Hostile Work Environment -- Why Human Resources Doesn't Care About You
92The H.R. Department Is NOT Where to Turn for Help With a Hostile Work Environment
In the course of the last year I have counseled hundreds of employees over the phone and via email who are suffering at their jobs, dreading the act of going into work each day, and full of panic that they may soon be fired. Usually a supervisor, and often a new supervisor, has turned the employee's otherwise likeable job into a series of run-in's, each one more humiliating and degrading than the last. When the employee reaches their absolute wit's end, they muster up their courage, write out their thoughts on a yellow pad, and sneak off to the Human Resources Department "to file a formal complaint." When the distressed employee arrives he or she doesn't know their legal rights or have a grasp of what actions a supervisor can legally take at work. So the employee sits down in an office with a smiling H.R. Rep on the other side of the desk. It's so nice to have someone to talk to, someone to finally listen, that the employee spills out all their throughts and frustrations that have been building up inside. The H.R. Rep smiles and nods and writes down some notes. The employee is comforted by the smiling and nodding, and so the employee keeps talking, telling H.R. every unfair or hurtful thing the boss has said or done.
When The Meeting With H.R. is Over
After meeting with H.R. most employees feel better about their situation. They feel "heard"; they feel like the company is taking their concerns seriously. The employee is confident that it will not be long until their bullying boss gets what is coming to them.
H.R. typically says "We will thoroughly look into the important issues you've raised," and "We'll get back to you next week." The week goes slowly, but it does seem like the boss is treating the employee better that week. The employee wonders if H.R. already interviewed the boss, who now understands that his or her bullying ways had better change, or they could lose their job.
The Post-Investigation Meeting With H.R.
The employee who "filed a formal complaint" with Human Resources feels better for the week in between meetings with H.R. The employee then hears from the H.R. Rep, who says that the investigation is complete. The H.R. Rep would like the employee to "come meet with me to go over it." The employee imagines reading through the pages of an investigation report that confirms the boss is a serial harasser and employee abuser. The employee imagines the boss being demoted or suspended, and possibly even fired.
It's with these thoughts in mind that the employee goes to the Human Resources Department for the follow up meeting. The H.R. Rep greets the employee at the entrance to the department -- the Rep is still smiling and seems genuinely happy to see the employee. The employee smiles back.
The H.R. Rep guides the employee past the office where they talked before, and gestures instead to a confernence room. The employee steps inside, and as the H.R. Rep shuts the door behind them the employee receives the shock of her life.
The Tables are Turned
The employee walks into the conference room and looks at who is sitting at the table. Seated across it is the scowling VP of H.R. and the employee's own boss. The employee's boss is grinning.
What happens next is the workplace version of a bloodbath. The H.R. Rep sits down next to the employee (and the H.R. Rep is still smiling) and says "We thoroughly investigated your complaint and we were unable to substantiate any of the issues you mentioned. Because there is no illegal discrimination here, your complaint is now closed."
"However," says the VP of HR with a furrowed brow, "your own job performance, or lack there of, is very concerning." As the VP of H.R. says this he opens a thick file, and passes around copies of a five page document titled "Employee Mid-Year Performance Review." The bully supervisor continues to sit there in silence, nodding and smirking.
The employee is so shocked and distraught that he or she has difficulty remembering the details of what was said for the rest of the meeting. An hour later the employee leaves the conference room in stunned silence. The employee leaves carrying a two page document titled "Final Employee Written Warning>" The employee does not go back to working for the rest of the day, but instead drives home and goes to bed. The next day the employee calls in sick, and is thinking that resigning may be the only option.
"What happened?" The employee keeps asking, over and over. "How did that happen?"
Confession From Human Resources Executive
Who Does H.R. Work For?
If you put your trust in H.R. to help you fight back against your bully boss, this is what will happen to you, too. Not to say that you should never go to H.R., but don't count on them to fix anything for you. In fact, you should expect them to attack and undermine your complaint.
Why? Because this is what H.R. is paid to do. Human Resources' purpose is to save the company money by defending the company against claims by employees. H.R. is paid to be on the other side. HR is the other side.
HR Makes Sure Employees Go Quietly
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Thanks for visiting, Dutch Lady.
