Beyond Pay?

An anonymous reader asks: "I was wondering if Slashdot readers have encountered harassment in the workplace, and how they have dealt with it. In particular, when working for technology-based companies. Examples of this include the company forcing employees to put in extra (unpaid) hours, with the implicit/explicit threat of loosing the job if they don't, to actual personal harassment in the work place by management staff. My experience is that even in cases where the employee is completely right, it is impossible for her to win the case, given current employment law."

Comments

Big Ugly, and mean lookin'

[Spock the Baptist]

The subject describes my physical appearance.

I've never had problems with harassment.

Re:Big Ugly, and mean lookin'

[Anonymous Coward]

Get back to work! I don't pay you to read Slashdot! Do you want me to firewall it out? Ha? Do ya? Then get back to work, NOW!

Re:Big Ugly, and mean lookin'

[Spock the Baptist]

Mr. Coward,

Please refrain from causing me to loose my temper. You wont like me when I'm angry...

"loosing the job..."

[gbrandt]

if you are loose in your job, perhaps you deserve to lose it.

Not much...

[meta-monkey]

You have to be very careful in the way you deal with harassment. My brother-in-law has a B.S. in Building & Construction Management, and an MBA, and worked as a project manager for a very large builder, leading multiple projects in the tens of millions of dollars. His immediate supervisor was a very gruff guy, and would frequently scream obscenities in my brother-in-law's face, and at co-workers. Finally, my BIL couldn't take it anymore, and complained to his boss's boss. My BIL was promptly fired. "Sorry, the supervisor's been here longer, and is friends with the owner and and..." It took him three months to find another job.

I have a very different situation. The girl who works with me in my office is constantly demanding attention of a sexual nature that is totally inappropriate to a working environment. She often makes explicit comments about my appearance. Sometimes, she exposes herself to me, and makes comments of a graphic nature. I, of course, indulge her.

I should also mention that I'm self employed, and work at home with my wife :)

Re:Not much...

[zulux]

I should also mention that I'm self employed, and work at home with my wife :)

It could be worse!!

My boss use to exposes me to porn all the time and then used to fondle me.

I was self-employed at the time and diden't have any employees.

Re:What constitutes harrassment?

[Mr. Piddle]

I guess Bush is right out, then?

Every month, I think I see Bush featured in Mad magazine, but, even after reading the interview, it eventually sinks in that good ol' Alfred fooled me again.

Re:Oh, c'mon!

[Lord Kano]

As far as being bullied into working unpaid hours, don't. It's that simple. You don't want to work for a company that bullies it's employees. The employment market is bad, but not bad enough to stay in a situation like that.

I got fired once because as the boss said "You get here when we open, and you leave when we close." They wanted someone to "give more" than the 45 hours per week that I was putting in.

My favorite part of this story is what comes next...They fired me because I wasn't putting in more free hours, but they guy that they kept ended up laying the bone to the Boss's wife. When the divorce got ugly and they had financial problems, the other guy bought the business out of bankruptcy. So the guy who fired me lost his business and his wife to the guy that he choose to keep instead of me.

I love that part of the story!

LK