I know what sexual harassment is and the laws associated with it, but I know nothing about verbal and emotional harassment. For the past several weeks my boss has been screaming at me in front of my co-workers, calling me an idiot and other names. I can’t lose my job, but I can’t be in this environment either. What steps can I take to stop this harassment without risking my job?

When a Savvy Miss member asked the following question, we turned to Johnny Taylor for his expert opinion.


That’s a tough one, because there’s litigation that says something to the effect that there’s nothing illegal about having a boss that’s a jerk... unless there is proof that you are being discriminated against based upon your gender—for example, if he or she is yelling at women only and not your male counterparts. But if he or

 

she is an equal opportunity jerk, then there’s not a whole bunch you can do from a purely legal standpoint.

From a career standpoint, if you like what you do and you believe that you are working for a company that respects its employees and wants its employees to have a positive employment experience, then the first step would be to speak with your human resources department.

Speak with an HR representative in confidence and ask for guidance on how you can handle the situation. They may say that they can intervene in the situation, and tell the manager: “This won’t be tolerated. We don’t treat our employees this way, we have an environment of mutual respect and dignity.” Then that manager would be disciplined for violating the company’s dignity and respect standards.

The HR department may also give you advice on how you might speak to your manager differently or appeal to him on a different level. Or, they might help you transfer to another department within the company. If you like the company