Employers have the responsibility to create and keep a safe workplace environment for your employees. When this fails, employees are subject to harassment.
To better fight off harassment, it’s often best to know what myths are spread around. Here are a few common misconceptions about workplace harassment:
Myth #1: Jokes aren’t the same as harassment
Truth: Any kind of comment can be a form of harassment, even jokes. Jokes can easily lead to worse forms of harassment and bring the wrong kind of attention from other parties.
Myth #2: Ignoring harassment will cause it to go away.
Truth: Ignoring a problem rarely makes issues get better. Harassment may get worse because it’s being ignored. The harasser may be emboldened by the lack of an official response.
Myth #3: Sexual harassment only happens to women.
Truth: Sexual harassment has commonly been toward women, but harassment isn’t gender-exclusive. Men don’t report sexual harassment as often because it may seem like a sign of weakness or not be taken seriously.
Myth #4: Sexual harassment must involve touching.
Truth: There’s a wide variety of sexual harassment actions that aren’t physical. Certain comments and remarks or suggested activities may put people in uncomfortable positions that may be considered inappropriate.
Myth #5: You don’t need legal help when dealing with workplace harassment.
Truth: Knowing your legal rights may be just as important as reducing workplace harassment in your workplace. You may need to consider reaching out for legal help when fighting back against workplace harassment. If you’ve tried to resolve the problems on your own and nothing has improved (or it has gotten worse), you may need some guidance about your next move.