Harassment vs Sexual Harassment

[anonymuse]

A female at work keeps using the "f" word with me and frankly I'm quite sick of it. There's all kinds of laws about sexual harassment, but this doesn't fall under this (I believe.) It's rude, unprofessional, unbusinesslike, and just in poor taste--but does it fall under any other type of harassment in the work place?

(I'm so fed up with this woman and the f-bomb is used too frequently in this office for my taste. And this woman is the primary offender.)

[BassBoy]

Not sure if it's a law

I don't believe any "laws" are being broken per say, but........

Foul language can cause offence, intimidation and undue stress, which could also impact on the employer - especially if allegations of aggressive or abusive behaviour are not fully investigated.

Duty to investigate

Dispute resolution regulations provide businesses with the tools to clamp down on workplace aggression and intimidation without resorting to, or being subjected to, legal action. It is the employer's duty to investigate all complaints as soon as they arise, as a seemingly minor dispute can escalate into a costly and disruptive employment tribunal claim if it is left unresolved. Failure to investigate or make attempts to prevent unacceptable behaviour from continuing may give the victim the right to resign and claim constructive dismissal.

Judgement call
There are no hard and fast rules to deciding whether or not disciplinary action or dismissal on the grounds of abusive language is fair, but there are several common issues that an employment tribunal will take into account when considering matters of this nature, which HR professionals should be aware of.

It is often argued that abusive language directed at a superior undermines or irreparably damages the employer-employee relationship, effectively preventing it from continuing, and justifying disciplinary action. That said, such language is less likely to be tolerated from a senior executive than a shop-floor worker. In the cases of Millward and Whitehead, the employees accused of misconduct held more senior positions, and were therefore under a duty to uphold standards of conduct.

Environmental considerations, such as industry or sector, play an important role in determining the types of behaviour that are generally accepted at work. Conduct that may be commonplace on a building site or football pitch, such as physical or verbal aggression, would be unacceptable in a different environment, such as an office.

Millward's case is interesting as the alleged aggression took place within a sports environment. Although foul language is often tolerated in sport, there is a difference between that used in the heat of the moment in a game, and that used at other times.

Cases of unacceptable language resulting from exceptional circumstances, such as intense provocation, stress or personal trauma, involving those with unblemished records of conduct, are likely to be treated more leniently by a tribunal. In most cases, but particularly in those involving mitigating circumstances, the employee accused of using foul language should be given the opportunity to apologise to the victim of the abuse and avoid further action.

[Grace]

Talk to the co-worker's boss or the co-worker. Or contact the HR department.

[anonymuse]

We have less than 20 people where I work--and it is a professional office of basically engineers, programmers, and scientists. Wish we actually had an "HR" dept. I love the small office environment, and I'm usually pretty easy going, but after so much of this (especially while the boss has been out of the country for awhile) it's gotten to be too much.

[Grace]

If the whole "company" is only 20 people, you have little recourse. Anything you say can totally backfire on you. Sure you can sue. What will that give you? Is a company of 20 people going to give you millions of dollars? Probably not. My suggest is to either confront the co-worker directly and hope for the best or suck it up and deal with it. Or you can find a different job.

I don't know what your overall job experience is, but listening to the f-word isn't even close to the worst possible situation. Unprofessional? Absolutely. Worth losing your job? Only you can decide.

[BassBoy]

As Grace mentions, I really don't know what recourse you have, other than informing the person that you do not care for her language and that she be more conscious of it in your presence. On the other hand, and as Grace mentioned, that could backfire. She may get PO'd with you and that could make matters worse.

Surely, you don't want to create waves and make an undesireable atmoshere for you, her and the other employees. You may just have to find a way to turn a deaf ear.

I wish I could be of more help, but I don't believe that someone's foul language is grounds for a harassment lawsuit. It's not really harassment, IMO.

[SinkingFast]

Actually I found a couple of interesting links on this topic.

http://www.cusscontrol.com/news.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15643746/

Foul language can be Sexual Harrassment, Abuse, Bullying. It can lead to stress and violence in the work place.