So true! This is almost exactly what I experienced when a co-worker bullied me. I used your website to arm myself with the right words and behavior to save my job. Words like complaint, harassment, and retaliation, when the bullying continued after the HR meeting. I have now requested the offender not speak to me, unless necessary for work. Took the wind out of his sails, and since I knew I could not count on HR to protect me from his unreasonable actions, I am protecting myself. To think if I had done nothing I would still be throwing up almost every day!
SeaGirl, So sad to hear that work made you that sick, but as you've seen you aren't alone. Good for you in fighting back and learning how you can be the one to protect yourself (and not relying on HR).
how to fight back - hire an investigator. Serial bullies - usually have histories of harassment. The two jerks that I work with do. My case is this: age discrimination, same gender harassment, slander, humiliation, embarassment, and because it continues - has now turned into repeated sexual harassment. HR is for companies - but not when THEY know THEY made the wrong choices for not standing behind their value added employee ( s). Enough is enough. Jobs are important - livelihood - work with your HR to resolve issues and get bullies into couseling.
2precious2, Thanks for sharing your own story and inspiring others to also fight back against bullies at work. My best to you in your fight!
detailed
my experience with HRs very well translated. amazing group of voltures on unknowing victims. let's spread the words of wisdom
I like that picture, the outstretched hand and the knife behind the back, only it wasn't just H.R. that stuck me when I had 2 grievance hearings. My union, from what I can piece together, may also be looking out for the company as well.
I had a "reasonable expectation" that the union would continue to pressure the company to investigate my claims, which they never did. I also had the reasonable expectation that, upon the completion or lack thereof, of any investigation, that I would be informed of the outcome and given a choice of course of action. Boy, was I mistaken.
Not only did I get the runaround for month after month, but was subjected to more and more of the "illegal" actions and eventually being placed in a department that increased my disability and NOBODY CARED! I eventually quit, which was the expected outcome since I couldn't be fired.
Like I mentioned in another posting, I have been in contact with EEOC and they are examining ALL the documents related to my disability. Being part of a "protected class" has made a difference and your information has led me to understand what my rights are.
I'd love to discuss my entire case as well as the situation my wife has found herself in. I think it would make great reading and would fit many of the categories and situations you help people with.
Keep up the good work and all the help you've been to people like me.
Hi, Undercover Lawyer. Your hub has been nominated as a Wannabe HubNugget. We notify our hubbers via email to let them know all the exciting news about the contest but yours is disabled.
If you'd like to see where your hub is listed, go to http://hubnuggets.info
Best of luck in the contest!
WOW! This article is well written & so RIGHT! I worked for a company with a boss from hell BUT he was part of the "good ole boys" network, so no one did anything. I quit, after my doctor told me I was under too much stress & pregnant. I had lost so much weight from the stress and was sick all the time, it didn't even occur to me that I was pregnant!
How incredible to read hard working good employees stories written out so plain to see, Your picture description is so accurate it is uncanny. Congratulations on your nomination, well earned.
Of course I echo everyone else who has seen and had this experience.
I was really distraught reading this hub Undercover Lawyer. It is a distressing thing. I thought HR was there to help the employees. I'm naive in this area. As Shirley said, your hub has been nominated for the Hubnuggets! Go check it out: http://hubpages.com/_143/hub/Published
Do participate and vote and ask your family and friends to vote for you too!
This is so true! I took matters into my own hands once and contacted the government about my rights. When my boss tried to strongarm me, I quoted the law and let them know that I was aware of everything. I was treated so differently after that. But why do we have to go that far?
I would like to say this shocks me, but after working for large companies like Border's etc, I'm really not.
After spending some 20 years or so in Corporate America, none of this surprises me at all. I've seen some stuff that would shock the average person -- sexual assaults swept under the rug and paid off, accounts rigged to make it look like someone was embezzling, etc. And all by arrogant, highly paid senior management. Makes me think twice every time I purchase something from a large manufacturer, that's for sure. BTW, great hub!
This senario is exactly what occurred in my work experience. I trusted the HR department and the bottom line is it probably made the situation worse. I had documentation and employees who witnessed the situation and supported me. It was to no avail. Unfortunately or fortunately, I quit the job and was able to at least receive a severance package. This situation was a nightmare and this website is a valuable service.
