Fear factor
By Anonymous - 13/01/2016 06:58 - United States - San Francisco
By Anonymous - 13/01/2016 06:58 - United States - San Francisco
By Anonymous - 28/11/2015 06:57 - United States - San Francisco
By Anonymous - 01/11/2014 18:59 - United States - Deatsville
By MrsKSB - 11/11/2010 17:46 - United States
By DingusGinger - 21/04/2019 02:00
By thinkimquitting - 25/06/2012 21:49 - Australia - Yarraville
By sistermonster - 26/02/2014 09:45 - France - Salon-de-provence
By Anonymous - 28/07/2024 00:00 - United States
By Username - 09/02/2011 03:27
By lowly worker - 08/04/2017 18:00
By Anonymous - 20/05/2022 18:00
If you feel threatened OP you definitely need to either talk to his superior or if that's not an option either ask to be transferred to a different branch or start sending out your resume. Depending on how bad this is, get the police involved quickly.
Then maybe you shouldn't work there if you feel threaten.
If you feel that threatened then contact a higher up. You shouldn't feel the need to carry around a defensive device with you at all times at work.
You should definitely take that up the chain if things are so serious that you need to carry around a defense at all times.
Creating a hostile work environment is illegal. Please speak to your boss' superiors, or HR department.
bonus points for correct grammar (neither/nor)
I'll start off with YDI. If you enter a hostile situation when you have an option of NOT ENTERING IT, with a weapon then you can't claim self-defense. If you end up using the pepper spray, you will be charged with assault. If you fear for your safety get police involved, there is no way around it. Also, have you considered that maybe your boss hates you cause you carry pepperspray to hurt him?
@18: I'm pretty sure when OP first got the job they didn't expect for their boss to hate them. So, I don't see how they entered a hostile situation willingly. Plus, they carry pepper spray because the boss hates them; not the other way around and no one said that the boss even knows about the pepper spray. Why would they tell them that?!
18, how did you arrive to this conclusion? The FML implies that they started carrying pepper spray in response to their boss's hostility. As far as calling the police goes, they might be worried that it could end with them being fired - especially if the police don't take the situation seriously. While the other coworkers seem to understand that there's a reason for the OP to carry pepper spray, they may also be worried about losing their jobs. Furthermore, they are not "knowingly entering a hostile situation", they have the pepper spray on them in case it becomes a violent situation. It will still be self-defense, and unless the OP is black and their boss is white, the courts will most likely agree that it is in self-defense. This is a situation that best deserves the phrase "Stuck between a rock and a hard place."
#24, let me break that down for you. If you come to work and your boss threatens you, you can always leave and call police. If instead you go back to your car, take your baseball bat, come back and end up beating the crap out of the boss, you can't claim self defense. I don't think. Because you willingly returned to the hostile environment, and the fact that you carry a weapon with you means A) you've taken the threat seriously B) you intend to do some damage. Maybe think one or two steps ahead, will you? Obviously the job was not hostile at first, but it is now since the OP does not feel safe there anymore. And he goes back without dealing with the problem in a proper manner.
But if the boss attacks OP and OP uses pepper spray in the moment, that's self defense.
Sounds like harassment to me, you should try to get him sacked, if that doesn't work then get a new job, if you're really threattened you should value your life over an income, always.
Keywords
Sounds like a problem with your boss, not you. Make sure any threatening behavior is reported to the proper people. Your safety is your number one priority.
Why have you not gotten the police involved? Or the higher ups?