Horrible To Hostile Work Environment

Studies show that one in every five people across the nation experience not just a horrible workplace, but an actionably hostile work environment. So if you suspect that there just isn’t something right with your workplace, then listen to this inner voice. You will need to act as quickly as you can so that the issues can be addressed and future incidents can be prevented altogether, before more employees along with yourself are irreversibly affected. 

Unwelcome conduct at work is considered any actions that entail discrimination, violence, victimization, harassment, or sexual harassment. All of these would create a work environment that is not just hostile, but unlawful. Such incidents may occur consistently and on purpose to target one employee or a group. An unhealthy workplace has characteristics such as frequent arguments, burnout symptoms, employee complaints about underappreciation or low wages, absenteeism, and more. With a hostile work environment, employees are likely to experience apprehension, fear, and worry about more incidents to come. 

A person is protected from discrimination while they are in school, at work, purchasing goods as a consumer, when renting or buying property, as a member of association or club, or when using public services. Every person deserves to go about their day without fear of being discriminated against or harassed, but sadly, that is often not the reality. Most people will face such unlawful treatment at one point or another in their lifetime, so it’s important to know when it’s time to speak up and contact a lawyer. Here are signs that your workplace is probably not just horrible, but violating employee protection laws:

• There is victimization or ridiculing. People may tease each other or play jokes, which can be normal between friends at work. But pranks that leave someone frustrated or embarrassed is a sign of a hostile workplace.
• There is constant aggressiveness such as yelling, passive-aggressive behaviors, and unreasonably high levels of competition.
• Employees are consistently submitting complaints about the company. If you are having concerns about the workplace, keep your ears open when others share their personal experiences and see if they are similar to yours. 
• Employees are becoming the victims of dicrimination. By law, an employee is protected from being treated negatively due to characteristics such as gender reassignment, age, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, religion, race, and nationally. 

A hostile work environment is defined as a workplace that makes workers feel intimidated, uncomfortable, or scared because of unwanted conduct. There are many questions that can arise when someone thinks they may be in a hostile work situation. It’s only understandable that you may wonder if the conduct is actually against the law, or just the product of low morale and general grumpiness. How can an employee know whether their feelings of discomfort are warranted, or they are just displeased with their job and are ready to move on? As an employment litigation lawyer from Eric Siegel Law explains, if you are someone who thinks your work environment is hostile and violates your legal protections, then now is the time to get your questions answered.