Thanks for the nomination to HubNuggets, and for letting me know about it Shirley. I'm honored.
Thank you all for visiting and leaving your feedback and sharing your stories. I think one of the best things someone can do for other jilted employees is just to let them know that they are not alone, that other people have experienced this and sympathize with them.
Onward,
Curt
Undercover Lawyer, I think you wrote this article just for me since it is EXACTLY what happened to me at work. Anyone that reads this article TRULY needs to check out the UndercoverLawyer website. I found it just over a year ago and it REALLY changed my life.
This hub will help a lot of people. Thanks!
I think this article was written about me. the same thing happened to me except we did not have an HR dept. My complain was handled by their attorney. i was fired and am now filing charges with eeoc and a lawsuit. It amazes me that so many people across this country are suffering this same wrath. why have laws if employers are not abiding by them? Many thanks to undercover web site for the valuable information. It has prepared me for the fight of my life, even my attorney is amazed how knowledgeable I am concerning employment law and my rights. Keep fighting and hopefully we can change this behavior!!!!
Lulu, Workforce & MsReck41: Thanks for the good word, and I'm pleased that this hub accurately reflects your experiences (NOT because I want you to go through this!). I've tried to listen carefully to a lot of people in need, and this piece is drawn from everything they tell me, AND my experiences as a defense lawyer working for "the dark side" ;-). I appreciate your time in coming by and commenting!
My grandfather did not have many jobs when he was working. He stayed with the few he had for years. People back then were more out to see the company succeed and not so much themselves. Of course the company took great care of its employees in return to everyone was happy.
Now everyone is looking out for themselves and jobs as well as employees seem to be disposable. It is a shame that it has come to this.
It makes sense, the people in H.R hired your boss to get a particular job done. If you go to H.R. the burden of proof of wrong doing is on you.
My method is to be nice to my boss. This person is a person, encourage them to be a better person and explain to them you are there to help them achieve company goals. This way you, the boss, and H.R. should all be on the same page.
This is my method and I have gotten two promotions in five years.
Distressing but great hub. Went through exactly what you describe just over a year ago. Came out the loser because I thought the HR person, who had been exceedingly friendly to me, was on my side. Wish I'd had your insights then - but glad to have them now! (Oh, and you've got my vote in the HubNuggets election.)
Minefield, thanks for the encouraging words. Sorry to hear what happened to you before, but glad you feel empowered to deal with it now should it happen again. Keep up the good fight. -Curt
I'm smiling...but trust me, it's with you, not at you. I never trusted HR that far but did see them in mini-scale action one time. This was an insurance office in the San Diego area. Every year for Valentine's Day, HR hosted a supposedly "secret" rose giving. That is, if you admired someone and just wanted that person to get a lift, you could hand HR a buck and they would give that individual a single rose on Valentine's Day while KEEPING YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY.
Yeah. Right. I bought it, and yes, I was old enough to know better at the time. There was a young lady who had once been my first mentor in a new job, although on this job I had reclaimed my status as a Senior Underwriter and outranked her. She was having it rough, she'd helped me out before, I liked her, and I did the rose thingie.
AFTER Valentine's Day, it became rather obvious that she AND the rest of the office knew "whodunit". Nothing too blatant, but all quite clear.
I could deal with it, and did, but about two years later, she was working in my department when her work ethic hit the toilet. I got the task of building a case against her (frequent tardiness plus ever sloppier work) and then personally firing her.
Can you imagine the tangle of emotions SHE must have experienced? "He gave me a rose, and now he canned my pretty a**!!)
Ghost32, Thanks for sharing your own H.R. experience -- and what an unexpected twist at the end! Wow. -Curt
Hello Undercover Lawyer. This hub provides vital information for anyone working in a company -- whether protected by a union or not! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. Looking forward to reading much more from you!
