Like most of your neighbors in Boca Raton, you must work to provide for yourself and your family. You may also derive both pleasure and confidence from your job. If you face sexual harassment at work, though, your otherwise enjoyable job may turn into a nightmare.
While sexual harassment can happen in any job and in any industry, it is more common in certain sectors. If you work in one of the following industries, you may have an increased risk of experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace:
1. Hospitality
The hospitality industry often attracts entry-level employees. Unfortunately, though, working in a restaurant or hotel may make you vulnerable to sexual harassment. In fact, between 2005 and 2015, more than 14% of all sexual harassment claims came out of the hospitality sector.
2. Retail
Whether you help consumers buy clothing, groceries or something else, you should not have to worry about sexual harassment at your place of employment. Still, with more than 13% of harassment claims coming from retail trades, shop employees face sexual harassment more frequently than most other workers. Even worse, because retail workers often interact with customers, you may have to contend with harassment from someone other than a manager or coworker.
3. Manufacturing
Traditionally, factories and other manufacturing facilities have appealed to men. That is no longer the case. In fact, women are perfectly capable of handling most manufacturing jobs. If you work in a factory, though, you may have trouble overcoming deep-seated behaviors. You should not have to put up with pervasive sexual harassment during your workday, however. With around 12% of claims coming from the manufacturing sector, there is still a lot of progress to make.
4. Health care
The health care industry is massive in the United States. Whether you work in a small office or large hospital, you may eventually encounter sexual harassment at work. That is, more than 11% of reported sexual harassment incidents during a recent 10-year period occurred in the health care industry. While you may be able to ask a representative from HR to intervene, you may have difficulty avoiding sexual harassment from patients and others outside your organization.
Even though sexual harassment occurs in all industries, it is a big problem in some. If you work in any of the above sectors, you may need to watch for the warning signs of sexual harassment. If you notice them, you may need to act quickly to improve the situation and protect your legal rights.