“I have ordered a taxi for us if you want to come home with me after work” The then 18-year-old Anette is on closing duty at Circle K Fauske. At midnight she leaves, alone. – It was unpleasant and disgusting. You get scared. What happens when I leave the store? Is that person standing there? Anette, who is now 23 years old, still works at Circle K. All the good customer meetings make her happy. Unfortunately, the customers also lead to weekly harassment. Anette Jørgensen meets many nice customers during a day at Circle K Olav V. gate in Bodø. But weekly she experiences the opposite. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news “Are you stupid in your head?” Anette Jørgensen has worked at three different Circle K stations. She describes the job as varied and fun. She especially likes meeting all the nice customers. – There are a lot of different people who stop by. Most people are nice and cheerful. Then it’s very pleasant. The job consists of many different things. Everything from frying burgers, helping customers to placing goods on the shelves. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news But customers can also lead to very unpleasant experiences. – Unfortunately, it happens very often. At least once a week. Sometimes several times a day, says Anette to news. – Can you describe a typical incident? – Perhaps what we see most are customers who are angry that something is not working. It can quickly escalate into personal attacks on the person at work, Anette replies and adds: – It is often something that you cannot do anything about. The person may have been agitated outside, comes in and before you can even say anything there are insults. Sara Johannessen / NTB scanpix One in five women The latest figures from Statistics Norway show that just under one in six have experienced violence, threats, harassment or bullying at work in the course of a year. 10 percent of men 22 percent of women Swipe —> Super new What is most common? According to Statistics Norway, the distribution is as follows between the various categories: Harassment or bullying: 4.1 per cent , 25-44 years and 45 to 66 years. The youngest are most at risk. Younger women are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence. – Among employed women aged 18-24, 18 per cent have been subjected to harassment and 9 per cent have been subjected to violence at work in the past year, says Kristina Støren, adviser at Statistics Norway. To read more, you can click here. A classic comment might be: “Are you stupid in the head?” Before there were tears – now she’s used to it When asked if it ever gets physical, Anette replies that it also happens. – I have experienced, once, being caught on the bum. You will be shocked. It was when I was new to the job and I didn’t even dare to speak up. That she experiences weekly that customers treat her badly, she says is disgusting, but that in a way she has gotten used to it. – When I started it was absolutely terrible. I could go home to cry. But at the same time you get used to it and put it behind you, replies Anette. – If I had been caught on the bum today, I would have said that it is not okay, says Anette Jørgensen. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – But should it be like this that one has to tolerate being harassed? – No. Circle K, like SSB, has carried out surveys to find out how many people experience unpleasant things at work. Their results show: One in two employees at stations experienced harassment in 2023. An external survey shows that 1 in 10 do not say hello to employees at petrol stations. news has seen the external survey carried out by public opinion. Johan Marius Kokaas is a retailer at Circle K Olav V. gate. He believes we must focus on the challenges in order to change people’s behaviour. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – Taking action can help Johan Marius Kokaas, the dealer at Circle K in Olav V. gate in Bodø, confirms what Anette says. Harassment happens on a daily basis at Norwegian petrol stations. He says that he once had to call a customer to ask him to stop asking one of his employees out on a date. – The person was very aggressive, says Johan Marius. – What do you think is needed to bring about a change? – I think what we are doing as a chain now is important. In other words, to focus on this. This has been going on for a long time and has perhaps been a bit overlooked. Day for consideration Photo: Circle K On Thursday 25 January, Circle K organized a “kindness day” for the first time. So a day for kindness and consideration. The aim is to draw attention to the unnecessary treatment experienced by employees. – The purpose is to support the employees at our stations, raise awareness in society and, not least, thank all our good customers who always behave well, says Nina Sandsbråten, HR director at Circle K Norway. She emphasizes: – No one deserves to be exposed to threats, harassment and discrimination, either at work or otherwise. We have to do something here, says Sandsbråten. While news is visiting Olav V. gate, many customers stop by. Martha Margrethe Rønningen, who works next door, says it’s always nice to come by. Customer Martha Margrethe Rønningen says it is disturbing to hear that employees experience weekly harassment. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – This is not how you should treat people in the shop. You have to behave and show folk customs, she says matter-of-factly. – What do you think is needed to bring about an improvement? – When you work in a service profession, you want all customers to have a good experience. So you have to continue to be cheerful and straightforward, but perhaps it should be okay to speak up if something feels uncomfortable. Has been involved in change Sandra Vestnes (18) sits on the city council in Bodø for the Right. She is also first deputy leader of Unge Høyre Bodø. The politician has long had a burning commitment to bullying in schools. She reacts to the fact that this also happens to the highest degree in working life. – This is very worrying. It should not be the case that people, regardless of age, experience harassment at work, she tells news. Sandra Vestnes (H) believes that focusing on the challenges will help create change. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news – What can be done to bring about a change? – As politicians, we can change both laws and regulations to make things better for employees. But as a society, I think we should change our attitudes, she answers quickly. – No matter who you are, you should not experience harassment. All harassment must be clamped down on. I think it’s about us as a society having to talk about the challenges. Sandra says that Bodø was below the national average for bullying at school in the year she became most involved. – I think maybe it was about being talked about more. The media picked it up. The children learned about it at school. They became more convinced that what they do and say can influence others. – If we get the challenges up and running, it can do something about people’s attitudes. Anette Jørgensen is optimistic that they can bring about a change. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news And that is what Anette and Circle K are now doing. Addresses the challenges and tries to make people aware of what is not right. And fortunately, the vast majority of customers are very nice. – It is the good, pleasant customers we have that make me like the job. Especially customers I see often, they give me a lot. That we can deliver good service and that others appreciate it. It’s very nice, concludes Anette. Hello!Thank you for reading the whole thing. Feel free to send me a tip if you want me to write about something else! Want to read more? Here are some tips:
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How many people experience unpleasant things at work? – news Nordland
