Anyone working under an employer can be subjected to retaliatory actions. Retaliation is often an underhanded attempt to discriminate or harass others because an employer feels they have the right and power to do so. However, employees have protective rights against retaliation.
If you’re suddenly feeling uncomfortable or targeted at your place of work, you may need to watch for these signs of retaliation:
Altered job position
An employee may suddenly have their position reassigned. Their previous role may have given them lots of job opportunities and flexibility, while their new role doesn’t. The employee may not even be qualified for the role, being asked to do work that purposely makes them look unreliable and not fit to stay employed at the company.
Overworked/Underworked
Employers may retaliate against employees by changing their workload. An employee may have a sudden large amount of work to complete. It’s often clear to employees that the work assigned to them is impossible to carry out on their own.
On the other end of the spectrum, employees may realize they’re being assigned less work than usual. They may have so little work that they don’t look like they’re doing anything for the company. This may also be an attempt to push the employee to leave and find work elsewhere.
Exclusion from meetings
Another sign of retaliation is if an employee is being excluded from meetings, training and conversations required for their job. The employers may also be attempting to take away opportunities to collaborate with others from the employee.
Poor performance review
An employer may use some of the above tactics to create a poor work performance, even when the employee has a history of performing highly and meeting expectations. Poor work performance may be used as a reason to fire someone or cause them to lose bonuses or promotions.
If you’re a victim of workplace retaliation, then it can help to learn about your legal rights and the steps to right this issue.