Workplace harassment can take a variety of forms; it can include bullying, innuendos, displaying
personal images or offensive materials, or making threatening phone calls. In short, it is behavior
conducted in a workplace against an employee that is known to be unwanted behavior.
Specific to the work environment, this form of harassment is also fueled by discriminatory behavior.
Many individuals are often singled out for reasons such as their sexual orientation, gender, religious
beliefs, age, or ethnicity.
One example of the injustice of harassment in the workplace was recently brought to light in April 2016,
when a (now former) WestJet flight attendant filed a second lawsuit against the company after she
alleged to being sexually assaulted by a pilot. Mandalena (Mandy) Lewis filed her first lawsuit earlier in
the year but no action was taken by Westjet; soon thereafter, she was let go from her job. Lewis
described the work environment as being “permissive of harassment”, especially towards flight
attendants. The lawsuit is still underway.
There are many steps that individuals can take in order to prevent harassment such as this. First, clear
policies need to be created and strictly enforced by the company. All employees should be made well
aware of these policies and should be provided with information for what is considered unacceptable
behavior. They should also know the steps to take in case the policy is broken and the rules and
reprimands that are set in place.
Employees should be educated on who they should seek assistant from, and that group or individual
should be readily available to them. Keeping in mind that they cannot always go to their direct manager,
as that could be the person behind the harassment.
There is no reason for employees to suffer this form of discrimination, so all preventative measures
should be taken by the company to avoid it. Not only for the employees well-being, but for the
company’s. An unhealthy work place can cause absenteeism, low morale, and a decreased work ethic,
all resulting in damage to the company as well.
