work harrassment

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adamskaren

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I work in an office that is set up by cubicles. Seven years ago I was assigned to the cubicle next to the head manager's secretary, also known as the Office Manager -- I'll call her "Sue".

Sue seemed friendly when I first started, but within the first year, Sue complained to the head manager (without ever speaking to me about it) that I spoke too loud for her to be able to accomplish her work. (Both of our jobs involve typing, paperwork & some phone activity.) My direct manager advised me of the complaint and asked me to keep the volume down. (Unfortunately I didn't document this complaint.)

I kept my voice down to what I thought was a considerate working level, but during the next year, Sue would whistle, or bang things around in her cubicle, or bang her hands on her desk, as if she was playing the drums, whenever I would speak on the phone or to coworkers that came to my cubicle.

Sue also started to be annoyed with me in general whenever I would ask her an office related question, such as needing office supplies from her, which is part of her responsibility to provide for all office workers. Sue once again complained to the head manager about my loudness & now that she felt I was never working, just being social. When my direct manager advised me of the complaint I let her know that I felt a growing antagonism against me, from Sue. My manager voiced to me that she realized that my nature was to be friendly and that my way of handling work may be construed as just being friendly & not working. We discussed this latest complaint with my other two co-workers in my department who sat one & two cubicles away from me. They were aware & had witnessed Sue's behavior towards me. One of my co-workers agreed to switch cubicles with me, even though she was concerned that she would be targeted for loudness...so I moved over one cubicle. Unfortunately I still had not documented this.

Tension continued to grow between us & Sue would continue to whistle if she would hear me talking. Everyone in my unit was now aware, even though it was never stated, this must be a signal for us to keep our voices down.

Asking for supplies from Sue became so much of a dread for me, that my manager agreed to request the supplies that I needed to complete my work, instead of be requested by myself. On a daily basis I dreaded coming into work. With everyday things like passing Sue in the hall, she would walk to the other side to avoid me, or she would take another elevator than the one I was on & she'd noticeably stop talking whenever I would come into any whereabouts that she was speaking with someone else in the office.

Just a few months ago I was requested to answer the office phone by another manager. I answered in one ring, beating Sue to the punch. Sue became furious and slammed down her phone & starting screaming about me answering too soon. I completed the call & this time I confronted Sue. Screaming by Sue ensued & she advised me to wait until several rings before answering the phone. I went on to say that I realized that she didn't like me & that I thought that her dislike added to her anger about me answering the phone too soon. She agreed that she didn't care for me. I went in to address the problem with my direct manager. My manager left it to that fact that Sue would just answer the phone. This time I documented this encounter, sending it in email form to my manager, asking her to place this write-up in my Personnel folder.

My manager elevated my write-up the head manager. The head-manager met with me privately to discuss the situation & let me know that Sue was going to apologize to me for her behavior. Sue did ask to see me privately in the office hallway & gave a quick "I'm sorry" & walked away.

The next day I approached Sue at her desk, letting her know that I appreciate her apologizing & that it must have been difficult for her to do. She said that it wasn't hard to do because she was wrong & that she knew she was a good person. I said that even though she may not care for me, we need to get along respectfully in our office environment & asked her to shake hands in agreement that we would start our relationship anew. She shook my hand & we went back to work. I also documented this & emailed my manager to be placed in my Personnel file.

My questions to you are this:

Should I pursue this further?
Is this harassment?

I never heard from Personnel about this matter, so I don't know if my write-up went into my file. Should I check on that?

Sue continues to whistle if she hears me talking. Should I approach her about it since it was never said that this is a warning. She may just say that she likes to whistle & that it is a coincidence that she whistles when I talk. Should I document something about the whistling?

I have noticed that now Sue sometimes acknowledges my presence in a somewhat friendly/respectful hello, but I honestly have avoided dealing with her.

What would be the best approach to handling this office situation?
 
Nothing that you have described constitutes illegal harassment. Sue could benefit from an anger management course (and probably the services of a good psychologist) but she hasn't violated any laws.

Since the incident appears to be closed I see no purpose in pursuing it further.

If you will tell me your state I will tell you if your state law requires access to your personnel file. If it does, then you can easily see if the write up is there by requesting access. If it does not, you can ask but I wouldn't make an issue of it since clearly the manager recognizes that you are not the one causing the problems.

At this point you've won, and making an issue of the whistling will only be rubbing Sue's nose in it and probably making the issue worse. Unless there is a valid, business-related reason why it needs to stop, I'd leave it alone.
 
Unfortunately, NY is not one of the states where an employee has a guaranteed right to see their file.

It doesn't mean you can't ask, and it doesn't mean your employer will refuse. It just means that if they decide against allowing it, the law isn't going to force them.

If you have a good relationship with your manager, and it sounds as if you do, if it really worries you, you could just ask if the documentation was placed in your file. But it doesn't sound as if you really have anything to worry about no matter what the answer is. Presumably you kept a copy of your documentation and if the issue repeats itself, you can deal with it then. Unless you deleted the e-mail, it's still archived somewhere on your computer.
 
discrimination at ork

i too am going through some roough times at my job also. i am a target for everyone at my job. if i show up for work i've done something wrong. i have been harrassed by all the emplyees there with the exception of about a total of three who do not work there anymore.i'm being reorted to supervisors about things i have know knowledge of and getting written up without hearing my side the story.i'm always accused of not doing my job but i'm always told that i do tje best job there. i have been suspended for a violation that i see being violated by someone everyday. i see violatioons wherethey should be suspended but are not and dont even get a verbal warning. the last two weeks i have been desperatelly ill and had a to miss a few days of work and i have a feeling they are going to use this to try to fire me for good. my question is is thi legal and do i have any recourse that i can take? someone help me please
 
discrimination at ork

i too am going through some roough times at my job also. i am a target for everyone at my job. if i show up for work i've done something wrong. i have been harrassed by all the emplyees there with the exception of about a total of three who do not work there anymore.i'm being reorted to supervisors about things i have know knowledge of and getting written up without hearing my side the story.i'm always accused of not doing my job but i'm always told that i do tje best job there. i have been suspended for a violation that i see being violated by someone everyday. i see violatioons wherethey should be suspended but are not and dont even get a verbal warning. the last two weeks i have been desperatelly ill and had a to miss a few days of work and i have a feeling they are going to use this to try to fire me for good. my question is is thi legal and do i have any recourse that i can take? someone help me please!
 
Maybe it's because you don't use spellcheck?
 
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