Dealing with workplace harassment

By Murigi Macharia

Joyce Kwamboka is at the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her diligence and focused determination at her work have triggered all manner of negative ‘rewards’ and distressing activities from both her colleagues and supervisor.

Her unrivalled skills and hands-on experience as a successful sales executive have not only attracted devious envy and malicious innuendo, but there are all efforts to shoot down her projects and portray her as a mediocre employee.

She can see many traps laid along the way including a recent incident when the supervisor shot down her project without looking at her recommendations. But her ‘favoured’ colleague has been given approval for the same project.

Tribulations

When Kwamboka confided her tribulations to a colleague, she was told it was harassment.

Harassment is defined a situation where colleagues, workmates or supervisors bring excessive and distressing pressure to bear on the employee.

This kind of conduct is offensive, unreasonable and totally unwarranted.

It assumes devious proportions among supervisors and managers when it affects employment decisions like rewards, promotion and training opportunities. When the supervisor starts intimidating and humiliating you at the workplace, it is time to raise the red flag with the human resource department so that the motives can be investigated.

Harassment can assume many forms including unwanted physical contact like back-pats, suggestive proposals, pointed jokes in bad taste, graffiti in rest rooms.

Next week, I will explain how management handles harassment at the work place.

pmacharia@eastandard.net