But as you'll see, generally the complainer is the one who gets fired.

When the Boss comes back, you might ask for a private meeting with him/her. During the meeting, casually comment about your coworker's foul language, how it makes the whole office unprofessional. Maybe even print out some resources that show where foul language can create a less condusive and therefore less productive work environment.

Check your company's rules to see if there are any Workplace Language or Behavior Rules. If there aren't, maybe suggest to your Boss that he/she ammend Corporate policy to accomodate Workplace Language/Behavior Rules.

[miss puff]

You could try to say something indirectly. In casual conversation make up a lie. This is just an example, but in her presense say something like "ugghhh, my girlfriend wants to go out for drinks or a movie (something) later and I kind of want to back out because she is always swearing around me and it kind of offends me". Maybe she will get the hint and it won't cause any hard feelings because you aren't speaking directly to/about her. Good luck. My dad was a blue collar worker and so is my husband so I hear the efinheimer ALOT. While I have gotten used to it, I do believe there comes a time when enough is enough.

[anonymuse]

She's rude, condescending, treats me overall like sh!t. She said some very rude things today to 2 of us, but only apologized to the other guy--not me. I guess the f-word is the straw that always breaks the camel's back for me and it is explicitly written out in the work policies against swearing. I'm not looking for legal recourse; but was just seeing it as being rude, not being honest about things, making me look bad are more of a gray area but using fowl language is more concrete.

[SinkingFast]

She's rude, condescending, treats me overall like sh!t. She said some very rude things today to 2 of us, but only apologized to the other guy--not me. I guess the f-word is the straw that always breaks the camel's back for me and it is explicitly written out in the work policies against swearing. I'm not looking for legal recourse; but was just seeing it as being rude, not being honest about things, making me look bad are more of a gray area but using fowl language is more concrete.

Since it's already explained in Corporate Policy, maybe the Boss could call a meeting and "Remind" all the employees that they need to remember to abide by the rules. Not necessarily point out this particular employee. Just a reminder to every one that "We're here to work. Not Curse." might be the shot in the arm this chica needs.

[HRx]

Document everytime she does this....for 5 to 10 business days. And be prepared to articulate how it affects you too. Your company should have some sort of code of conduct policy in place as well...and I'm certain it doesn't condone expletive language. It would also help if you can have other employee attest to her misconduct too.

[jane taylor]

Document, document, document and be specific avoiding words like "seem", "appears,", etc. Document specific behaviors such as, "Ms. X stated in a loud tone of voice for me to "go to hell." Do not leave blanks in the offensive words.

Employers have been successfully sued because of a hostile work environment and for not being proactive. I wouldn't "threaten" anyone, but calmly state that this is interfering with your ability to perform your duties as effectively as you'd like.

This kind of thing came up all the time when I was working in a psychiatric facility. The patients were never the problem. The staff needed the medication.

Good luck and keep me posted.

jane

[Minnymouth]

I have two roommates whose favorite word is "f......"................every other word that comes out of their mouth is it......

I don't like the word, don't use it, and have my limits on how much I'll listen too it.....

Every once in a while I'll say "find you another WORD to use, cause I'm tired of hearing that one!!!!! Your vocabulary is SO LIMITED....................... Change you "attitude" and "your language" or we got nothing to talk about!!!

I tell them if they ONLY KNEW HOW DEGRADING IT LOOKS on THEM!!!!! Especially if its a woman........

Using that word a lot tells others the "class of people" you associate with a lot.....

The lady/man in your office that uses that word a lot, probably wants to "be one of the guys", so uses it to "fit in".....

Sounds like your "office rules" needs to be re-introduced to all employees.....

[BKOnce]

[QUOTE=jane taylor;75504


This kind of thing came up all the time when I was working in a psychiatric facility. The patients were never the problem. The staff needed the medication.

Good luck and keep me posted.

jane[/QUOTE]

Make me laugh! I agree, Diseases are contagious... so is mental health, if surrounded.