BTW, the closest story I can think of from my own experience is when I worked for a law firm. Their employment law attorneys, of course, represented the "employers" not "employees." My own experience occurred with the head of HR for the law firm. NOt a lawyer, but an administrator. Anyway, at the law firm's Christmas party I was feeling rosy and happy and went and linked my arm in his. Apparently his wife was NOT amused. She marched into his office and his boss (also my boss)and demanded that I be reprimanded for sexual harassment or something. Well, my boss, the firm's head administrator, was a wise old man who had seen it all. He dragged his feet on hauling me in. Finally he was cornered and had to call me in and explain the complaint to me. By this time it was like April and I honestly had like no recollection of having been too forward or even linking arms with the HR dude at the party.
Having performed his duty, my boss then provided me with the backstory. Turns out Mr. HR dude had been notorious himself for sexual harassment! He had had complaints filed against him by women employees. And there was at least one inter-office affair involving him. Hearing that, it made the HR dude's wife's seeming "overreaction" to me more understandable. But I still thought the whole thing was bizarre -- most especially occurring so far after the fact.
And that, I'm proud to say, was the last time I had any official contact with HR dude. And I now work for MYSELF! MM
Still, what a
I have never had a run in with HR or with any of my bosses thankfully, but this is good information to know in the unfortunate event that I or anyone else does need it. Thanks for posting this hub and making some valuable connections that I don't think I would have otherwise seen.
UL,
Excellent hub, you hit the nail on the head. I've seen these circumstances happen to two people I worked with and HR was definitely not working for them.
The best advice is to make sure you do your homework, and have backup proof for your claim against any boss. HR will stick up for the company only up to a point.
So true - depends on who you are and who you are up against.
Mighty Mom, Thanks for telling us your own story about dealing with HR -- and the time lag on yours made it near impossible for the company to come down very hard on you at all.
Laura, Glad to hear this hasn't happened to you, but thanks for the nod and encouraging words.
Hglick, I appreciate that you took the time to vouch for my observations by letting everyone know you've seen it happen to two others.
fcornelius, Thanks for chiming in.
I wished I knew this 9 years ago when I experienced this for the first time in my career. I refused to resign because I believed in the mission of the company. I tried to transfer to other groups to no avail to remove myself from the hostile environment.
Undercover Lawyer, I think you wrote this article just for me It is very useful and thanks for the article.
Skydweller, Sorry to hear that you need this article, but glad to hear that you can use it to improve your situation. Thanks for commenting and keep us posted! -Curt
Great article and sad but so true. Hope you win!!
Great Hub and so true - thanks for writing it.
Great Hub. This just goes along with some of a hub I posted which basically explains how we have few to no rights in the workplace.
Excellent Hub! To think I weny to my HR with the hopes of support and most ironic a womman who smiled and pretend to listen with one sided opinion to get my story over with and get me out of that stuffy room! Now everytime she see me she had the nerve to ask me how i'm doing,looking at me straight in the eye with a fake smile on her face. I always reply in a sarcastic way that I am hanging in there but I have no plans on tying the rope around my neck and give up. A million thanks to you Curt!
THIS IS GREAT. i JUST VOTED
Curt,
Your advise really helped me with some issues I had at work,My wife went through the H.R. nightmare at her job because she wouldn't take your advise untill she realized she was back stabbed by that smiling H.R. person .The union wasn't much better,
but things have changed after she learned a few key phrases,
like sexual harrassment,hostile work enviroment, retailiation and protected class and EEOC. I'll do a post on your forum and let you know what happens.
Thanks for the great hub !!
I am going through this right now except that it is the company EEO person. She encouraged me to go to the EEOC, which I did. She was chosen as the investigator and told my boss that I had no claim. I have been moved off of the unit I work on until "further notice". A coworker, a friend of the boss says it is until this is over. My boss has been extemely hostile and I am being blamed for the hostile work environment.
Anadiana, SuzyCat7, RobertBloggert, Luvritz, and Dinaliu: You are all very welcome. I'm glad to help, and thank you for letting me know that you find this information helpful. Jerry, I'm glad to hear that your wife decided to learn the law and get things turned around for herself at work; I'll watch for your updates. Laurasf, it's so sad that you are going through this now, and that they are actually trying to blame *you* for it. I hope this Hub and my others can help you turns things around.
I had an instance on the job with an adverse/hostile work environment.
I beat it by documenting everything because I did not know who I could trust. Any sign of stress, I went to my doctor, thus, documenting it in my medical records.
