You are reading a single comment by @persona_non_grata and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
Glad you got a positive and supportive response. In my experience most people you'll encounter in the workplace are sensible and surprisingly sympathetic under these sort of circumstances - but you don't necessarily discover this until you have to go somewhere uncomfortable in raising a genuine concern or grievance.
On info. available the client's behaviour was completely and utterly unacceptable. Sexual harassment, bullying & inappropriate and uninvited physical contact are a scourge in the workplace. Do not tolerate or suffer in silence.
I'm a ruffty bloke but have been on the receiving end a couple of times and it's not pleasant to have to deal with. I go to work to work, not have my arse touched when I'm sorting out a network printer.
persona_non_grata
This is the most difficult thing to put in my own head.
I think I was going to not mention anything to anyone and just sit in that workshop with a knotted stomach all day. The idea of gathering the courage to talk about it and to maybe face someone minimizing / ignoring it made me feel so sick.
I was thinking I'd prefer to pretend nothing happened that to find out my colleagues didn't believe it was wrong.
But all your reactions made me feel much less out of place.
So I brought it up to one of my colleague who is going to sit in the workshop today but wasn't there yesterday. His reaction and those here comforted me in the idea that I was not making a big deal of something small and random and was right to feel sick and should do something about it.
I then brought it up to my superior, who was really sorry to have not noticed it when it was happening and genuinely upset. They didn't diminish what happened in any ways, they were concerned and sad that we have to work with people who'd act like that.
They said they'll pay extra attention in the future, and that I should bring it up immediately if it was to happen again, with that client or with anyone else. And if talking wasn't possible for any reason, I should text.
As for today, a few colleagues are now informed and we are going to lead the workshop in a slightly different way to make sure we can all do our jobs the best we can and with peaceful minds.
I'm glad I voiced this here, I'm grateful for the courage you all gave me, and I'm happy to know I work with people who do take harassement seriously.