Still deep in my OSHA training at my new job. I am repeatedly horrified at how many fatal accidents occur at work. They remind me how most if not all of these accidents are so preventable.
It tears me up to hear of these (mostly construction) workers falling to their deaths or being electrocuted.
Be Careful!
And as I read and learn from this important training, I find a gap. It’s not death, not usually, but there is that other kind of hazardous work condition. The harrassment, the bullying, and the hostile work environment.
My training touches on it very lightly, “It’s not macho to risk your life!”
Yeah. And why would they have to say that? Because working conditions can have this culture of unsafe practices. And the unsafe practices start long before you choose the ladder to do the work on the roof.
I have read so many articles and even books about how to stand up for yourself and ask for what you need at work.
Does anyone else feel like that song? It’s good advice that you just can’t take.
Ironic.
Those smug article writers will glibly tell me and any other people reading their “7 reasons why you can demand what you need from your workplace” what and how to say what we need.
But when I found myself against the wall, crying through my commute every night because of hostilities and non-cooperation from co-workers, I needed more than a listicle.
I am so glad those days are over. It’s strange to realize that it took years after LEAVING that hostile work environment to recover my equilibrium and feel like a person again.
To put a neon arrow by it, this type of mental culture can have a big impact on a woman’s willingness and ability to speak up and ask for what she needs and wants while pregnant.
It’s not just one thing.