Recently, Cosmopolitan had a Snapchat article that talked about the sexual harassment some Starbucks baristas had endured while at work. That got me to thinking about the unwanted attention and harassment I've received while working different jobs.

The manager at my first job used to sit and watch me work, which I didn't think was an issue until I realized that he was undressing me with his eyes. I was 15.

When I worked at a roller skating rink, I had two managers that made me extremely uncomfortable. Since the rink was closed on Tuesday nights, our managers would hold pool parties for us on Tuesday nights. I didn't like going in the pool with these older men around me, even if the other female coworkers were in their bathing suits.

"We should vote on who has the best ass here."

One of my managers said that. Then, he was quick to add, "maybe we shouldn't vote for the underage ones." It made my stomach hurt.

While working at my current job, it was a busy night and the line was out the door. An older man was the last one in his group, and he came up to the register to pay the bill with a huge smile on his face.

I ran through my usual questions, "How are you? Would you like a drink? Would you like a copy of the receipt?" but then he asked me if I could give him my number. Our company's policies were erased from my brain as I was quick to snap at him.

"Sorry, I'm 17 years old."
"That's okay, call me when you're 18."

I was actually 19 at the time. He was in his late forties, with a scraggly salt and pepper beard and a dark look in his eyes. I felt so uncomfortable that I had to leave the register and run to the back to escape his gaze.

When did it become okay for this kind of behavior to happen? Women harassed in the workplace are told that they need to act professionally, or that they need to attend sexual harassment seminars to learn how to avoid those kinds of incidents.

It's as if men have forgotten how to behave when they're out of the house and that it's okay for them to make their female counterparts as uncomfortable as possible.

When did any of those stupid pickup lines or catcalls ever work for a man? Never. It's one thing to tell the girl making your coffee to "keep smiling" because it's a way to cheer someone up, but it's another to tell a young girl that you're interested in her, even though you're 20 years older than her.

Women can be just as guilty of sexual harassment in the workplace, with older women, like teachers or professors, preying on younger male students. Although men downplay that kind of behavior, deeming those women "cougars" and calling the victims "legends," it's unacceptable and should not be a double standard.

Men and women alike should be held accountable for their sexual misconduct both at work and in the public. There should be no difference between a man eyeing a woman's butt, or a woman hungrily staring down a man. It's one thing to flirt with a person, it's another to harass them.