Harassment in the Workplace There was a time many years ago that a nurse would often put up with harassment at work, both from the patients and occasionally from the physicians. Times were very different in the 50s and 60s, and for the most part, any claim of harassment would cause you to be viewed as a trouble maker. Female nurses and sometimes male nurses as well literally put up with verbal harassment and the occasional pinch or slap in a very inappropriate area. Try that today and you would be out of a job in no time at all. Human Resource Departments Human Resource departments of medical facilities are very sensitive to harassment of any kind, and declare it won’t be tolerated under any circumstances. However, does it still happen? Yes,it does. You cannot control everyone, every minute of the day, and on occasion, someone puts up with more than their fair share of being humiliated. What is Workplace Harassment? Sure, there are people that take the whole harassment thing too far. They get a compliment, such as you look nice today, and all of a sudden, they are being harassed. On the other hand, there are many people that feel as though they are being harassed, and are concerned about speaking up. Acceptable-
That is a very pretty top Your hair looks nice today
Related: Organ Donations - Facts and Information These are compliments, and providing they are said on occasion, it probably is not a problem. On the other hand, if every day you walk in and the same person delivers the same compliments repeatedly, it’s a problem. The first step could be to simply ask the harasser to stop, that it is an annoyance to you. If it ceases, that’s great. If not, for sure it’s time to speak to human resources. In the interim, document any and all issues, and statements that made you feel uncomfortable. Once you bring it to the attention of human resources, it should be out of your hands, they will handle it from there. Unacceptable-