Deborah OConnor March 31, 2014

 

Even in these enlightened times, unfortunately discrimination still existsin the workplace. A recent letter I received brings my point home.

Dear Deborah:

I work with a project manager and four other people. We all work together on various projects and I am a female and the other three teammates are male. One of my teammates and I do the majority of the work and theother two are lazy and rely on the two of us to do most of the work.Recently, our project manager has given raises to the four males in thegroup and I received nothing. My evaluations have been very good and Iknow for a fact that two of my teammates received below averageevaluations. I feel as if I am being discriminated against. What is thebest way to handle it?

Ashley

Dear Ashley:

It does indeed sound as if you were treated unfairly. But before youoveract and start making accusations, you need to get your ducks in arow and get organized.

• In preparation, make sure all ofyour projects and progress are documented, along with comments andoutcomes. This is very important to show that you have not only kept upwith, but have surpassed, some of your co-workers.
• Make anappointment with your project manager and have your documentation withyou, ready and organized. You do not want to go in overly emotional andcry from the heart. You want to be ready, have everything documented,and come from a position of strength.  
• Consider that he mayhave other plans for you and be open to what he has to say. Perhaps hehas another project for you and a raise in the future. There could bevarious scenarios, but you will not know for sure until you have aconversation.
• After listening to what he has to say, if youstill feel you have been treated unfairly, let him know. State your case by explaining that you have better evaluations and that you feel youwork harder and smarter that your colleagues and should be compensatedaccordingly. Make it clear that you feel you deserve incentives tocontinue working harder. Listen clearly to his responses and take notes.
• If your outcome is still unsatisfactory, you should explain that you feelyour only recourse at this point is to go to HR and explain that youwere the only one that did not receive a raise in spite of your betterrecommendations. You can only assume that you have been discriminatedagainst.

Please feel free to send questions to [email protected]. I will answer them in my weekly column.

Deborah O’Connor is a social strategist and founder and president of Successful Image LLC with offices in Columbia and Atlanta. She offers training and seminars on image management, workplace etiquette, and social skillsnecessary to succeed in life professionally and personally. Contact at:[email protected]  www.successfulimage.biz