Workplace Verbal Harassment- Taking The Bully By The HornsWorkplace verbal harassment involves derogatory comments which are made repeatedly in a workplace environment. Any employee has the right to have a workplace which is free of verbal harassment. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure a safe work environment for employers free of verbal harassment, physical harassment or harassment of any type. Any employee who believes what he or she is being victimized by such behavior should make a report of the incident. Don’t be intimidated to the point where you fear for your safety. Verbal harassment in the workplace consists of derogatory comments about a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability, age, and a number of addition characteristics. The behavior has to create interference in the person’s ability to perform their job. It also has to be occurring on a consistent basis which means that both of these elements have to be present to constitute workplace verbal harassment. E-mail can be used to prove sexual harassment in a court of law. A responsible employer should already have a policy which states what type of behavior will not be condoned in the workplace. It shouldn’t stop there. The employer should also have a policy against bullies in the workplace. This lets the employees know that their employer has respect for the workers. Bullying is a form of workplace verbal harassment which, for the most part, doesn’t fall under existing statutes. According to a survey of workers in the United States, about fifty percent of them have dealt with a bully or have witnessed a fellow employee being bullied. The survey was done by the workplace Bullying Institute. Studies such as this should raise awareness about this type of verbal abuse. Workplace bullying became legal terminology through a case which was reported in the news in May 2008. It involved a ruling in favor of a hospital employee by the Indiana Supreme Court. The employee had sued a surgeon there at the hospital for an assault and emotional distress. It is now believed to be best for a small business to adapt an anti-bullying policy because of a trend which could take place based on the Indiana court ruling. It’s also suggested by some that training could be set up to counsel individual in the workplace who tend to bully other employees before it gets out of hand. In the end, it all boils down to the same thing—workplace verbal harassment (or harassment in any form) should not be tolerated and it is the responsibility of employers to make sure it doesn’t happen.
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