Reporting Workplace Harassment

Types Of Workplace Harassment

Physical evidence of workplace harassment is difficult to come by, yet we can’t deny its existence. Harassment, as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), includes offensive jokes, bullying, slurs, epithets, physical assaults, intimidation, ridicule, insults, insulting objects or pictures, and interference in job performance.

Harassment, whether verbal or physical, sexual favors, psychological or emotional abuse, and so on, may occur at the workplace. There are five primary sorts of workplace harassment:

1. Verbal harassment
2. Psychological harassment
3. Cyberbullying
4. Sexual harassment
5. Physical harassment

Let’s have a deeper look and assist you in recognizing these sorts of harassment at your workplace.

• Verbal Harassment

Victims of verbal harassment frequently confront an uphill fight for both their physical and professional well-being. Verbal harassment includes insults, obscene hand signals, and unjust criticisms.

Since this is a non-physical form of abuse, it includes insults such as fat-shaming/body shaming jokes, cruel remarks, and unsolicited taunting, making it difficult to detect. Because the area is gray, HR executives and leaders must be on their toes in order to identify harassing conduct.

• Psychological Harassment

Psychological harassment is similar to verbal abuse in that it’s more covert, and utilizes techniques such as withholding information. People who are subjected to this sort of bullying have a greater tendency to experience mental breakdowns, low self-esteem, and self-deprecating behavior.

Taking credit for another person’s success, making impossible demands, imposing impossible deadlines on an employee, forcing someone to work outside of their job scope, and so forth are all examples of psychological harassment.

• Cyberbullying

The newest form of harassment is digital harassment or cyberbullying, which involves online abuse. It’s as hurtful as physical bullying, and it occurs over the internet.

Sheri Mooney, CEO, and president of Mind Squad HR, said:

“Digital harassment includes posting threats or demeaning comments on social media, creating a fake persona to bully someone online, creating a webpage about the victim to mock and belittle them, and making false allegations online.”

Usage of social media has become a norm in many workplaces. Hence in the name of free speech, anyone can harass anyone digitally. People can make fake personas to demean or bully their colleagues.

However, there is also good news about digital harassment. Victims may document it and someone who is being bullied or harassed might take notes of these events in screenshots, saved e-mails, and other forms of documentation.

Doing so enables employees subjected to workplace bullying to simply disclose these offensive actions.

• Sexual Harassment

Sexual assault and other forms of sex-based harassment are illegal in Texas. It’s more common than you might believe, and it affects people of both genders. It is an offense that does not exclusively affect women. A person of either gender may be the victim or perpetrator of sexual misconduct.

According to a ZipRecruiter poll, 40% of women and 14% of men said they had been the victim of sexual harassment at work.

Unwanted touching, sending obscene communications and movies, requests for sexual favors, and comments that include obscene hand motions are some of the indicators of sexual harassment.

Most of the time, these events go undetected and unreported, allowing offenders to continue their misbehavior. Many victims are hesitant to speak about it since they believe things will improve if they do, but this is not the case. If someone is a sex offender and makes others feel uncomfortable, one must inform authorities.

• Physical Harassment

Physical Harassment in the workplace can take on a variety of forms. Touching clothes, skin, physical assaults, threats, and damaging personal property are examples of inappropriate tactile punishment.

People who identify as gender minorities or LGBTQIA+ are more likely to experience such forms of abuse at work. Offenders may downplay some harassment by making jokes that don’t result in bodily harm; in these situations, it’s difficult to spot physical assaults.

Even if there are no serious bodily injuries, the act of touching someone persistently might be considered physical harassment. Employees must file a complaint and take robust action against offenders.