What are the Different Types of Job Harassment?

There are many types of harassment that can take place in the workplace. Types of job harassment include unwelcome and disturbing behavior that is directed against a person based upon a characteristic such as gender, race, or age. Other types may target an individual or group of employees based upon sexual orientation, age, or disability. Job harassment can also be of a type that targets an individual based on religion, political beliefs, or national origin.

More commonly referred to as workplace harassment, many forms of job harassment are illegal, especially if the harassment is based on the victim’s race, religion, or gender. In job harassment, the victim feels as if remaining employed or being promoted is contingent upon submitting to the unwelcome behavior. A person may also be a victim, not by being the direct target of the harassment, but by being forced to witness it.

Sexual harassment is one of the most recognized forms of job harassment. Sexual harassment involves unwanted sexual advances or sexual behavior in the workplace. The target of the harassment feels as if refusing to submit to the behavior will result in negative consequences at work or a possible loss of employment.

Job harassment may also take the form of verbal or physical behaviors that are meant to degrade an employee because of gender or sexual orientation. It may also be that an employer refuses to hire or promote or fires an individual based upon that person’s gender or sexual orientation.

Harassment based on a person’s race, ethnicity, or color is another type of job harassment. The perpetrator of the harassment may engage in behavior that verbally or physically degrades the victim based on these personal characteristics. As with harassment based on gender and sexual orientation, this type of harassment may include refusing to hire or promote, or even firing, someone based on race.

Another type of job harassment is that which is based on the individual’s chosen religion. The way in which the harassment is carried out is often similar to that in other types of harassment. With this type, it may also include forcing an employee to participate in religious services of another faith or trying to convert the employee to a different faith. As with other types, the victim feels forced to submit to the behavior in order to remain employed.