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11 Responses to “What is a hostile work environment?”

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6. CHRISTOPHER GRANT Says:
   June 30th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

   Soo, if I am working at a business place and I see a coworker illtreating another business partner I have the rights to report it.

7. Caitlin Says:
   July 1st, 2010 at 9:14 am

   Hi Christopher! Your statement is generally correct. If you see illegal discrimination against a coworker, you can and should report it to HR or a supervisor. If they do not take action, you should report it to the EEOC. It is not necessary for the person filing the discrimination complaint to be the victim of discrimination — and in many cases, the complaint is filed by someone else. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Caitlin

8. bridget Says:
   February 9th, 2012 at 5:14 pm

   Hello i work in a mapping company that consists of nothing but men. Only 5 women. There is a lead manager, V, that seems to use the worng words to speak to me. We first bumped heads when the other office opened and he insisted to have me sit at a certain desk, even though there was not any computers put up anywhere. At the end of my lunch, my belongings were where I wanted them to be. We talked and he confessed to me that he tends to want to control situations. Thats just him. Spoke to a manager about this belittling. He was talked to. I reported to other leads until just recently. There was no work, so he insisted I work on some training, something that I already know. The way he said it ” I want to have you train. I want some consistency.” Later he gets mad cause training was over really quick. I didnt train, just another lead said that I did because he knows I didnt need it. He later tells that at least he doesnt want any lose ends. He talks about how i wasnt doing anything. I really feel belittled. Not only that but the other day I got pulled over and he talked to me about overtime. There is no over time unless authorized. Really I only worked 3-1/2 hrs of ot in the past 2 weeks. I feel so uncontrolable when he is around. Like he is always on my case. I messed up once on a pro. total days that were lost. Happens every time in this kind work. V (the person that im talking about) wants to come to the bottom of all this and find out who messed up. Weeks before that V had spoken to me about moving me up to a lead. Now i feel so restricted. Seeking out for others to give me work so I dont have to respond to him. I work great when I can be me and not have to be like a robot. Im hired by an agency but working for a sub contractor. My 6 months are up. Trying to wait till in on board with the company. Bad part is that V is doing my review, then passing it to the manager. What should I do? Afriad that if i say somethign i could be let go. Sincerely Bridget

9. Caitlin Says:
   February 9th, 2012 at 7:41 pm

   Hi bridget! Although your supervisor V will probably not win any “boss of the year” awards, this also does not sound like it is illegal discrimination. Lets take a step back and look at the situation.
   Under federal and state laws, this supervisor V must treat you the same as he would treat a male worker with the same job performance, under the same circumstances. We see no indication in your post that V is friendly and supportive to your male coworkers. It sounds like V likes to be in control — a trait many, many supervisors share. But it also sounds like V treats all the employees equally. If that is the case, how you feel is your responsibility, not the supervisors. It is not his job to make sure you feel secure and happy at work — it is his job to make sure the work is done.
   The supervisor has the right to tell you which desk to sit at. He has the right to expect you to stay busy all the time. If you do not have any work to do, he has the right to require that you undergo training, even if you feel that you have already been trained. Frankly, you and the other supervisor should not go behind his back to prevent you from doing more training.
   The reality of the situation is that with each new supervisor, employees must prove themselves over again. Ideally, you would work hard and earn this supervisors trust by doing a great job. Eventually he would trust you more, and allow you to work more independently. Unfortunately, because you are going behind his back to avoid training, that is probably not going to happen.
   When an employer says “no overtime without approval” that means no overtime — not one minute. So the fact that you worked several hours of overtime is a big problem — plus, it implies disrespect of V. At the very least, you should have asked him before working those hours.
   You messed up and made a mistake. You say it happens all the time, but obviously it does not, or there would not be a need to “get to the bottom” of the situation. You may as well admit that you made the mistake, and do what you can to correct it.
   Frankly, it sounds like you are not living up to Vs standards, and he has the right to be disappointed with your performance. We suspect that he is treating you as he would any male employee who acted this way. If this is not true, and you are being treated worse than male employees who act the same way, you have a valid complaint, and should speak to upper management or HR. But frankly, we suspect that V is treating you this way because in his eyes, you are a problem employee.
   Unless you can win Vs trust and show him that you can do a great job, your prospects of landing a permanent job with this company are not very good. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Caitlin

10. bridget Says:
    February 10th, 2012 at 10:15 am

    what if v talks behind your backs to others. Tells other emplyees in anger that i got him so made that he was just about to tell me to clock out and leave. That When when he spoke to the other lead he said that he wanted things to be consistend and not have any loss end. He does then to treat me diffent. there is two sides to the office. On this side im the only female. And the only one that i seem to have an issue with.And him with me. Even though he says that there is no Ot there is a lot in here that are doing ot. I am always asking others if its just me or does he seem to have it out for me. Eveyone agrees that he does have it out for me. We once stoke in the confence room and he said the like the way i worked and that he would like to see me move up and be a lead. Now im far from that.this was before i mixed up the project and mest up. i took ownership for messing up. that i was not sure where we went wrong. but we did and all we can do is move on and make sure we are more carful. He later was cracking little jobs like ” lets make sure we get it right and not mest up.”,” Are you sure that this is correct” It wasnt to me but to others like he was tonting me on it. skype him and let him know that i was getting really upset with him pushing the issue. that is he can stop. He did. but has done it a couple of time after we talk. When every i try to branch off when there is not work and work with the ortho people he denies it. Im a good worker and im really afraid because he is going to do my review. hoping that he puts those feeling aside and just base things one my work. It makes sence what you said, but i guess my feeling are saying no its not that.that there is more to it. This is why i say he tend to be little me. That he underestametes what im about to get done. Once he aske how how a proect will take. said i would be finish by the time i need to clock out. He said ” no you wont.Its too much and i dont think your aable to do it in that time” I was hurt that he would think so little of me. So i made it my goal to prove him worng. Let him know not to underestamte me and the ability to finsh. I dont know maybe i should just let it run its course and take the hits. Feel hopeless at times. Well thank you for your input. Really put somthings in perspective.

11. Caitlin Says:
    February 10th, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Hi bridget! You bring up some important points. When a supervisor talks behind an employees back, that is unprofessional, but not necessarily illegal. It also sounds like his style of communiating is not an effective one with you. Many, many male supervisors would challange an employee by saying, “You cannot get that project done by the end of the day.” They would employ this tactic to spur an employee on to achieve more. It sounds like you are looking for a supervisor who can be more supportive and encouraging. Unfortunately, that is just a difference in management style, rather than harassment.
    It definitely sounds like V has it in for you. The thing is, if he has it in for you based on your job performance, that is completely legal. However, if he has it in for you simply because you are female, then that would be illegal discrimination based on sex.
    Since you feel so strongly that y ou are not being treated fairly, file a complaint with HR or upper management about illegal discrimination based on sex. That may not solve the problem, but V is more likley to treat you better, and perhaps evaluate you better, if you file the complaint. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs! Caitlin

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