Unfortunately, not all work environments are friendly. In some, employees will experience favoritism, harassment, and unequal opportunities, and these issues can begin to affect morale, productivity, and success. This treatment could be from a superior, peer, or subordinate, which makes knowing how to act incredibly difficult.
There are four main steps to complete if you experience unfair treatment in the workplace. Thankfully, this post has outlined the information you require to ensure you receive the outcome you want.
Document the Unfair Treatment
One of the most important tasks to carry out in this situation is documenting the treatment you receive. This will include any emails, memos, office communications, text messages, and voicemails that are sent to you or are brought to your attention. You should be started documenting as soon as you realize what is happening to ensure all evidence of unfair treatment is preserved.
To ensure you remember details about instances of mistreatment, you should write down any and all information as soon as it takes place. You should record the dates, locations, and times of the incident as well as who was involved and any witness statements you can get. It is also worth noting down how you felt at the time.
The information you document could be used as leverage when negotiating severance pay and terms of the severance agreement. This is essential if you have been fired or decide you want to quit.
Report the Unfair Treatment to HR
Using this information, you should report the unfair treatment to the Human Resources department at work. This is important to do whether you plan on staying at your job or not. You might want to speak with your manager first to see if they can help you resolve the issue, but approaching HR is the next step.
A formal complaint should be written down and handed to the HR employee to ensure it is logged correctly. Most of the time, a meeting will be set up within five days of your grievance being raised. You must consider what you would like to cover in the meeting with HR and bring the evidence along to support this. After this meeting, you should hear what the outcome from your employer.
Some companies do have an appeal process in place if you are unhappy with the solution or no solution is formed. A senior staff member will be brought into this appeal meeting.
Contact a Reputable Legal Firm
At any point during this process, you can contact a legal firm that specializes in employment law. Most workers in this situation do wait until after reporting incidents to their employers before progressing with assistance from an attorney. This shows that you have tried alternative ways to resolve the issue before seeking legal guidance for unfair treatment at work.
Once you have found a lawyer that focuses on discrimination claims or unfair treatment in the workplace, you will go through an initial consultation before the solicitor will assess your case. They will advise you on your options and explain the costs and time that could be involved. By previously contacting your employer, you will have already completed one of the options and proven that other steps need to be taken to find a satisfying conclusion.
Prioritize Self-Care
Experiencing unfair treatment at work can take its toll on your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. This can be eased by setting boundaries to ensure you separate time just for personal activities. As simple as it seems, these activities might include eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and participating in regular exercise.
However, you could also benefit from connecting with your family and friends over the issues you are experiencing. It can feel very isolating when you are treated poorly by colleagues or your employer, so speaking with others can be useful. They might help you accept how you are feeling and practice self-compassion, helping you cope with your experience.
To conclude, it is important to act when you are being treated unfairly at work. This will include documenting and reporting the incidents to HR, contacting an employment lawyer, and prioritizing self-care, as outlined in this post.