Harassment; Ch. 9; page 298
Luckily I haven't ever gotten caught up in the whole sexual harassment at work conflict. However, I have made the mistake of dating a co-worker and feared it would hurt me if things didn't work out between us. I thought of all the consequences that could occur if she told my boss something that could be classified as sexual harassment. I knew it was never a good idea to date a co-worker (even worse someone I supervised), but sometimes the heart doesn't listen to your conscience. When we broke up, things at work got as awkward as I thought they would get. We had a very public break-up and everyone at work knew about it. I ended up changing the shift schedule so we wouldn't have to work together. Thank god a few months later she quit and went off to college in another state. After that, things were a lot easier and I was happy.
Take my experience as proof that you should not date someone you work with!
last day to blog
15 years ago
This was a very interesing post. I feel that Americans in general are working more and more these days and we spend a longer portion of our day at the office (or whatever or workplace may be). Therefore, it's so easy and convenient to date someone at work since you spend more time with them than you do with your own family.
ReplyDeleteI recently read an interesting article (and it's driving me crazy that I can't recall where it was) about people who nickname their co-workers "office husband" or "office boyfriend" (in a non sexual way) because the person that they work such long hours with knows more about certain things than their own boyfriend or husband does.
That actually happened to me recently. My husband is an attorney and works crazy hours. On the weekend, we ran into a coworker of his at Valley Fair, and then we all decided to go to lunch. I asked, "where should we eat?" and Janet (my husbands coworker) said "the Counter". I did not know my husband even liked going there because we don't usually discuss where we went to lunch that day and he never told me. However, because he and Janet and a group of other people eat lunch together on a daily basis, they know where they like to eat!
I went a little off topic, but just thought I would share!
I do have a question though - are office romances (when you are not dating someone you supervise or are supervised by) considered to be sexual harassment?
Wow I feel you on the not dating a co-worker business. I myself have not but when I did work at a restaurant it seemed like everybody dated or are dating in the workplace. I don’t think it is a good idea at all. I personally don’t like others knowing my dating business and it seems like if you are seeing someone at work, everyone from work feels they can be involved to. It’s just extra drama that doesn’t need to be stirred. Although on the other hand, you can’t help to like whom you like.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny that you bring this topic up! At two of the restaurants I worked at, it seemed everyone was dating a co worker. To my surprise I never was caught up in such a dilemma and NEVER dated anyone that worked with me. Most of my friends did however and I witnessed how awkward it could become when things ended. Not only are you forced to work together, but you are also forced to somehow hear about the other person's new love interest. The break up or the becoming of two people that work together at a restaurant always seem to be the main topic of a shift and ends up being almost like a soap opera script. I swear sometimes I felt as though we were all a part of some high school gossip, it was just silly, and I am glad that I learned from my friends and never mixed my personal love life with people at work.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! According to our text harassment is a form of communicative behavior that degrades or humiliates people. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), harassment includes:
ReplyDelete-slurs about sex, race, religion, ethnicity, or disabilities
-Offensive or derogaory remarks
-Verbal or physical conduct that creates an initimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment
-Creating conditions that interfere with the individual's work preformance
In the U.S. the most common form of harassment that is always read about in the news is the "sexual harassment." More and more organizations have their own strict policies about dating co-workers. Most companies do not allow such relationships because it is not worth risking the company's resources to fight legal battles on potential sexual harassment cases.