Whether you are working in a factory, in an office, or merely as a school teacher, you may preferably feel denied some time at the workplace. You may feel that you are treated unfairly by your boss, being harassed by someone, or being discriminated against by a colleague, or stopped from offering religious duties, this is where you start questioning yourself about what your rights are at your workplace. What steps can be taken to resolve these issues?
Should you consider discussing it with higher authorities or just leave your workplace? Or what if you leave the place and the same thing is still being done to some other colleagues too.
No matter to what extent you go to deal with this, equality at the workplace is only achieved if organizations as a whole take a systematic approach and plan strategies that discourage unequal behavior and ensure human rights. In this article, we discuss effective ways that prevent human rights issues.
Employers / Employees Should Be Responsible
It’s not a single person’s responsibility to ensure equality in the workplace. All employees and employers working together are accountable for their roles and behavior, so all of them are responsible to deal with the situations where they see any discrimination and unfair treatment.
Higher authorities should build a mechanism where workers can file their complaints, take the matter seriously if any complaint is received, and take action accordingly.
Take Constant Feedback
It is important to listen to every worker. Sometimes Employees may hesitate to discuss their problems openly or they may fear complaining about their colleagues openly. It happens mostly in harassment cases where a person may care more about their respect instead of reporting the issue. So it’s the employer’s responsibility to deal with such cases in such a way that it gains the trust of employees in discussing their issues.
Firstly, create an environment where harassment is highly discouraged, where employees are encouraged to raise their concerns immediately instead of waiting for the worst situations to tell them what response they can expect that won’t affect their personal or professional life.
Ensure Personal Safety
Workplace issues related to discrimination or harassment may lead to serious health problems such as depression, anxiety, headaches, or other psychological disorders. The employees may feel they are losing their self-esteem or well-being. In the worst situations, victims of harassment may be injured or killed.
To ensure employees’ safety, employers should train employees and incorporate policies and procedures that strictly prevent or address such problems.
Include Policies In Agreement
If discrimination or harassment issues arise, the pre-agreed policies will help everyone to understand what kind of behavior is discouraged and how it can affect their job. Set structured and transparent rules and policies such as
- treating other employees with dignity and respect
- there should be the absence of intimation or exploitation
- discrimination and harassment will be intolerable
Include these kinds of statement policies in the agreement at the time of hiring so selected candidates already know that they have to comply with the policies and any misconduct would lead to their termination.
What To Do If You Face The Worst Scenario?
Being an employee, if you feel that your safety is being compromised, no one is taking action or the employer itself is the attacker, then you should speak out or take an action for yourself. Consult professional employment lawyers who present your case on your behalf in all manners of human rights violation at the workplace and work with you to ensure your work-life safety.
