- Guest Contributor
- March 30, 2021
When you have a great manager, you most likely enjoy your job and will do it well. However, when you have a manager that doesn’t treat you right, going to work can be a chore. You might have a bad first impression or personality clash. Or, more seriously, you might feel like your manager is acting differently toward you because of your sex, race, or religion. If your manager is not treating you well, you should follow these steps.
Document the Incident(s)
Always take note of the date and time of each incident, plus what was said during the interaction. Most people carry cell phones now, it’s also possible record the incident. The more evidence you have, the better chance you have of defending your feelings and proving your point. You might be able to directly address these issues with your manager. Or, if you feel manager is harassing you, you can go straight to human resources with your list.
Documentation might include your notes, photos, videos, and even written or oral accounts from co-workers that witnessed the interaction.
Contact Human Resources
Once you have documentation of the events, you can bring it to Human Resources. Always make a copy of any documentation you give to the HR department. Never give them your originals, as you might need them should this go further.
When discussing the matter with human resources, ask the HR representative how long it will be before you should see a difference in your manager’s behavior. If your manager’s behavior doesn’t improve – and ignoring you or giving you the cold shoulder is not an improvement – you might consider contacting a supervisor in the HR department.
If your employer does not have an HR department, go to your manager’s supervisor. In this case, if your manager’s behavior does not improve, you would go to the supervisor’s boss.
Under both circumstances, should the behavior not improve, you might consider other options.
Explore Other Options
Some of the other options you might explore include switching to a new team, finding a new position within the same company, or finding a new job. If the harassment was a violation of your constitutional rights, whether under the state or federal constitution, you might consider contacting an attorney. If you are not sure if your manager was violating your rights, many attorneys offer free consultations. You can present your case and the attorney will let you know whether you have a case.
Whenever you have an issue with a manager, don’t ignore it, thinking that it will go away. In most cases, it only gets worse. Immediately start documenting any incident with your manager. Do not discuss the incident with your co-workers unless you know that you can trust them not to say anything, and you know your co-worker will help you in presenting your case by verifying your account.
Should you need to contact an attorney regarding workplace harassment, make sure you give the attorney copies of any documentation, including photos and videos. If you have an open complaint with the HR department, you might need copies of that material for the HR department.
About the Author: Cheryl Bowman has been writing on various topics since 2007. While she writes on many topics, including pets and food, her specialties are legal and automotive as she worked in both industries. Cheryl’s legal specialties are bankruptcy and family law, but she writes about criminal law and civil cases such as personal injury and real estate. You can find Cheryl on Writer Access.
