Hostile Work Environment Is It The Job Or Just Your Attitude

Hostile Work Environment Is It The Job Or Just Your Attitude If you hate going to work in the morning, its a clear sign that something is wrong. But what is the dicke bretter bohren mssen? Is it that you dont like your job or is it that you cant tolerate the work environment?If you hate going to work, youre not alone. According toGallup, a whopping 70 percent of us dont feel engaged at work And this is literally killing us. Dragging yourself every day to a job you can barely tolerate affects your health and well-being. Youre stressed. You dont sleep. You get sick mora often because of your job. Its obvious that you need to do something to fix this. After all, you spend most of your waking hours at workWhat qualifies as hostile?What even is a hostile work environment? The Balance defines it as a workplace in which unwelcome comments or conduct based on gender, race, nationality, religion, disability, sexual orientation, age or other legally protected characteristics unreasonably inte rfere with an employees work performance or create an intimidating or offensive work environment for the employee who is being harassed.According toThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), To be unlawful, the hostile conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people. Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or anthroponym calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.Can you sue your employer for hostile work environment harassment?Yes, you can sue your employer for a hostile work environment. You must prove, however, that you were victim of offensive, unwelcome and pervasive conduct. You must also prove that it affected the terms and conditions of your employment. For instance, if your anfhrer is verbally abusing or threatening you in any way, you a re working in a hostile work environment, and it is affecting your ability to do your job, since you may be frightened to even go to work.A hostile work environment is created when anyone in the workplace commitsanytype of harassment, and this goes for a co-worker, a supervisor or manager, a contractor, client, vendor or visitor.Signs you may be working in a hostile work environmentDo you find yourself saying any of the following statements? (Keep in mind that not all of them mean youre in a hostile work environment, but they could still be indications that its time to leave.) Its a dead-end job with no opportunity for advancement.Nothing kills your motivation more than knowing that youre stuck in a position and cant find a way out. Perhaps youve tried to move up or find a lateral move with more interesting work at your company, but it never materializes. This squelches your enthusiasm and over time, you resent the work and the company. You feel trapped. My work is boring.Youre tire d of busy work. You think, Im better than this. Youve requested different projects but have been told theyre not in your job description. Theres no opportunity to try new things, be creative, or showcase your skills. You feel marginalized, and its affecting your self-esteem. You are beginning to question your ability and you can barely tolerate your to-do list. I dont get any acknowledgment or credit for my work.If you work hard and your work is valued by the company, it feels good and motivates you to do your best work. If the opposite is the case, all your hard work goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Even worse, others could take credit for your work That destroys your ambition and you begin to lose respect for yourself and your work. Youve addressed this issue, but it falls on deaf ears. Everyone is out for themselves.Theres no collaboration or support from your boss or colleagues. Everyone has their own agenda and disregards your request to be more transparent and candid. People are always jockeying for the best position for themselves, including your boss who has never advocated for you. He/she has their own agenda and youre not part of it. This cut-throat environment is toxic and it undermines your success. You constantly walk on eggshells as you try to navigate the hidden politics. It robs you of your energy and you notice that youve become more cynical and critical of others. Everyone gossips and its cliquey. Its hard to separate yourself from this ugliness. There are unrealistic expectations.Your company has unrealistic demands about the workload and deadlines. The expectation is that you will be available 24/7 for emails and phone calls, that you will put in whatever hours it takes to complete your projects. Now youre exhausted and burned out. Its a challenge to get approval for a flexible schedule without mountains of red tape which you dont have the energy to wade through. You see the quality of your work suffering as you are overwhelmed with the wo rkload. The bosss way is the only way.Theres only one way to do things. The only accepted way to do things is what the boss says. The boss is always right and never make mistakes. No one is interested in hearing any other suggestions or ideas from you or anyone else. People who agree with the boss get promoted and people who even politely disagree are demoted or fired. This is called wrongful termination. This type of toxic workplace relationship with a supervisor results in mediocrity, and you never considered yourself mediocre. Is that what it takes to survive here? Im micromanaged to death.You have little if any freedom to do your job. Youre micromanaged, and every step of every procedure is spelled out for you. When you have an innovative idea or suggestion for improving things, your thoughts are disregarded. Your boss goes on vacation and redoes all your work when she returns. You notice youre beginning to lose touch with your creativity. Im underpaid.According to the National Partnership for Women Families, women are paid 80 cents to the dollar of what a man gets paid, and its even less if youre a woman of color. And chances are youre working harder than your male colleagues who have the freedom to schmooze after work when you have family responsibilities. This often has nothing to do with your performance. Its gender bias plain and simple. It isnt fair, and when you feel that you arent being treated fairly due to your gender, your frustration builds over time and you https//fairygodboss.com/articles/i-hate-my-job and your company. Im discriminated against.Although legislation exists in more than 10 states (including Washington as HB 2142 and SB 6622), there isnt a federal or state law that explicitly and generally outlaws bullying at work or hostile work environments, according to Seattle geschftsleben Magazine. Rather, laws such as Washingtons Law Against Discrimination, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act o f 1967, American With Disabilities Act, Equal Pay Act and more prohibit discrimination and harassment in most workplaces.Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion. It generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state and local governments. In short its an anti-discrimination law. According to Title VII, no one (coworkers, managers, clients or otherwise) can discriminate against your sexual orientation, national origin, race, religion or anything else, and if you do see or feel discrimination at work, you can report it or, ultimately, contact a hostile work environment attorney to fight any of this hostile work environment harassment with a legal claim. Everyone is entitled to an equal employment opportunity with protected civil rights regardless of their employment status.It is, of course, import ant to know what constitutes discrimination. Petty slights, annoyances and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) wont rise to the level of illegality, according to theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that is intimidating, hostile or offensive to reasonable people.Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures and interference with work performance, the EEOC explains, noting that, a reasonable person should agree. Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following The harasser can be the victims supervisor, a supervisor in another area, an agent of the employer, a co-worker or a non-employee. The victim does not have to be the person harassed but can be anyone affected by the offensive c onduct. Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or discharge of, the victim.What to doSo what is it? Do you hate your job, your company or both?Heres an important question to answer Would you love doing the work youre currently doing somewhere else?I had a session with a client about this just this morning and she told me she could see herself doing the saatkorn work shes doing now and loving it in a different environment. She was able to separate the work from the company by answering that question for herself.Lookfor a new jobIf its the work you hate and there is no other opportunity within your company, the solution is the same as working in a bad environment. You need to leave. Over time, hating your company and work will affect your health and your career.If you like your work, look for similar job descriptions at other companies. In most industries, you can find similar roles elsewhere through networking, combing job boards, or using other job search tools.Do your homework before accepting another position. Ask to interview women in the company at your level and above. Make koranvers you have good information about the culture before you take the leap. But taking the leap is critical before your self-esteem is so damaged that making the move is impossible to comprehend.Occasionally, a job interview can be a hostile environment, so also be sure to look out for obvious signs of hostility in the interview for your new job, too. You wouldnt want to have left one hostile environment just to waltz right into another one. For example, an employer might ask you inappropriate or illegal interview questions, such as if youre planning on starting a family or if youre married. Before an interview, know what questions employers are and are not allowed to ask you.Federal and state laws prohibit prospective employers from asking questions that are not related to the job for which they are hiring. In other words, employers should not ask about any of t he following unless it specifically relates to the job requirements (otherwise, its considered discriminatory) race, color, sex, religion, national origin, birthplace, age, disability, marital/family status, salary (some locations).Make it work at your current jobIf you dont want to leave, you should at least consider talking to someone in human resources about your issues. You might want to speak to your companys HR department for advice on setting up a meeting or mediated conversation between you and whomever it is thats making your work environment unbearable.That all said, no employees should ever have to have experienced a hostile workplace, whether that means discrimination, sexual harassment, offensive conduct from a supervisor or a coworker, or any kind of workplace harassment in the first place. A hostile work environment is not healthy and your work performance and life in general will suffer because of it. If youre a reasonable person, you will be taken seriously.The bott om lineIf youre in a hostile work environment, you may want to look for new employment or at least speak to a supervisor within your company to talk about how to improve the situation. But you also may want to consider reporting the hostility in order to help the next employee who will take your place if you do indeed leave and in order to help yourself cope with the aftermath of the effects.The law related to a hostile work environment is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you feel like your employment rights have been violated, you can file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC by mail, in person or by telephone within 180 days of the incident with some exceptions.Then, if the EEOC is unable to solve your workplace aufgabe within six months, or if you feel as if your case is not handled as well as youd anticipated, you can contact a lawyer to discuss other possibilities thereafter. Its up to you to take these actions, especially if your problem i s severe or pervasive. Fortunately, the employment law is on your side.--Bonnie Marcus, M.Ed is an executive coach, author and keynote speaker focused on womens advancement in the workplace. A former corporate executive and CEO, Bonnie is the author of Leadership Shortage.