‘I want to take you to my room’: Harassment and bullying pushed security guard over the edge

A SECURITY guard says sexual harassment and bullying at her male-dominated workplace in Queensland wrecked her life.

AS AN experienced security guard, Jill* was confident she could hold her own as the only woman in her new job.

But within months, her work life had become so unbearable that she had a nervous breakdown.

It began when a colleague said to her: “I want to take you back to my room and f*** you.”

Jill brushed it off, but she was shaken up.

Later the same night, she went out on patrol at the Queensland energy site, leaving behind an action film for her colleague to watch. When she returned at midnight, he remarked that she clearly liked movies with lots of sex.

“I was pretty upset,” Jill told news.com.au. She went outside and worked on her laptop in -8C until 6am, when they went back to camp. By this point, she was seriously distressed and went to report the incident to her supervisor, Andy*.

He asked her what she expected as an “attractive woman with blonde hair and big boobs”.

“I was crying my eyes out,” Jill said. “Andy said you can report it, but you won’t be well liked by the other employees.

“I asked to see the paramedic for something to make me sleep. He said no.”

The bullying escalated from that point, she said. The men would make her move heavy dead kangaroos out of the road while they waited in the car. They were by turns abusive or silent, reporting her for speeding or complaining that she would report them.

The team carried supplies of chocolate and coffee for the drivers they stopped. “One day, one of the guys said, ‘maybe you can get one of the Tim-Tams, run it over your body and I’ll lick it off,’” said Jill.

Within four months, she was a shell of her former self. “I had a breakdown,” she said. “My fiance left me, I lost everything.

“I wanted to make money, put my daughter into private school.

“I couldn’t even look after her. I wasn’t cooking meals, I couldn’t take her to school, I was just crying all the time.

“It was like everyone was ganging up on me. I felt like I didn’t want to be alive ... I was suicidal.”

Jill began seeing psychologists and obtained a WorkCover Medical Certificate. She obtained representation from Shine Lawyers and has lodged a claim with WorkCover but a decision is yet to be made.

In court, Jill’s manager admitted to shouting at her and telling her she was attractive with large breasts, but said he had only intended to improve her performance and flatter her.

Four years on, the 60-year-old woman has been through court and is finally in a new job at a mining site. “They’re very strict on sexual harassment,” Jill said. “No one knows what I’ve gone through and I prefer not to say. I’ve been there two months with not one problem. The bosses are really good, they look after you.”

But Jill’s experience has caused problems for her relationships, finances and ongoing mental health. “I lost my house, I lost my dignity, I lost respect,” she said. “It took ages to get on Centrelink, I was a mess.

“I trust no one ... I don’t think you ever recover from something like that.

“I used to wake up having nightmares ... I still have nightmares but not as much — now it’s about insecurity, not feeling safe. I still get down about a lot of things.

“My new partner says, just because your boss did that doesn’t mean I’m going to do that.”

Bullying at work is a major factor in Australia’s job-related suicide crisis. News.com.au is this week running a series on the different ways people can develop anxiety and depression at work, which roles are most likely to create mental health problems and how this is damaging our economy.

Workplace mental health organisation Heads Up defines workplace bullying as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards an employee or group of employees, which creates a risk to health and safety.

It can come in many forms — abusive or offensive comments, unjustified criticism or complaints, withholding information, setting unreasonable targets, setting tasks well below someone’s skill level, spreading rumours and intimidation.

Other areas include refusing to leave without grounds, excluding someone from work-related activities, mind games, practical jokes, refusing to acknowledge achievements or changing arrangements to deliberately inconvenience someone.

A number of factors increase the likelihood of bullying happening in a certain work environment. These include high job demand or stress, limited control or independence, organisational change, role conflict, job insecurity, unreasonable expectations or a lack of behavioural standards.

The ideal work environment to prevent bullying is one with good communication, the involvement of employees in decision-making, adequate resources, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, strong team relationships and regular one-on-one conversations with managers.

Employees most at risk are casual, young, new, apprentices/trainees, injured or on return to work plans or minority groups based on ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual preferences.

Jill has come a long way, but still sometimes has suicidal thoughts and has to go to see a counsellor because her head “feels really full”. She worries about other women in the same situation.

“I can guarantee plenty of girls are going through this, but not saying anything because they want the money. I got threatened everyday but I didn’t want to lose my job,” she said.

Most of all, Jill is angry that her tormentors never faced any consequences, remaining in their jobs after she left and even being promoted.

“They’ve got daughters, how could they treat anyone like that?” she said. “If I saw them in a dark alley, I’d punch them.”

Share your story of workplace stress, mental health or suicide with [e-mail] or leave a comment below.

If you or someone you know needs help:

Visit the Heads Up website for advice on workplace bullying and links to other resources.

Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service1300 659 467 for 24-hour Australian counselling services.

Beyondblue(1300 22 4636) for 24-hour phone support, online chat, resources and apps.

Mindout for mental health and suicide support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

Young people should call Kids Helplineon 1800 55 1800 for free confidential 24-hour counselling for ages 5 to 18; visit Headspace for online counselling for ages 12-25 or seeReachOut for forums, chat and information about youth mental health.

* Names changed to protect identities.