least they can say "I will keep an eye out, please report any other occurrences.". They will go over the steps to take as of this situation and in the future. If the occurrence was with your manager talk to the next highest person in charge.
Witness: Report the situation to a manager, you are unaware of what happened and it is best you let it go and let them handle it. Do not discuss it with the victim, abuser, or co workers just report it and let go. Doing so will avoid unnecessary drama and keep you professional and loyal to your manager.
3. Go through with and report the situation to your manager and if you feel uncomfortable a lot of workplaces have hot lines you can call instead. It is always better to tell your manager because they would rather hear from you then there boss.
3 A. If this is a family owned business try talking to other stores and there manager, or the business owner.
3 B. If this is just a run of the mill one family store owned shop talk to the highest person in charge, and if that is the person you had the incident with talk to them and let them know how you feel.
4. Wait for actions to occur such as write ups, firings of abuser, or until your boss fixes the situation. This may take 1-2 weeks at most.
4A. If the person is fired you will know the actions to take next time, and may still have to go through with getting a lawyer, or restraining order against this person depending on the severity of the situation. Some workplaces will offer and help you figure all that out while others may leave you on your own for that.
4B. If the person is still working there (This would not be sexual or physical abuse ) but the situation was assessed see if you can have a supervised meeting and discuss what was making you feel uncomfortable and you may end up having a good relationship with this person. Often the abuser was unaware of what he or she did and is willing to fix it to maintain a good relationship with the company and you.
5. If nothing is done contact company's hot line if you did not before (Situation would be handled more than likely) and they will asses the situation and give it time.
5A. If the company does not have a hot line and nothing was done or what was done still makes you feel uncomfortable you have to decide to discuss with your management again, get a lawyer if it was a sensitive issue or quit.
6. Quitting is a option at this point if you are still being abused but one you should not have to take if you have a good team. Although, this is not a easy option you will be less stressed and remember when something in life is lost, something will come around that you will gain.Work hard and do not ever let that person get you down. Just because you are quitting does not mean you are a quitter.
* If somebody is breaking work policy and you see it occur report it to your manager, and they will asses the situation.
If you have any questions please contact me, and I can help you asses your situation,
Kaitlin
