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People
First!
Publisher: James Carter
http://www.EmployeeDevelopmentSolutions.com
Repario Ltd. 2004 - 2008
"You
cannot teach a person anything. You can only help
him or her to discover it within themselves."
- Galilei Galileo, 1564-1642
IN
THIS ISSUE
1. Recent News
2.
My Issue For This Issue - Hostile Work Environments:
What To Do?
3.
Books on the Subject of Hostile Work
Environment
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1.
Recent News
There are literally hundreds of article per month
that could be put into this section, but I only have
so much time. If there is an article that MUST be
read by everyone, please email me at: james@EmployeeDevelopmentSolutions.com
and I will include it on the website and/or in the
next Ezine.
a) Workers Have Lives - San Jose Mercury News, March
18, 2001
'Managers ignore or misunderstand that employees can't
leave families and outside interests at the door.'
This article discusses something I have talked about,
ad nauseum. There is not separation of life and work.
We only have ONE life. How can the pressures of work
not affect your home life and vice versa. This is
something we all pretty much know, but it is easy
to forget when you have that last-minute project that
'has to be done'.
This
is a great article because the author, Arthur L. Coleman,
takes a look at history as well and how this separation
of work and life became such an 'iron curtain' in
management practice.
P.S. There was a great deal of news for this month,
but the entire folder has been kidnapped. If recovered,
you will see the articles I found of interest this
past month. What a shame, there were some great articles
covered. Not the least of which was the article about
diversity at the University of Michigan.
Back
to Top
2.
My Issue For This Issue - Hostile Work Environments:
What To Do?
Hostile
work environments (HWEs) are one of the most painful
- and unproductive - experiences anyone can have in
modern corporate America.
Employers
seek to prevent HWEs because they can be extremely
disruptive to the work force. And HWEs carry with
them potentially devastating financial liabilities.
Most importantly, the human toll of HWEs is significant.
Employees begin to dread coming to work. They go home
drained, exhausted, and frustrated. Perhaps the most
difficult feature of an HWE is knowing: is this really
a HWE, or am I being too sensitive? Who can I talk
to about my experiences? What are my options?
Perhaps
the first thing to do if a person thinks they have
a hostile work environment is to seek the advice of
an expert. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
is an important first step for several reasons. The
first is called a Right to Sue.
A
Right to Sue is a document issued by the EEOC giving
a person the right to pursue legal action against
a company. Except for government workers, a person
has up to 365 days (from the point of termination
from a job for perceived discrimination) to acquire
a Right to Sue from the EEOC. Once a Right to Sue
has been issued, the person has ninety days to file
the lawsuit, or they lose the right to file. Thus
it is important, if one has retained a lawyer, to
make sure that the lawsuit gets filed promptly. The
rules and deadlines are different for government workers,
so be sure to ask the EEOC rep to be specific about
the rules and deadlines.
The
EEOC is a useful place to start for reasons other
than getting a Right To Sue. Conversations with EEOC
personnel are free and confidential, and investigators
there can often be valuable sounding boards for discussing
the work environment, and what can be done to address
the situation. Investigations will not take place
unless you give the okay. It is important to note,
however, that their word is not final. It is possible
that an EEOC investigator will not feel that a specific
situation "rises to the level of a hostile work
environment." But a lawyer still might. For example,
an EEOC rep is likely to act only if the hostile environment
pertains to a federally protected category - age,
race, gender, religion, national origin, equal pay,
or disability (or certain locally protected categories
depending upon the state involved). So you may want
to ask for the Right to Sue even if an EEOC rep feels,
for whatever reason, ranging from an objective analysis
to inexperience, that there is insufficient material
to pursue an investigation.
The
conditions that constitute a hostile work environment
vary greatly. In general there are guidelines, but
these things are often decided on a case-by-case basis.
But if events are taking place that you feel are inappropriate,
take action. Even if it's just a phone call or an
email, do something to stop that gnawing sense that
you are in a bad situation with no options. This often
contributes substantially to the toll the HWE takes
on you as a person. Usually there are options, and
talking to other people - friends, a labor lawyer,
and an EEOC rep - is usually helpful. Services like
Pre-Paid Legal Services, which costs about $25 a month,
provides hours of free phone consultations with a
lawyer. EEOC consultations are free. Information from
local departments of labor might also prove useful.
Often,
whether one talks to an EEOC investigator or a lawyer,
the question will arise: did you attempt to notify
your employer of the perceived discrimination? This
is because it is now expected that an employee will
notify their employer about experiences of discrimination
or hostility in the workplace, and give the employer
an opportunity to correct the situation before legal
action is taken. This can create a very difficult
decision for an employee, because many work environments,
hostile or otherwise, are not especially good at feedback,
so employees take a might be taking a substantial
risk by speaking up. Again, however, there are options.
An
employer has a responsibility to provide a safe and
effective mechanism for reporting experiences. If
there is a history of people using that vehicle and
being punished for doing so, it can be argued that
the employer has failed to provide such a mechanism.
Again, it must be discussed on a case-by-case basis,
but if you can show that the reporting mechanism was
untrustworthy, it could well have an impact in the
mind of an EEOC investigator, or a judge. Anonymous
surveys can be an effective tool to document situations
where existing feedback tools are widely viewed as
ineffective or dangerous (full disclosure: the author
provides such a free survey).
Documentation
in one form or another can be critical. Should you
provide a letter explaining the situation to your
employer, for example, retain a copy. Provide specific
examples of the discriminatory behavior, and state
that you would like this behavior to cease. Document
any subsequent behavior you feel is retaliatory.
Finally,
stay in touch with the lawyer or EEOC rep or other
experienced individual with whom you are working -
for moral support, but also to make sure your documentation
and the steps you are taking are appropriate. For
your emotional well-being, it is often valuable to
know that you are not alone, but that you have a "team"
of support. This will also enable you to pursue remedies
without any danger of being viewed as a distraction
at work. Speak to colleagues whom you feel you can
trust, and take the appropriate and necessary steps
outside the work environment to get the situation
addressed.
HWEs
are bad for everyone - bad for business, bad for the
community, bad for families, and bad for individual
or groups of employees. It is important to, as best
we can, stamp out hostile work environments wherever
they arise. With information and guidance, often there
are steps that can be taken to improve a bad situation.
The
EEOC's number is: 1-800-669-4000.
The number for Pre-Paid Legal Services is: 1-800.654.7757
Please
note: we have no financial arrangement with Pre-Paid
Legal. The number is provided only so that you investigate
evaluate whether the service might be beneficial to
you. This is a not an endorsement of the service.
Written
by Mark Parham of Culture Consulting, Inc
Back
to Top
3.
Books on the Subject of Hostile Work Environment
Your Workplace Rights and How to Make the Most
of Them: An Employee's Guide
by Robert J. Gregory
The
Violence-Prone Workplace: A New Approach to Dealing
With Hostile, Threatening, and Uncivil Behavior
by Richard V. Denenberg, Mark Braverman
The
Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt
and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job
by Gary Namie, Ruth Namie Ph.D, Ruth Namie
Do
yourself a favor and buy your books from www.half.com.
Unbelievable prices.
Back
to Top
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