The title sounds worse than it is I think, but I didn't know how else to phrase it. This is also going to be pretty long because there are so many elements to this and I'm confused about what to do.
I am a part time student worker in a small office at a state university. I have a boss (30s M) who I really like and with whom I've worked for almost a year now. There have been absolutely no issues with him.
The problem began when we moved offices - our department combined with another department, and we got shipped out to another part of campus. At the office we moved to, my boss told me that I would have a new staff member above me - the direct supervisor mentioned in the title. I, along with the other student workers, would now report to the supervisor, and the supervisor would bring those issues to my boss.
The supervisor complimented my appearance when we first met. It struck me as a little inappropriate but I didn't say anything (most younger women are used to this treatment, especially from older men). He also touched my back to move me out of the way of a door that was swinging open - this wasn't necessarily wrong because I didn't see the door and it would've hit me otherwise.
Unfortunately, the touching has continued. It started as shoulder touching at strange times (he will thank me for doing something and either pat or kinda stroke my shoulder) but it now includes my lower back. We work with video so there are a lot of production environments and sets that involve physical work, which seems to give him reasons to physically touch me instead of telling me verbally to move or go a certain direction. I have not noticed this behavior with the other (all male) student workers, but I could potentially just be missing it.
I also perform as something similar to a cheerleader for the school. My supervisor has commented on how they only take attractive girls on those squads, and that he has old posters for the squad that he will go try to find me on. He then commented that he "probably would've noticed me" if I'd been on them, and finally asked for a poster from this year since he "wants a picture of me in the uniform. "
Also, my student coworkers previously brought an issue to my supervisor, and he later mentioned to all of us not to be a complainer in an office setting. He has treated those workers noticeably differently since then.
Finally, this week he accidentally bumped into me in the hallway, in a way that pushed the front of his torso against mine for a second. It seemed like an accident but given the circumstances, I'm anxious about it.
There's history between my boss and my new supervisor - they used to work together, but their hierarchy was reversed. I've noticed that my boss still kinda lets my supervisor take control of things, even though my boss is technically the one in charge now.
I once brought an onset technical issue to my boss, since I try to generally avoid talking to my supervisor at all in those environments b/c they make him so touchy. My boss addressed the problem but later reprimanded me (kindly) for taking it to him instead of my direct supervisor who is supposed to address student worker issues. He said that hierarchy is important to my supervisor and I shouldn't skip the chain of command at all since the situation in our new workplace is "delicate" (I don't know what this was referring to).
I'm at a loss. I don't want to wrongly accuse anyone, especially an older man who was raised and began his career in a time when workplace rules were not nearly so strict. He could be being friendly, and trying to compliment me is certainly not a crime. I don't even know who I would talk to if I decided to report this. Please please help me, what do I do?
TL;DR: My new, much older supervisor at work is touching my shoulders and back, as well as complimenting my appearance repeatedly. I'm uncomfortable bringing issues to him, but the higher-up boss told me to stick strictly to the office hierarchy.
Submitted August 28, 2018 at 11:44AM by gameoldtime https://ift.tt/2BYqwWW
No comments:
Post a Comment