Background:
I have been at my job for 4 years. At the beginning my job was amazing. Then the pandemic hit and something shifted at work. The owner realized that people were too afraid to lose their jobs. He began to push boundaries, being rude and sometimes down right cruel.
I still remember the day an ex-coworker came in super sad and told him he won't be coming into work for a week as his mother was in another country dying and he couldn't see her in her death bed because the borders were closed at the time. The man was distraught and couldn't handle working as he was too sad. My boss literally spent the next 10 minutes telling this guy that he was inconveniencing the company and that his mom was going to die anyway, he might as well make some money as him sitting at home will do him no good. I was way too stunned to speak.
Later that year my husband was let go of his job. Up to this point I have worked at this company with no issues. As soon as my boss found out my husband was jobless, the power dynamic between us shifted in his favor so significantly that he thought it would be safe to sexually harass me as I cannot quit since I was the only source of income in a pandemic when no one was hiring.
I at first didn't realize I was being sexually harassed. He would comment on my clothes, my hair, my looks. He had never done that before but I didn't think it was too weird as he was not being inappropriate or too forward. Then one day he said ” this might be really inappropriate but you look hot today”. I felt a chill run down my spine. He then began to invade my personal space and touch me on my arm or shoulder. I began to pull away and stopped being alone in any room with him. It got to the point that I just focused on my job and didn't participate in any conversation with him that was not about work.
Then my mom dies, I was not close to her and he knew this, so I was not given
A few months ago I was pulled into his office and he basically tore me a new one for being “gloomy” and not laughing enough. I was laughing, just not at his jokes. I made sure to pretent to be busy when he would bullshit near my desk.
Then he began always hanging by my desk and talking to a coworker, who is also his friend about how all these girls wanted him and how if he was not married they would definitely sleep with him. More and more of these conversations began to happen in my presence. When I heard the conversation, it was about a waitress, a client, a banker… So women in the service industry just being polite to him, he is really out of touch.
Finally, after he was getting absolutely no reaction from me he began to mistreat me. Demeaning my work, my intelligence and frankly just plain out digging at my self worth. I began making mistakes at work since I felt so overwhelmed by his harassment. He literally kept track of my mistakes and when I made a new one, he would list them all out and then say the new one at the end.
Finally businesses are hiring, my husband gets a job, I still couldn't quit because we needed to recover from the 9 months he was out of work. So I began looking for work. I realized quickly that since I am not looking for an entry level job, the competition is tough and the jobs are not many. Yesterday after 6 months of job hunting I was finally offered a job. Now I am waiting to sign my contract so I can give my 2 weeks notice.
I am scared of (editing since I didn't finish my post). I am scared and worried about giving notice and him getting his last dig at me. I am applying for citizenship soon and I cannot leave anything in a way that may come back and harm my chances.
I know I technically don't have to give notice, but I like playing it safe.