Hostile Work Environment

[konkapot]

Would like to correspond with someone who is knowledgable about elements of a "hostile work environment" complaint.

Not looking to retain a lawyer, just looking for some of the "concepts" involved.

Thanks

FY42385

[tracker]

By "hostile" are you referring to violent? Or just head games(BS?) and internal politics? I am no ex-spurt but had the "opportunity" to work in an environment where one employee (who now is ex employee)conducted his own slow "contamination" of the whole buisness.

[want2race]

Most companies now recognize bullying as harrassment. They key is to report it and document everything. Keep a log of events.

[Dwain C. Baer]

Most companies now recognize bullying as harrassment. They key is to report it and document everything. Keep a log of events.

Good point, but some organizations still try to "minimize" bullying and harrassment.

[AlamoShooter]

if you don't write it down in a log , thin it did not happen.

[Dwain C. Baer]

if you don't write it down in a log , then it did not happen.

True...

[Canuck223]

The reality is, we are not all well liked at work, nor do we always like our co-workers. When we make mistakes, or have to deal with poor performance, unpleasant but needed conversations are going to occur.

The difference is in the answer to one simple question.

"Do we act in a respectful, professional manner, and are we treated in a respectful, professional manner?"

[Dwain C. Baer]

The reality is, we are not all well liked at work, nor do we always like our co-workers. When we make mistakes, or have to deal with poor performance, unpleasant but needed conversations are going to occur.

The difference is in the answer to one simple question.

"Do we act in a respectful, professional manner, and are we treated in a respectful, professional manner?"

Good points...for sure

[konkapot]

I may have given the wrong impression here.......I work with someone who has started talking about the hostile environment in which she "works."

Just trying to get a feel for how these things play out.

"Unpleasant but needed conversations" have (finally) occured, which I think is what's causing her to head this direction.

Good times.

FY42385

[Canuck223]

I may have given the wrong impression here.......I work with someone who has started talking about the hostile environment in which she "works."

Just trying to get a feel for how these things play out.

"Unpleasant but needed conversations" have (finally) occured, which I think is what's causing her to head this direction.

Good times.

FY42385

I unfortunately deal with this every day. I have an individual in my crew that to be kind, has a personality disorder. (Calling him a f-ing whack job would make it a hostile worplace)

When he's happy, he can perform. When he's in a manic phase, he goes in random directions with unpredictable results. When he's in a depressive phase, he's equally unpredictable. He can be a workhorse, or shamelessly idle.

It's a full time job keeping him on task. When he's not on task, it's a full time job plus massive amounts of unpaid overtime trying to manage his behavior.

[sfchorn]

I will preface my comments by stating that I am predicating everything below on the assumption that poor management has not created or contributed to the problem.

The key to dealing with this type of issue is not getting distracted by the attempts at misdirection. An underperforming employee will often deflect responsibility and try to lead you down the rabbit hole with accusations of favoritism, unfairness, or predujice. Don't fall for this. Keep redirecting each conversation back to the unproductive behavior. That is the first key point.

The second key point is to document everything. Hopefully, there is already a record of addressing the performance issue, complete with an improvement plan to help the employee get back on track. It is imperative that you can demonstrate good-faith efforts to help the employee.

The third key point is to remember is that you really are trying to help the employee. You are trying to get them to recognize, own, and modify their behavior. If you can do that, then everyone wins.

The last thing is for management to take a self-reflectve look inward. How did this situation get to this point? Was it a bad hiring decision? Was it poor training? Was it a less that stellar workplace culture? Whatever the cause, there will always be room or improvement on both ends. Remember that a bad employee isn't just a drain on managers. A bad employee is a drain on every other employee as well. Don't think they don't know and recognize a turd in the punchbowl. They do. They are waiting for management to do something about it.

[ajg308]

This post is spot on and you should read it several times. One of the most important things written here is behavorial change. Document everything, focus on being professional, and when the persons behavior does not change, change the person. Since you will be able to show you tried, getting rid of the person will be easy.

I will preface my comments by stating that I am predicating everything below on the assumption that poor management has not created or contributed to the problem.

The key to dealing with this type of issue is not getting distracted by the attempts at misdirection. An underperforming employee will often deflect responsibility and try to lead you down the rabbit hole with accusations of favoritism, unfairness, or predujice. Don't fall for this. Keep redirecting each conversation back to the unproductive behavior. That is the first key point.

