Bullied? Tell Us if You've Been a Victim or Witness to Intimidation or Sexual Harassment
If someone at a construction project hinted that they might punch you in the face, you'd know right away that you were being bullied.
If someone at a construction project said you had a nice face, you'd probably be a little confused at first.
Indirect threats of violence aren't necessarily against the law, but nowadays you can't go another week without hearing something about school or cyber-bullying. Not surprisingly, anti-bullying laws which cover verbal and emotional torments in the workplace have been introduced in 21 state legislatures but business has succeeded in shooting them down.
Indirect expressions of sexual interest, if they are repeated, persistent and create a hostile work environment, are a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The bad behavior, sexual harassment and bullying should be diminishing as people wise up.
Do you know or see any sexual harassment or bullying at your construction job? We'd like to know and invite you to comment below.
Not surprisingly, in an industry that's still mostly worked by men, men file about one out of five sexual harassment lawsuits. There have been a handful of spectacular cases of abuse from Louisiana recently, such as the Kerry Woods v. Boh Bros. case, the Cherry vs. Shaw Coastal case, and another case involving Shaw Group, where a young man says he was hounded by co-workers and even assaulted when they held him down an stuck a pen in him.
ENR's been counting the cases of sexual harassment in the industry that have come to conclusions that show up in legal databases, and there have been about 80 in the last 10 years.
Most of them get thrown out or overturned on appeal, including the ones where men harass other men. Although there may have been despicable behavior involved, judges are ruling that the accusations just don't rise to the legal definition of persistent and part of a hostile work environment.
Judges also have said, as they did in overturning the decision against Boh Bros., that Title VII wasn't written to clean up the culture of the construction industry or to stop men from horsing around or even behaving cruelly.
I consider these same-sex harassment cases involving men to be proxies that show what could happen if anti-bullying laws for the workplace ever are widely adopted. Meaning waves of costly lawsuits.
Has any of this kind of harassment and bullying happened at construction or design companies where you work?
Let us know by commenting below, and remember, you can make up a user-name so no one will be able to see who you are.
We'll be putting the results of our special report investigations in the Nov. 26 issue of ENR. We think the industry has a lot to gain from making sure civilized behavior is enforced, not the least of which is keeping millions of dollars from being wasted on lawsuits. That and the rights of workers being respected.
What do you think? Remember, all you have to do is register with a username to comment anonymously. We'd appreciate hearing from you.
I am saddened about all these articles of harassment and bullying whether in the work place or at school or even in homes. <br/>"we as a society have dropped the ball on human kindness"...
October 26, 2012
I am saddened about all these articles of harassment and bullying whether in the work place or at school or even in homes.
"we as a society have dropped the ball on human kindness". We have substituted into a life of gadgets, technology where the grass is always greener at our neighbours.
In my humble opinion the only way we can eradicate this epidemic is to start with us, not with anyone else.
FIRST: Friends, Parents, Educators, Employees & Employers: we know people that are either the Bully or the Victim and we do absolutely nothing except be the bystander.
Time to change into "Active Witness". You need to step up your values and help another person by reaching out. Don't be afraid, the bully and victim are already afraid enough of something.
SECOND: Recognizing all the signs of both the Bully and the Victim. They are similar yet different. I am bold when saying that both are MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER, they are both fearful and have very low self esteem. The bully however acts out and the victim retreats. But both feel justified in their behaviour. When you as a witness see this you must act, if you can't by yourself then go to a superior or to a principal or parent. There is always somebody. Do not let both bully and victim alone and let this go on. It needs to stop before it can get OUT OF HAND. This is where you come in.
THREE: Intervention: Both bully and victim need to sit together with either someone at work or a counsellor at school. To talk and open up. You would be so surprised what happens both bully and victim realize that they have both big issues. The victim now often realizes that the bully is not so powerful but has a lot of fear. And the bully realizes that the victim is truly sad about his or her predicament and feels very isolated.
If we all play a role in helping we can actually "TOGETHER PICK UP THE BALL OF HUMAN KINDNESS" and teach the younger generation how to do it better than us. By showing simply how to live by example.
Gabriella van Rij
Activist, Advocate & Author (gabriellavanrij.com)
I am at the moment on a tour through California for anti-bullying awareness month it is astounding how many news media do not know this.
"we as a society have dropped the ball on human kindness". We have substituted into a life of gadgets, technology where the grass is always greener at our neighbours.
In my humble opinion the only way we can eradicate this epidemic is to start with us, not with anyone else.
FIRST: Friends, Parents, Educators, Employees & Employers: we know people that are either the Bully or the Victim and we do absolutely nothing except be the bystander.
Time to change into "Active Witness". You need to step up your values and help another person by reaching out. Don't be afraid, the bully and victim are already afraid enough of something.
SECOND: Recognizing all the signs of both the Bully and the Victim. They are similar yet different. I am bold when saying that both are MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER, they are both fearful and have very low self esteem. The bully however acts out and the victim retreats. But both feel justified in their behaviour. When you as a witness see this you must act, if you can't by yourself then go to a superior or to a principal or parent. There is always somebody. Do not let both bully and victim alone and let this go on. It needs to stop before it can get OUT OF HAND. This is where you come in.
THREE: Intervention: Both bully and victim need to sit together with either someone at work or a counsellor at school. To talk and open up. You would be so surprised what happens both bully and victim realize that they have both big issues. The victim now often realizes that the bully is not so powerful but has a lot of fear. And the bully realizes that the victim is truly sad about his or her predicament and feels very isolated.
If we all play a role in helping we can actually "TOGETHER PICK UP THE BALL OF HUMAN KINDNESS" and teach the younger generation how to do it better than us. By showing simply how to live by example.
Gabriella van Rij
Activist, Advocate & Author (gabriellavanrij.com)
I am at the moment on a tour through California for anti-bullying awareness month it is astounding how many news media do not know this.
