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The plant construction site where I work as a full-time safety officer is about to enter a critical phase. The number of electrical and instrumentation workers looks set to exceed 150. Since I started working at this site, this is the largest workforce I\u2019ve seen, and there are now more areas that require my attention.<\/p>\n
Sure enough, during recent joint safety patrols and the safety patrols held before our monthly health and safety meetings, the number of issues identified and requiring correction has increased, and the manager at my company is constantly on edge.<\/p>\n
At times like this, you\u2019d better be prepared for all the complaints you can\u2019t share with anyone else to end up with the safety officer.<\/b>In fact, that\u2019s how things have turned out here as well.<\/p>\n
No matter how on edge I might be, there are things you should and shouldn\u2019t say. I usually manage to keep my emotions in check over minor issues, but there was one time when I really felt like I was about to snap.<\/p>\n
At the construction site, there are about nine subcontractors\u2014including the company I work for\u2014working under the general contractor. While each company has a safety officer, in cases where the officer isn\u2019t a full-time employee, there are often gaps in safety oversight.<\/p>\n
One day, taking advantage of the fact that there were no supervisors or traffic controllers around, a worker from another company opened the barriers on both sides of the safety passageway, andHe was transporting materials with a forklift while crossing the safety passageway.<\/span>The safety passageway is the main passageway, and workers are constantly passing through it.<\/p>\n The forklift operator is so focused on transporting materials that he\u2019s trying to get across by any means necessary. He has absolutely no intention of yielding to the other workers and is crossing the safety passage with single-minded determination.There was no traffic control whatsoever, and it was an extremely dangerous situation.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n I happened to notice this, and even though it was another company\u2019s job, I was wearing a safety vest myself, so I couldn\u2019t just look the other way. I told the forklift operator, \u201cI\u2019ll direct pedestrian traffic and give you signals!\u201d and for about five minutes, I stopped pedestrians there and signaled to the forklift.<\/p>\n Just then, the director of my company happened to walk by. When he asked, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d and I explained the situation, he started yelling, \u201cMind your own business! If you get involved in other companies\u2019 affairs, I won\u2019t pay you!\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn't help but speak up, saying, \"Even so, it's only four or five minutes! I'm doing this because I thought it was dangerous!\" He just muttered, \"You're always sticking your nose into things!\" and walked away.<\/p>\n The director\u2019s attitude naturally rubbed off on the other staff members, and they began treating me with extreme rudeness and arrogance.<\/p>\n To be honest, it made me angry, but I\u2019ve been through this countless times before. It happens not just on this job site, but at other general contractors as well, and I know I\u2019d never get anything done if I got upset every single time, so I just try to keep my emotions in check.<\/p>\n However, I realize that if I bottle up those feelings too much inside myself, they might explode at the slightest provocation, so it\u2019s important to make sure I let off some steam.<\/p>\n In this case, to let off some steam, I sent an email to my contact at the staffing agency. I explained the situation, vented a little, and thought that would be enough to let off some steam, but things took an unexpected turn.<\/p>\n After hearing my story, the person in charge said, \u201cThat\u2019s a terrible case of workplace harassment!\u201d and contacted the director\u2019s superior directly to lodge a complaint.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n After hearing the story from the person in charge, the director\u2019s superior apparently thought, \u201cThat\u2019s terrible!\u201d and called me directly.<\/p>\n When I explained the situation again, he said, \u201cI\u2019ve had a stern talk with him, and he\u2019s promised it won\u2019t happen again, so could you please keep this between us?\u201d<\/p>\n I had absolutely no intention of making a big deal out of it, so I agreed and hung up the phone, but that wasn't the end of the story.<\/p>\n A few days later, the director called me in. He looked angry and snapped, \u201cDon\u2019t go tattling to the higher-ups when you can\u2019t even do anything yourself!\u201d<\/p>\n Ever since then, it\u2019s been one nagging comment after another\u2026 People have been saying all sorts of things, but letting such trivial matters upset me would only be a loss for me, so I\u2019m just going about my work calmly and matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n This is what\u2019s happening in the workplace, but I\u2019m probably still better off than most. There are probably many people out there who are suffering from workplace harassment so severe they can\u2019t even bring themselves to talk about it.<\/p>\n I wonder if workplace harassment persists because there aren\u2019t enough people around who take it seriously and try to find a solution. It seems to me that there are simply too many people who think the problem is solved just by going through the motions and issuing a warning from above.<\/p>\n Even when people who are truly struggling steel themselves to confide in someone, don\u2019t you think most of them end up thinking, \u201cIf I\u2019d known it would turn out like this, I wish I hadn\u2019t confided in anyone\u201d?<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to say, \u201cDon\u2019t let workplace harassment get you down\u2014keep fighting!\u201d but the mental exhaustion of enduring it while continuing to work gradually wears away at both your mind and body.<\/p>\n On the surface, there are plenty of people saying all the right things, but I think society\u2019s standards are fundamentally flawed. They aren\u2019t thinking from the perspective of the victims.<\/p>\n Most people who are considering reporting workplace harassment are prepared to be fired the moment they bring it up with their company. After all, there\u2019s no way they could remain in the same department of the same organization afterward, nor do they want to stay with that organization anyway.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n With people truly struggling\u2014and some even resorting to suicide\u2014continuing to work and operate the same way we do now won\u2019t solve a single problem.<\/p>\n Unless we show even greater attention to detail in caring for our employees and provide guidance to upper management, tragedies will only continue to increase.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nWhat Started as Just a Way to Let Off Steam Led to an Unexpected Turn of Events<\/h2>\n
My Thoughts on \u201cPower Harassment\u201d<\/h2>\n
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