I always communicated with the higher ups via email, so as to keep it in writing and even following up with email after verbal conversations.
They gave me a HARD time! Needless to say, I WON. They were so arrogant that they didn't take time to respond to my emails accusing them of all sorts of things that they actually did. That is what made the court rule in my favor
That is so true, I would not trust our HR person in any way...
There is no cure for "hostile workplace" problems because corporatism (corporate-government alliance) implementation of every politically correct p.o.s. idea creates a hostile workplace for the MAJORITY of employees.
Working for a living has always been marginal at best. Now, the change from "personnel departments" to "human resource" departments has bumped up the suckiness to a new level. Working for any company large enough to have a human resource department is death to the spirit.
Remember, a "resource" is something you use until it wears out, then you sh**can it.
dabeaner - You are so right. I knew the first time I heard that ugly term 'Human Resources' that we were in for a world of hurt. And your solution is the right one - don't work for any company (large or small) that employs anyone in an HR capacity.
I work for a family that operates two offices on the same lot. The father is a low level shady con and his son is a "work nazi" as I call him. The father brought beer into the office and tells the employees about his sick immoral personal life. They have shady business practices and don't know how to run a business. They're afraid to bring in a professional office manager because the new manager will disagree with and probably report what's going on there. As a result, everyone in that office is under tremendous stress and is very resentful and angry. Just last week two women quit. They have the attitude that all their employees are idiots. It's a mega-dysfunctional pit of hell!
My advice-develop multiple streams of income so you're not dependent on any one job or employer. Develop your talents and start your own side business. Drop the losers!
Well done hub, congrats! I'm amazed people are so naive as to so easily trust those in power over them. "Honey, if you don't own the company, you ain't got no rights!"
Besides, the "tell" is that the bullying boss did not alter his/her behavior the entire time they work there. Generally, corporate ALWAYS chooses management over rank and file employees.
What to do? Keep a file and document every true grievance that is beyond just personality clashes. Make sure you note any personal relationships that don't look right to you. If you see an ugly trend developing of like-minded bullies and their usually butt-attached snitches hanging out a lot, then it's time to move on to another job because the place has gone downhill.
If you are an easy person for them to control and will cower under their thumb, then stay. If you are independent, competent and popular then it's time to move on down the road because they are determined to destroy your career at that place. You have to watch those bad references that can follow you, often blacklisting you to future employers.
The corporate world is an easy place for bullies to get established. What's a bully? Someone who loves to wield power capriously and is usually lazy and incompetent. That's why they clash with those who do good work. To them a good worker is making them "look bad."
Keep your eyes and ears open to determine a change in your environment, always network so you can move on easily to a better environment, be flexible to try new fields where your skills will be appreciated. Sooner or later you find a good home of like-minded quality people!
What a brilliant hub. THANK YOU! I can't go into details or say anything here at the moment but it is so good to know that others out there know what is really happening in the workplace and how employees are being left to hang out to dry. I'm off to check out your other hubs and join your fan club. Thank you again.
Interesting. I've always felt it's because the smaller guy is easier to replace than the one sitting on a limb higher up in the tree.
Wow, so true. Thanks for telling it like it is. I had an abusive boss who started pestering me about "why am I not happy?" I was working in one of two corporate call centers for a multinational insurance corporation. She wouldn't let it drop. My performance was excellent--I was ranked #10 out of almost 300 employees but it wasn't about performance. I never filed a formal complaint with HR, but I did tell my supervisor's superior that I felt harassed and believed that I was there to meet their performance goals, not have my mood judged on a biweekly basis. I ended up in no less than SIX high level meetings with my boss beside me about my alleged lack of 'happiness'.
I was exactly as happy or unhappy at that job as almost every other person working there, no more, no less, and I said so and explained the reasons for the widespread bad feeling at the place (we were operating under rapidly increasing performance requirements for no additional pay and the job itself was incredibly stressful, but I was doing it well). In the end I just left, which I'm sure was what they wanted me to do. They didn't just want people who would accept abuse, the wanted people who would accept abuse while smiling and never saying obvious things out loud, such as, "I'm going to go to the bathroom so I don't pee in my cubicle. Mark me down if you must, but I warn you, I pee at will, not on command."
