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Beyond Pay?

Posted by Cliff on from the if-it-isn't-worth-it-find-another-job dept.

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."

2 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. What constitutes harrassment? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    At my old job, my boss had something against me. I have about 10 years of experience in the field, but I look young. I'm around 30, but look more like early 20's. At first I thought my boss was kidding around when he'd make comments about me not knowing something or "my many years of experience", but after awhile I realized the guy actually thinks because I look young, I must not know anything.

    Projects that I was on before he started were slowly being given to other people, and he joking around finally got to me. I asked him to stop, and it just got worse. And he got spiteful about it.

    Eventually it escalated to the point where I told him to fuck off and I walked out. Yeah, probably a bit childish, but I don't wanna be in a workplace where I have to go to HR and deal with jackasses who can't look past a person's physical appearance.

    I guy that was younger than me, with less experience and definintely less knowledge, got promoted to a position I applied for, but he looked much older than I did. That kind of shit is plain wrong, but almost impossible to prove. And it happens everywhere.

  2. Oh, c'mon! by _iris · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Change "her" to "him" and you'd be right. In the past year alone I've seen two men be fired, on the spot, without a chance for any rebuttal because a woman claimed sexual harassment. Of the four times I've seen a man claim he was sexually harassed by a female empoloyee, NOT ONCE was the woman fired, or even punished. In fact, in one instance, the man was fired!

    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.