The second key point is to document everything. Hopefully, there is already a record of addressing the performance issue, complete with an improvement plan to help the employee get back on track. It is imperative that you can demonstrate good-faith efforts to help the employee.

The third key point is to remember is that you really are trying to help the employee. You are trying to get them to recognize, own, and modify their behavior. If you can do that, then everyone wins.

The last thing is for management to take a self-reflectve look inward. How did this situation get to this point? Was it a bad hiring decision? Was it poor training? Was it a less that stellar workplace culture? Whatever the cause, there will always be room or improvement on both ends. Remember that a bad employee isn't just a drain on managers. A bad employee is a drain on every other employee as well. Don't think they don't know and recognize a turd in the punchbowl. They do. They are waiting for management to do something about it.

[DrawandDuck]

Lots of things are involved in a actual "hostile work environment"...

The phrase “hostile work environment” seems self-explanatory but in the legal sense, there are some conditions that must be met before the commencement of any litigation that will consider the claims of a complainant as harassment. A definition of hostile work environment here, will thus be in order.

In general, a hostile work environment ensues when there is discriminatory conduct or behavior in the place of work that is unwelcome and offensive to an employee or group of employees based on a protected class status.

What does this mean? In litigation, the complainant must be a member of a protected class under that state’s law (women, disabled, and a specific race) and the complaint should pertain directly to perceived discrimination that specifically targets that class. For instance, a boss who yells all the time may cause an intimidating or stressful work environment but as long as he does this in a general manner and refrains from making any discriminatory statements about a particular protected class, then he is not subject to harassment suits. He may be liable for other charges, however, such as intentional infliction of emotional distress.

It is important to note further that the conduct or behavior must be pervasive and constitute a pattern rather than consist of one or two isolated incidents. Occasional teasing and offhand comments, which some may find offensive, do not qualify as harassment, nor does a single incident constitute a hostile work environment.

An exception to the above definition is a case of sexual harassment primarily indicating an unwelcome physical behavior of a person in authority towards a subordinate. It would be reasonable to assume that this will instantly alter the work environment of the subordinate, and refusal to submit would result in negative employment effects. However, there must be some tangible evidence to support this as well as any other type of harassment complaint.

Another requirement is that the pattern of behavior has to be of a degree severe enough to cause disruption beyond a reasonable degree in the work of the targeted employee such as when he becomes disturbed because of intimidation or due to fear of loss of employment. The complainant must have reason to believe that such behavior patterns are likely to continue indefinitely. The rule elaborates that the conduct may be verbal or physical in nature

While there are no references to federal hostile work environment laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws on age discrimination and disabilities discrimination embodies the prohibition of creating a hostile environment for certain protected classes. These include but are not limited to discrimination based on:

•Race

•Ethnicity

•Religion

•Disability

•Age

•Sex

•Color

The Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the initial recourse for discrimination cases in the private sector. There are also Fair Labor Practices agencies specific to states that may also handle complaints. On the other hand, the two agencies may decide to handle certain cases jointly. In either case, the purpose of these two types of redress is to ensure that the complaint has reasonable grounds before it is brought to court.

The EEOC statistics show that of the complaints filed between 1997 and 2006, between 41% and 47% of all cases were dismissed because of lack of reasonable grounds. While it is unknown what portion of those dismissed complaints are due to a misinterpretation of what constitutes a hostile work environment, it would be reasonable to assume that this would be a significant portion. Based on the conditions for filing harassment complaints, a viable legal definition of hostile work environment applies.

[Singlestack]

Awww hell no. ^^^ Copy and past. ^^^ Ain't no way Randall just said that.

[ajg308]

Lol, I don't even know you guys and that is funny.

[whitedog]

You can file a charge and not be in a "protected" group. Seen it about 10 times in 2 years. 4 were won with a monetary award. 1 was won with a promotion. All white men, healthy, between 30 and 50 years old. However I work for the gov, where some different rules apply. The op and his issue are also gov employees. The gov will settle with an employee long before an eeoc case can get through the system. That's what the problem is. Employees getting away with crap and then sweeping it under the rug. If the cases were to go through the system, 99% would lose. And the problem employees would eventually go away.