Monthly Article Archives: December 2013

Can This Happen in Your Workplace?Robert Brooks, Ph.D.

Imagine the following scenario: It is the first day of your new job. You are very excited and also somewhat anxious. You are aware that many others desired this well-publicized position, but it was offered to you after an extensive evaluation process. You enthusiastically accepted. It is your ideal job, one for which you have prepared for years both mentally and physically. It also pays very well, and you are earning far more than almost all of your classmates who were fortunate enough to have secured employment. You are eagerly awaiting the training you will receive in preparation for your new responsibilities. But the first few days are not what you anticipated. Some of your supervisors yell at you loudly for mistakes that you make as you attempt to learn the requirements of your job. Some speak to you as if you were a child and demand you carry out tasks that they dictate such as carrying their trays in the lunchroom although they are very capable of doing so themselves. Others direct derogatory comments at you, some filled with religious, racial, and/or sexual slurs. At one point, out of frustration you disagree with a supervisor and in response several

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