Ok...I'm having a very serious issue at work & it's one that I've never had to deal with before. I had to report someone for sexual harassment today. Unfortunately, I was the one who was harassed. Here's the situation:
I've been working at my store now for almost 9 weeks. Everyone was very friendly & very welcoming to me. I noticed that there are a few guys who like to flirt with me even though I'm their managment & I always act professionally towards everyone. Well, there is this guy who is much older than I am (he's roughly 40) & he works in the Tire Lube Express part of the store. He's always been super friendly, but 2 weeks ago he had made a comment to me. He had openned the door & said "There ya go Beautiful!". Instantly I shot him a funny look since no one has ever called me that at work before & I told my partner afterward how uncomfortable it made me feel. I brushed it off as him being friendly & that maybe he's the kind of guy that calls people "Dear" or "Hon". Since that day, there hasn't been a single day gone by with out him saying "Dear", "Hon", "Sweetie" or "Beautiful" to me instead of calling me by my name. Yesterday, I had to do my training in the Auto Shop where he is the Manager of it. Adam (my partner) was sent with a Tech. & this guy said that he would train me personally. Red flag went up then! I noticed through out the day the sweetheart comments were flying constently & he ended up touching my shoulders, my waist & eventually my knee. I didn't know what to do at that point since I was the only female there & he secluded ourselves away from the group. He even went to the point of saying that we had paperwork to do & sent me to the office so he could show me the right ways of doing the paperwork. Fine...I didn't have a problem with it until he shut the door of the tiny office where it was just the two of us. He then rolled his chair across from mine & positioned himself to where his knees were straddling my knees. That's when he touched my leg & I made up an excuse to get out of there. Instantly I found my partner & told him we were done training. Adam knew something was wrong & so we discussed it. That's when I decided to tell my Sponsor about the situation & she told my CoManager the situation later in the day. So this morning, my CoManager & I discussed everything...and now the guy could get written up or even fired over this. I can't help but feel like firing him is a little extreme, but I do feel that he needs some kind of punishment.
It's just so weird for me to deal with. I just don't feel comfortable with any guys except for my partner & my upper management team at this point. I'm still just as friendly as before, but now it makes me think of my actions. I even asked Adam if he thought I provoked this & he said no. I know I didn't, but I didn't know if I was doing something that maybe a guy could take wrong. It's just so messed up & just hate this feeling! He's a grown man for God's sake...he should know better. I just can't help but feel really weird about it all.
I'm sorry for venting about it all on here. It's just that I can't discuss this with anyone from my area. I told my Mom & of course she freaks out about it. She's all worried about him being a stalker or something...I've already had that problem once before & hope that I NEVER go through that again. She's just worried about me & I can understand that.
Thanks for listening to me let off a little steam & getting it off my chest. I really appreciate it!
I've been working at my store now for almost 9 weeks. Everyone was very friendly & very welcoming to me. I noticed that there are a few guys who like to flirt with me even though I'm their managment & I always act professionally towards everyone. Well, there is this guy who is much older than I am (he's roughly 40) & he works in the Tire Lube Express part of the store. He's always been super friendly, but 2 weeks ago he had made a comment to me. He had openned the door & said "There ya go Beautiful!". Instantly I shot him a funny look since no one has ever called me that at work before & I told my partner afterward how uncomfortable it made me feel. I brushed it off as him being friendly & that maybe he's the kind of guy that calls people "Dear" or "Hon". Since that day, there hasn't been a single day gone by with out him saying "Dear", "Hon", "Sweetie" or "Beautiful" to me instead of calling me by my name. Yesterday, I had to do my training in the Auto Shop where he is the Manager of it. Adam (my partner) was sent with a Tech. & this guy said that he would train me personally. Red flag went up then! I noticed through out the day the sweetheart comments were flying constently & he ended up touching my shoulders, my waist & eventually my knee. I didn't know what to do at that point since I was the only female there & he secluded ourselves away from the group. He even went to the point of saying that we had paperwork to do & sent me to the office so he could show me the right ways of doing the paperwork. Fine...I didn't have a problem with it until he shut the door of the tiny office where it was just the two of us. He then rolled his chair across from mine & positioned himself to where his knees were straddling my knees. That's when he touched my leg & I made up an excuse to get out of there. Instantly I found my partner & told him we were done training. Adam knew something was wrong & so we discussed it. That's when I decided to tell my Sponsor about the situation & she told my CoManager the situation later in the day. So this morning, my CoManager & I discussed everything...and now the guy could get written up or even fired over this. I can't help but feel like firing him is a little extreme, but I do feel that he needs some kind of punishment.
It's just so weird for me to deal with. I just don't feel comfortable with any guys except for my partner & my upper management team at this point. I'm still just as friendly as before, but now it makes me think of my actions. I even asked Adam if he thought I provoked this & he said no. I know I didn't, but I didn't know if I was doing something that maybe a guy could take wrong. It's just so messed up & just hate this feeling! He's a grown man for God's sake...he should know better. I just can't help but feel really weird about it all.
I'm sorry for venting about it all on here. It's just that I can't discuss this with anyone from my area. I told my Mom & of course she freaks out about it. She's all worried about him being a stalker or something...I've already had that problem once before & hope that I NEVER go through that again. She's just worried about me & I can understand that.
Thanks for listening to me let off a little steam & getting it off my chest. I really appreciate it!