Sexual harassment is a very serious matter, and it seems to happen most frequently when men and women are in the workplace. It’s important to realize that sometimes people have two different ideas of what equals sexual harassment. A man that would never dream of saying anything inappropriate to a female coworker might forward a raunchy joke thinking that it’s funny, never dreaming his co-worker might find it offensive. When this happens it’s in the woman’s best interest to take the man aside and politely let him know how the email made her feel.
Some people have flirty personalities and don’t realize they might be crossing a line. Again, this will be a situation where pulling the flirty individual aside should curb the problem. If a discreet comment wasn’t enough to put a stop to the questionable behavior, it’s in the woman’s best interest to put aside her fears of recrimination and approach her manager and explain the situation. She will find that most managers understand what she’s going through and will handle the problem swiftly and as discreetly as possible.
The worse thing anyone can do is put off making a sexual harassment report. It’s something that needs to get handled right away. The longer she waits to express herself, the harder it will be for the situation to get resolved quickly and smoothly.
Everyone has the right to feel comfortable and safe while in the workplace but that won’t be possible if you’re constantly worried about getting harassed. As soon as something gets said or done that makes you uncomfortable, you need to take action. You’ll be glad you did.
