Ninety percent of people who are harassed never take action

August 02, 20171 minute read

According to an article in WebMD magazine*, harassment in the workplace “remains epidemic” and can have significant health consequences, including “chronic headaches, sleep and gastric problems, nausea, respiratory complaint, neck pain and high blood pressure.” Yet most people who experience harassment take no formal action against their harasser.

The article, written by Lisa Marshall, cites a report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which found that sexual harassment in the American work place affects one in two women and one in six men. Yet University of Illinois psychology professor Louise Fitzgerald says many mistakenly assume that if it’s not a “sleep with me or lose your job” scenario, it’s not truly harassment.

The advice from Donna Ballman, author of Stand Up for Yourself without Getting Fired is “Take notes documenting the dates and times the harassment takes place. Familiarize yourself with your company’s sexual harassment policy. And once you feel the time is right, speak up.”

* article may be found on page 12 of the publication