It's funny but really it isn't funny. I'll never take a corporate job again unless we are starving and it's the only way out--which, the way things are going, could happen.
I learned [the hard way] a long time ago that HR is on the side of the company. Once I took my grievances regarding a supervisor to a sympathetic HR person [he actually acted as mediator, and maybe since the supv. was so new, and HR didn't want anymore trouble, the HR rep actaully set her straight], but most of the time HR is not on the side of the upset employee, regardless of seniority.
I wonder how much more money would be saved and how many law suits averted if HR acted as a neutral party and truly mediated disputes.
In one Silicon Valley firm, the president hated lawyers and lawsuits, and I happen to date one of his best friends. The pres. would let it be known to new execs that if he/she is accused of sexual harassment, he/she should consider themselves fired. The company would not defend sr. management in lawsuits like that. It did seem to put the fear in people and worked pretty well.
As the referee tells the boxers before a match: "Protect yourselves at all times." I don't blame you for generalizing about HR departments, but I suspect many are worse than others. Be that as it may, having a union on one's side is the best option but, of course, most companies don't allow those. Few places are more unfair than the workplace. Good hub. Later!
I am so greatful for this site. Your comments and advice have been very helpful to me. I work for a major store chain. It is the worse job I have ever had. We have a Union. What a joke. What goes on here is against our so called Union hand bood. I have called HR, it helped to a point, but the manager did not like it.
Excellent Hub. Thank you for pointing out that common sense observation -- H. R. is responsible for making sure the company doesn't get sued and doesn't wind up losing any money over it. Of course they don't care about your complaint. They're just looking for how to wiggle out of it if it happened to break some laws.
I think I understood this from the gut the first time I worked for a company that had a Human Resources department. As a writer, I listen to the words -- and the phrase itself was a shock to me in the 80s because it wasn't "employment" or "complaints department" or anything to do with what they said it was.
Resources are something that companies exploit. Human resources are the human beings they can exploit easiest, get the most profit from while paying them as little as possible in benefits and pay. Human Resources is about people being used.
I wised up and switched over to only working for companies where I met the owner in person and got along with the owner. Small businesses don't run that way. Some can be rough, but a bad employer in a small business doesn't keep decent employees long. A good one will become warm and trusted, it's like any small group you're a member of.
It might be the owner or it might be someone else in the shop, but in a small business there is usually at least one sociable "glue man" or "glue woman" whose warm personality keeps everyone connected. It's much more personal.
I distrust impersonal business practices because "impersonal" is usually just a facade for the sort of backhanded office politics that involve vicious competition and frequent sabotage just to keep anyone from getting too comfortable or happy. There are some businesses that actually prefer to have a hostile work atmosphere and keep everyone on the seat of terror, it blackmails them into doing a lot more unpaid work and makes them easy to push around.
This is what your grade school bullies grew up to do if they could read and learn how to pass tests.
Wow I am not alone in this universe. I was a victim of a hostile environment. I actually never bothered to complain especially when I realized the Super and Hr hung out regurlarly over coffee or on Fridays at 3:45 pm smiling and giggling about week-end plans. There was just no chance. You look at this and realize your days are numbered and you're a sitting duck. At least if you stick it out and not quit you can get severence pay. I just gracefully kept my cool so at least they wouldn't have to involve the cops or security. FYI this is a large reputalbe company employing about 5000 people at the branch I worked at. I think I have enough material to become a great poet.** Oh by the way I loved the job but I was bullied out of it. I was sad. I cried for about 10 minutes and now I'm ok. Peace and Love. God help us all.
Getting bullied out of my job was the best thing that ever happened to me. What a hole. That place was literally killing me.
Excellent Hub, and so true. People must remember that it's the boss who pays HR,not the employee. Human Resources was invented to make employees feel 'looked after', so they'd think unions were no longer necessary.
I can remember the days when even office workers would have a union rep they could go to, if they had a problem. The union would stand by them and fight for their rights. Most people have abandoned unions and don't see the point - until they need someone in their corner.
Wow, this is eye-opening. Thanks for sharing the scoop.
This is a very interesting and eye-opening article. I am a manager and I guess I'm in a rare company where HR really is impartial. When employees have complaints, they listen and get all parties together to try to work it out.
