My married boss is making advances at me. Help me please!
I work in this large organisation where managers seem to get away with just about anything. I say this because my married boss keeps making advances at me, which I have been fighting off but he won’t give up. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- I work in this large organisation where managers seem to get away with just about anything.
- This is really stressing me at work, and I have a feeling that it will affect my career.
Q.Thank you for the good advice you give us in this forum.
I am an avid reader and learning a lot; I am sure others are. I need advice on a sensitive issue. I work in this large organisation where managers seem to get away with just about anything.
I say this because my married boss keeps making advances at me, which I have been fighting off but he won’t give up.
This is really stressing me at work, and I have a feeling that it will affect my career.
I love my job, but find this situation very uncomfortable. Do I resign?
Thank you for sharing a predicament that affects many at the workplace, though few are brave enough to speak out like you have done. I have heard of cases where employees put up with such behaviour from their bosses to safeguard their jobs and provide for their families.
Many do this while searching for new jobs, and sometimes end up in similar situations in a different organisation and get very demoralised. It does not have to be like this though. Do not resign, instead, speak out because this boss might just be the one that loses his job.
Secondly, do not compromise on your values. Do not give in to anything you will regret to simply keep your job. The next step is to check whether your organisation has a policy on how to escalate cases of sexual harassment. It is the responsibility of your employer to ensure your safety at work, including protection from colleagues whose behaviour is demeaning.
Follow the guidelines that are laid down on how to report this to those assigned the responsibility to handle such complaints.
In situations where a policy is lacking, the best option is to speak to someone higher in authority, or your HR manager, and state your grievance. To report a case like this, you need to have your facts right. You will need to recall when and where such incidents happened.
If there are colleagues who may have witnessed any of these incidents, state this in your complaint as they may be called upon during investigations. Obvious outcome after reporting would be investigations and using the outcome to apply the right disciplinary action.
If after reporting nothing is done to make your work environment safe, this may be the right time to leave instead of compromising on your values.
