Category: Interacting with Coworkers

Harassment on the Job

Our mental health on the job should be our first priority. If you’re harassed and the coworker has violated the guidelines I say figure out the right person in HR to email your grievance. Document in the email the name of the employee their job title and dates times and specific illegal behavior committed.

In my experience if you tell your immediate supervisor they won’t go to bat for you with HR. This is because they want to cover their own *ss. They could be implicated in having allowed the harassment to happen.

Some companies require all staff to watch an anti-harassment video each year. In my experience too a harasser could watch the video and nothing will change about their behavior.

You can Google definition and types of on the job harassment should your employer not require you to watch a video.

I’ve been harassed on a job. It’s likely more common than not that a person could get harassed on the job.

You should use your cellphone notes or journal app to record the information before you send the details to the HR person.

Coming up ideas on how to preserve your mental health on the job.

Office Holiday Party

Once in the 1990s I attended an office holiday party at a restaurant. Something was off with the food served. We cut into the meat and found out that it was veal.

That was long before the protest against eating veal was popular. We were upset to be served the veal back in the 1990s at the holiday party.

Closing out the 1990s I attended another office holiday party. The attraction was the shrimp which two of us piled on our plates.

One year recently at a holiday party at a restaurant I lost my hat. It was my favorite crimson knit cloche that I had bought at a holiday gift fair in the 1990s.

Where the hat went I had no idea as others saw me wearing it when we went to the restaurant.

The thing I can tell you is that on 12/26 the day after Christmas it’s not advised to ask a coworker how their holiday was. Unless you know that they celebrate Christmas.

As I found out when the person told me they don’t celebrate the holidays after I asked how their holiday was. You can try asking if the person celebrated the holidays. Then if they did you can ask how it was.

I would also like to say that the holiday party is not the place to get drunk or stoned on weed with coworkers. Not matter how nonchalant your workplace code is.

I say treat yourself to a holiday gift if you celebrate. Though it makes no sense to go into debt buying gifts for yourself or others or to host a dinner party.

On a humorous note, to end with:

In December 2017 I bought a sweater online from Uniqlo. The USPS listed that the item was delivered when it hadn’t arrived.

Waiting on hold with the USPS to find out what happened a recorded announcement told me that the USPS is the best way to ship holiday gifts.

Not so. The package didn’t arrive from Uniqlo that December 2017 with the USPS.

In March 2018 I arrived home to find a plastic bag in front of my door. I hadn’t ordered anything. the label listed that it was shipped from Uniqlo.

Opening the package I saw that it was the sweater that should’ve arrived in December 2017!

Simone Biles and You and Me

Simone Biles suffered sexual abuse while involved in the USA Gymnastics.

Her decision to bow out of the Tokyo Games should empower us mere mortals to make our mental and physical health the number-one priority.

In a world and in workplaces where a significant number of other people are only out for themselves.

In coming blog entries I’ll talk about how to assert yourself and preserve your sanity on your job.

Firing off outrageous emails and acting like a jackass towards your coworkers is not the way to go. Even though you’ll encounter dastardly coworkers who seem hell-bent to make your work life miserable.

At the end of this email I link to a Deseret News article about Simone Biles. She did the right thing.

The point is not that all coworkers will intentionally do things to sabotage you. Misunderstandings will often arise on your job. Sometimes it’s not clear whether the tactic was a clear-cut form of abuse or simply a simple disregard for you in favor of their own interest.

This is where establishing boundaries and expecting respect is integral.

Chances are you will hit it off great with one coworker who is kind and caring.

The fact is that each of us has our own quirks and personality traits.

How to differentiate quirky behavior from outright malice?

More on this coming up.

The Truth About Simone Biles