Read your article, very true. However it even gets more interesting working on "tribal land". HR is not your friend and neither is the tribal police, they will set you up to get rid of you, run quick!!!
Thanks for all those who commented and voted in the "Hub Nugget" contest where this article was nominated (and because of you all, won). I'm enheartened and humbled by the honor, and will work hard to make my other hubs even better than this one. -Curt
Wow this article is very well written .....
keep up the good work ....
god bless u ....
Thanks John. I appreciate the encouragement. -Curt
This is the exact same situation I too have had, just on May 19th. Although this director was previously brought up on sexual Harassment charges in 2007 but a fellow co-worker. I was a witness to the so-called investigation and advised them then things he was doing and saying to me. They told us it wasn't SH. It wasn't until I got the courage to go to HR and the CEO again and then I was demoted with slanderous lies about me. I called the EEOC and filed a complaint. In their rebuttal statement, they ar trying to say I can't file the claim on things that happened in 2007 (although these things never stopped). He kept on going with his comments and in the past year started making sexual comments about my staff.
Thank you for writing this story, it has been a very hard and lonely path to take. But I have to take a stand or he will continue to do this to other women.
You are welcome, Paula. Please know there are many more people like you in the UCL community. They are good about givi g lots of advice and encouragement.
The human resources department where i work feels worse, the lady doesn't even care enough to listen to any concern. unless it is a huge concern to her, she will not listen. she sat there and rolled her eyes at me as i told her i was upset and needed to speak with her in regards to a situation i had encountered with my manager. she had previously asked me to speak with my manager and take down all information and comments and date the paper and then to let her know how it went. well my meeting did not go well and so i thought she wanted to hear my story but instead, she shrugged her shoulders at me, rolled her eyes, said to move forward because my cause for concern was petty and not retaliation... this company has made me sick and hurt many times other than this one. i just feel lost. there is no one to listen to my concerns. i can't even go to human resources with a complaint against another colleague, the last time i did that, they forced me to sit face to face with the other person and that was awkward and it made for an awkward work environment. there are many more stories to tell unfortunately. I have thought of leaving but in this economy that's hard to do.
Wow! I finally had the nerve to complain about my supervisor and manager I did'nt go to HR I went to their direct manager and explained everything. I had a statement prepared, emails sent, notes I've kept over the past 6 months. He seemed very concerned, agreed with my statement apologized I for what I was going through and said he would investigate and get back to me. That was Tuesday and tomorrow is Friday and I have'nt heard anything. But everyone appears to have backed off some. Now I am waiting for a bombshell to drop. This article gave me a heads up and now I know they are gathering evidence against me! Wow I don't understand. But what's done is done and I have to stand the course. So I will continue to pray on it. Undercover lawyer, what can I do if this turns out negatively?
ambcm, Unfortunately many people feel just the same as you in this economy -- trapped at hostile workplaces. You can find very encouraging and smart communities of people online who will listen to you. I can't really push my own site, but you can find a good forum there if you look for it.
Prepared, I'm glad you didn't rely on H.R. If this goes negatively, you need to position yourself as part of a protected class, and considering filing a complaint outside of your workplace.
Great in-put from all of you hubber's. Wow I never even expected such a wealth of response from a place where you think you are all alone, and nobody could possibly be going through this hitch in life that ruin's live's. And is designed to do so, turn the table people it's time to slap H.R. and exspose this Co. Back Gate.
JustClaude, I agree with you! I was surprised by how many people have commented on this Hub, usually saying that they have experienced the same thing. But as you can see people can learn a lot and get a lot of support by banding together.
What a fantastic helpful hub! My daughter works in such a corporate environment, and she is really run down from it. She did face her supervisor once with a complaint and that helped momentarily, but the managers(all female) are still bullies, pack together at lunch and parties. They don't want to fire her because she does her work and more - while others clock in, go home three hours early, and someone else clocks them out. (etc.) WOW! THANK YOU for your advice!
Frogyfish, I hope your daughter can be helped by this and my other hubs. Thanks for your comment. It's nice to get positive feedback from such an esteemed hubber as yourself!
Dutch Lady says:
5 months ago
Eye-opening and scary stuff everyone should know!