Sunday, May 19, 2013

Resisting Workplace Discrimination Proactively


Common people face many issues daily. People have their own stories of strife and sorrows. Conflicts arise anywhere you go. Humanity is challenged physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and even spiritually. How do you cope? How do you respond to the different challenges of life?

For normal people, there are many ways to cope. They have their family background, educational attainment and even work experience to back them up. They have also developed connections with different people who can support them during these challenging times. However, what happens if you do not belong to what the majority calls “normal”? How do you cope if your views, gender and religious preferences are not socially acceptable? Do you deal with issues as other people do? Would you simply look down and look away?

Growing up with people telling you that you are not good enough or that you do not fit can be disabling. You can lose the trust and confidence in yourself. Words need not be true for them to hurt or disable you. However, how do you truly live unless you celebrate the unique life you are given? Unless you celebrate yourself, it will be difficult to convince others to celebrate you.

One of the greatest challenges that people face daily is discrimination. It can happen even at work where people go through qualification processes to become part of the company. If people discriminate you at work, are you still capable of looking down and looking away? Would you simply give up your job and just look for ways of earning income somewhere else? Is it right to give in to the pressure and give up? What happens to your career goals and sources of income? What kind of future is waiting for you? How long do you leave all these at the mercy of other people?

There is no better time to resist discrimination than today. You can effectively resist discrimination by fighting your battles smartly. You have to know that the law is on your side. The state recognizes your value not just as an individual but also as a productive member of society. The law protects your unique individuality and therefore, provides various precepts to allow you to live normally like everyone else. The law protects your rights to life, freedom, and pursuit of happiness. If your job provides you with all these things then why give them up?

Act now and demand that the EEO or Equal Employment Opportunity labor law posters be in your workplace. Management should post them in areas where you and everybody else can read them. Help yourself resist the discrimination by keeping the law within sight. Let other people know that the law protects your rights. Their non-observance of these rights is punishable by law.
If you have problems getting employed because of issues about your sex, age, race, religion and other preferences then you should check out your rights in the EEO poster too. Be the first to know them. Embrace your uniqueness, fight for your rights, and celebrate your life today.

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