How to Deal With Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination is the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people, especially on the basis of race, age, sex/gender, sexual orientation, disability, and class. It involves the actual behavior towards members within a certain group or someone who belongs to that particular group.

Harassment is a form of discrimination in which a person or group subjects another person or group to unwelcome actions that are related to their membership in a certain social identity group (or groups) by engaging in unpleasant and possibly hostile behavior towards them. Once it happens more than once then it becomes harassment because if it was just an isolated incident then it wouldn’t be harassment but just some random act perpetrated by somebody else. People who engage in harassment are known as harassers or bullies.

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How Do the Two Relate to One Another?

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Harassment can be a form of discrimination, thus creating an environment where workplace discrimination occurs. Workplace discrimination refers to unfair treatment based on certain characteristics of an employee, which include age, ethnicity/race, sex/gender, religion, and disability. Harassment often leads to different forms of workplace discrimination such as sexual harassment towards female employees and racial slurs being hurled at people who belong to a certain ethnic group. Sexual harassment has been described by the U.S. Supreme Court as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors [and] other verbal or physical conduct of a sexually-harassing nature”. Although there is no specific type of harassment that is considered workplace discrimination, all forms of harassment can lead to different types of workplace discrimination including unfair treatment.

How Does One Deal With It?

When dealing with any form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace, one has to first identify whether it really is an act of harassment or discrimination by discussing this issue with your employer. If you do not feel comfortable talking about this matter directly to your boss then discuss it with someone in authority at your company whom you trust so they can relay the message to your boss. There are several ways in which one can deal with these sorts of work-related problems such as approaching the person who made the unwanted action towards you and asking them politely not to repeat their offensive actions; seeking help from a trusted colleague who you can confide in; talking to your employer about the situation and ask them for advice on how best to proceed or, if possible, enlist the help of an organization like Sattiraju & Tharney that specializes in this sort of problem.

What Are Some Ways to Avoid Being Harassed?

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If someone is engaging in what appears to be harassment then one might have the option to simply ignore these actions so as not to further engage with the harasser. However, ignoring these actions may allow them to continue doing it since they will think their behavior is being tolerated even though it’s actually being ignored. One way to deal with it would be just to confront them directly by telling them that they are making you feel uncomfortable or unhappy with their behavior – perhaps they did not realize it and if they knew they would stop. Another way would be to document the harassment via recording the incidents in detail or writing emails to provide proof of what is happening for example which should help you take action against them such as the following.

What Are Some Ways NOT to Deal With These Problems?

Avoiding any confrontation, getting angry or aggressive, and taking revenge on other employees who maybe didn’t do anything wrong – this will only make things worse because you will end up making yourself look like a bad person by behaving that way instead of simply reporting the incident without getting into an argument over it. Also, avoid these sorts of issues altogether by just thinking that it’s okay – it isn’t okay, it’s illegal and unfair treatment! So don’t avoid anything – deal with it!

What Are Some Ways to Prevent Harassment?

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There are several ways in which one can try to stop or prevent harassment from happening. First, one should provide clear guidelines on what is considered unacceptable behavior at your place of work, so that employees know how they should behave towards each other. Secondly, managers should ensure that there is a well-documented process for reporting problems and for taking action against those who have been accused of doing something wrong. You could also teach your employees about how to recognize workplace discrimination and develop an open door policy where employees feel comfortable coming forward if they are being harassed instead of being fearful because they fear the consequences of speaking up. Finally, you could also just do nothing but hope that the problem goes away on its own – if it doesn’t then maybe it’s time to take action.

What Are Some Common Examples of Discrimination?

Some common types of discrimination include race discrimination (against people who are a different color), age discrimination (against young or old people), disability discrimination (against people with disabilities), and sexual harassment (against men or women). Discrimination can also be against someone’s religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or political affiliation just to name a few.

What Are Some Examples of When Workplace Discrimination Might Happen?

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There are many situations in which an employee might feel that they were discriminated against at their place of work. Some common reasons for this include being passed over for promotion, receiving lower salary offers than others, experiencing unfair disciplinary actions or termination, and generally feeling like one isn’t treated fairly by one’s colleagues or employer.

Conclusion

As you can see, discrimination is a common problem in the workplace. It’s important to have clear guidelines in place so that people know how to behave towards each other and also to ensure that there are consistent consequences for employees who don’t follow the rules.  Also, it’s important to ensure that you are treating your employees fairly by giving them equal opportunities for good performance and pay raises. Finally, if someone is being treated unfairly or discriminated against at work it’s important to take action because nobody deserves to feel like they are being put down or treated badly simply because of their race, age, sex, etc.