Workplace is meant to be a place of professional growth in an individual’s life. But sometimes workplace can lead to many problems. There are so many unpleasant challenges like harassment, discrimination, overwork, stress and abuse in extreme cases. Employees who are affected by these challenges face setbacks not only in their professional growth but also their confidence and dignity as a person.
Harassment is one of the biggest and most serious problems in the workplace. It can occur in different forms such as verbal, physical, and emotional. It can be sexual harassment, bullying, or just targeting someone based on unrelated conditions such as race, gender, ethnicity and religion. Victims of workplace harassment are more likely to hide the harassment due to the fear of loosing the job. But the longer they stay silent the longer the harassment continues. To create a workplace with zero harassment employers should be given education regarding what legal action or remedies they can seek if they ever experience workplace harassment. Also, we can make sure that there is a facility within the workplace such as a counselling center which anyone can talk freely about what they experience.
Another challenge in the workplace is stress and burnout. Japan is one of the countries with highest rate of death by overwork. With the fast-moving world, employees are expected to work faster and longer than before. To add to the stress, they have to work with devices for the most of the time. They often get pressured with deadlines and high expectations which puts on the pressure to perform better and to stay late in work. Employees suffer from mental disorders like anxiety and depression due to the stress they face daily in the workplace. To try and reduce this immense pressure workplaces can take steps such as making flexible working hours, allowing employees to work from home when possible, providing wellness programs and allowing mental heal support in the workplace.
Inequality and discrimination are another problem in the workplace. Many work places still deny women for positions and some still pay less for women than men for the same job. There are some workplaces that eliminates people based on their gender identity, religion, ethnicity or disabilities. These minority groups are often faced with unrelated problems to their job when they try to enter into a workplace. People should be evaluated for their competence to work effectively in the workforce not their identity. Diversity should be valued in a workplace which can set an example to the future generations.
Another problem is the growing advancement of technology. This has both advantages and disadvantages for a workplace. As per the negative impact it gives, technology makes people less interactive with each other. Employees will use their free time not to bond or make connections with other people in the office but, rather they would be stuck in a digital device trying get one more thing done quickly. Sometimes digitalization can cause more work for employees such as checking the email constantly and having to be always online. This leads to “digital overwork”. Working with devices all the time without having a break in between can take a toll on employees’ physical health as well. It can cause diseases like headaches, carpel tunnel syndrome, obesity due to less exercise, back pain and strained eyes.
In conclusion, with the workplaces all around the world facing these problems it’s very important that we speak out about these and try to make a difference. In a positive note many workplaces have already adopted healthy reforms in their workplaces such as allowing a mid-day break or a mid-week break, having an specially appointed counselor for the workplace, proving awareness to employees on both sides to protect others and be protected. When employees feel safe and respected in a workplace it benefits to the workplace as much as it benefits to themselves.
Penned by : Rtr. Amabindu Palliyaguru
Rotaract Club of Faculty of Law University of Colombo 