1. Discriminatory Harassment-
All unlawful workplace harassment is discriminatory in nature. But, unlike verbal or physical harassment, discriminatory harassment is defined by its intentions instead of how it’s carried out.
In this case, the bully is harassing the victim because, at least in part, they’re a member of a protected class.
The more common and recognizable forms of discriminatory harassment are described in more detail below.
Racial Harassment
A victim may experience racial harassment because of their race, skin color, ancestry, origin country or citizenship.
Even perceived attributes of a certain ethnicity (curly hair, accents, customs, beliefs or clothing) may be the cause. Racial harassment often looks like:
- Racial slurs
- Racial insults
- Racial jokes
- Degrading comments
- Disgust
- Intolerance of differences
Gender Harassment
Gender-based harassment is discriminatory behavior towards a person based on their gender.
Negative gender stereotypes about how men and women should or do act are often the center of the harassment. Some examples are:
- A male nurse faces harassment for having what is perceived as a woman’s job
- A female banker hits the glass ceiling and taunted for not being “leader material”
- A male colleague displays material (comics, posters) that’s degrading to women
Religious Harassment
Religious harassment is often interconnected with racial harassment but narrows in specifically on the victim’s religious beliefs.
Disability-Based Harassment
Disability-based harassment is a type of workplace harassment directed towards individuals who either:
- Suffer from a disability themselves
- Are acquainted with a disabled person or people
- Use disability services (sick leave or workers’ comp)
A person with a disability may experience harassment in the form of harmful teasing, patronizing comments, refusals to reasonably accommodate or isolation.
Sexual Orientation-Based Harassment
Sexual orientation-based harassment is starting to gain traction and recognition as a legitimate type of workplace harassment. Victims face harassment because their sexual orientation is different from those around them.
People of any sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, etc.) may experience this form of harassment depending on their line of work.
For example, a homosexual man may face harassment on a construction site whereas a heterosexual man may be teased for working in a salon.
Age-Based Harassment
Workers 40 years and older are specifically protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in an attempt to promote the employment of older people and reduce age-based harassment.
A person facing age-based harassment might be:
- Teased and insulted,
- Left out of activities or meetings, or
- Unfairly criticized…
…Simply because of their age and the stereotypes that come with it. Unfortunately, this harassment is sometimes an attempt to wrongfully push the individual into early retirement.
Personal Harassment-
Personal harassment is a form of workplace harassment that’s not based on one of the protected classes (such as race, gender or religion).
Simply, it’s bullying in its most basic form and it’s not illegal but can be damaging nevertheless.
Physical Harassment-
Physical harassment, also often called workplace violence, refers to a type of workplace harassment that involves physical attacks or threats. In extreme cases, physical harassment may be classified as assault.
Physical gestures such as playful shoving can blur the line between appropriate or not since it’s the person on the receiving end who decides whether the behavior makes them uncomfortable.
In order to more clearly define that line, physical harassment should be taken very seriously in the workplace and explained thoroughly in codes of conduct and policies.
Power Harassment-
Power harassment is a common form of workplace harassment that’s characterized by a power disparity between the harasser and the harassed.
The harasser exercises their power by bullying a victim who is lower on the office hierarchy.
In many cases, the harasser is a supervisor or manager who victimizes their subordinates.
