Are You in A Hostile Work Environment?

What is a Hostile Work Environment?

A hostile work environment refers to an unstable or sometimes even dangerous work setting. In most cases, a hostile work environment exists when an employee experiences habitual workplace harassment at the hands of his or her co-workers or boss. The harassment becomes so debilitating that the victim fears going to work because of the oppressive, hostile or intimidating atmosphere spawned by the aggressors. A hostile work environment, as somewhat of a broad term, may also be defined as when an employer, boss or manager engages in a manner designed to make the employee quit or perform his or her job function in a poor manner.

Laws Against Workplace Harassment:

Laws protecting against workplace harassment are instituted as anti-discrimination statutes. These regulations govern are; however, not a civility code. As a result, generally, federal laws will not prohibit simple harassment, such as teasing, isolated incidents, offhand comments, or any remarks that are not extremely serious. Workplace harassment, as a broad term, will be enforced to the fullest extent if the conduct attached is objectively offensive to the point where it alters the conditions of the individual’s employment. These situations arise only if the workplace harassment culminates in a tangible employment action or is sufficiently severe to create a hostile workplace.