Harassment in the workplace sometimes relates to a hostile work environment. Other workers and possibly even those in positions of authority may engage in abusive conduct that makes a worker feel intimidated, uncomfortable or harassed.
Typically, people associate hostile work environments with sexual harassment in particular, but workplace hostility can also involve other protected characteristics. The law prohibits discrimination and therefore harassment on the basis of race, religion, age, disability and other key personal characteristics.
Discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment can manifest in a variety of ways. What types of conduct may constitute a hostile work environment?
Physical abuse and intimidation
Physical harassment could involve touching someone without their consent or in a manner intended to offend them. Physical harassment could also involve intentionally interfering with a worker’s job performance, possibly by taking tools out of their hands or blocking their path in a threatening manner.
Using physical intimidation to frighten a co-worker because of their protected characteristics can also be a form of physical harassment that creates a hostile work environment. Actions intended to humiliate or injure a worker could also constitute physical abuse.
Verbal harassment
Hostile work environments often involve inappropriate communications. The workers may call each other abusive nicknames or even use slurs. They may make offensive jokes that relate to an individual’s protected characteristics. They may ridicule people for factors outside of their control or perceived shortcomings in their job performance.
Visual harassment
Visual harassment involves creating a work environment that people find intimidating, offensive or triggering. A coworker might print and display pornographic images or offensive memes. They might engage in intimidating or offensive nonverbal behavior, such as making inappropriate gestures, constantly staring at one person or glaring in an intimidating manner.
They might even display inappropriate items in the workplace, ranging from sex toys to nooses. Any conduct that makes accepting abusive behavior a component of a worker’s continued employment could technically constitute actionable harassment by creating a hostile work environment.
Typically, those alleging that they have experienced discrimination via a hostile work environment need proof of ongoing and intentional conduct, not just a one-off experience that made them uncomfortable. Reviewing documentation of inappropriate workplace conduct with a lawyer can help people evaluate their options for addressing a hostile work environment.