Fight The Sexual Harrasment At Work Place

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Fighting the unwanted advances at the work place is something most of the women have to face in their office. Sometimes the approach is direct and many a times it is indirect, but it is important to read those sexual advances and take the right step in order to save yourself from sexual harassment in the office.

Usually women either do not want to expose it as they live in the fear that they might lose their job or many a times they think that they have to work with the same person, so why make an issue out of it. Women think that if they will keep on ignoring the sexual advances, they will stop eventually, but many a times it is taken as a wrong cue by their boss and they might fall in mess.

So it is better to stop them at the first go and even if there is no change then take the necessary action to curb the sexual harassment in near future. There is no need to fear from these advances and sit tight lipped because you fall lower in the hierarchy, it is time to get up and tell the whole world about it. Here are few ways which can help you in fighting these sexual advances.

Handle Them With Care

The first and the foremost thing to be done when facing such situation is that you should make your stance clear to the person. Never keep on lingering to the fact that what will he think, juts slap a straight no on his face on the very first go. Tell him on his face that you are not interested and be honest while telling him so. Wrong cues can lead to future disasters, so this is the right time to curb the future havoc. Avoid playing the blame game, just stay cool and calm and tell him in a friendly manner that you did not like his behavior. While talking keep a check on your emotions and be clear in your dialogues too.

Never give him space to approach you again by using phrases like may be later, not now etc., this will leave the door open for him. Being straight forward will help you in near future. Do not feel that if you will tell him straight on his face he will feel bad, avoid using sugar coated words to give him wrong impression. If the person in question is your boss then you have to handle him very smartly and use all your tactics while telling him about your disinterest regarding the issue. It is better to culminate the issue when it rises initially than rather let it build up and get out of proportion.

Tell your boss that you have boyfriend or you are already engaged to be married etc. Even then if the advances do not stop then next step is to be blunt on his face. Even then if he do0es not stop then the next best thing is to approach HR of the company and tell them .There are laws and rules against verbal or physical abuse, so you can take their help , it is their duty to help you out . Next best thing you can do is tell your supreme boss about your boss’s unwanted advances, so that he can set him straight if need be. If you need you can file a written complaint also against him. The first thing is not to feel offended by his deeds and shy away, be bold and take necessary steps to fight back.

Stay Alert

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It is not just women who face these sexual advances, even men sometimes or rather you can say rarely face such situations at work place. But the important part is that you should be attentive enough to detect that the extra benefits and attention that you are getting from your boss is out of the place. Keep an eye on his body language and conversation too. If they are getting too personal related to your personal life or love life then stops the person then and there. You need to take the cues in advance to analyse that unwanted advances are being made towards you. Being attentive is the only way to find out that whether you are being trapped by your boss. If you detect them early, you can nip them in the bud also early. Some men also face sexual advances from their colleague or female bosses. These can be explicit advances or implicit ones. Like your boss might ask you to go out for movie or for coffee after office hours, he might ask you to stay back in the office in pretext of extra work even after the office hours.

Some Precautionary Measures

You cannot always blame the person for the sexual advances, many a times our open and lively attitude can also give wrong impression to the other person. So it is better that you remain a bit subsided, and concentrate on your work. Keeping at bay from these unwanted elements is the best way to avoid them. Be polite and try not to discuss your personal life with everyone in the office or the workplace. Always maintain a distance from the male members in the office, non verbal gestures like holding hands while talking or simple touches should always be avoided in the office. Play around with the body language too. Sitting on the chair with legs crossed will give the message that you are unavailable and uninterested in any one in the office. These small but important gestures are helpful in getting the unwanted attention at the workplace. Follow all the workplace ethics as the rule book says and all will be well.

If nothing works then there are laws which will help you in fighting against these sexual harassment cases at the work place. But it is better to be safe than sorry, so first be attentive and try to avoid them and when nothing comes to the rescue then it is the time to take stern steps to teach them a lesson.

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