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Workplace misconduct: Five opportunities that emerged from my four-year journey of accountability.
Four years ago, I was a successful employee, climbing the corporate ladder. My record included years of glowing performance reviews, a long list of accolades, and fully deserved promotions. I loved my work as a user-experience researcher and manager. For reasons I now know are unhealthy, work was a core part of my identity.
In 2018, my own manager, a director, made a series of inappropriate comments about a woman who reported to me. “I think she’s pregnant again, and she’s overly emotional and hard to work with when pregnant.” I reported this illegal conduct to HR, an action which led to a year and a half of retaliation and harassment, and when I became pregnant during this time, I then became the target of pregnancy discrimination too.
Before I became pregnant with my second child, I did not foresee the life I live today. The workplace misconduct I experienced led quickly to mental health issues, which, years later, persist. I work full-time, as do many moms, and up until recently, I worked about 10-20 hours per week at a second job, holding my former employer accountable.
My experiences over these four years have taught me that, despite frequent public assurances by many, workplace misconduct continues unabated. This is…
