Workplace Stupidity Continues
The stupidity at work continues. This past Wednesday we had our Director of Human Resources provide a training on sexual harassment in the workplace. The training itself was offensive because of its tendency to dehumanize the workplace.
It is important to note that I am a teacher in an adult vocational career school and that my campus teaches primarily Allied Health courses and programs. Many of the faculty are required to teach a course on Legal Aspects of Allied Health and we include materials on workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.
Most of our faculty are nurses and have years of experience in dealing with patients, families and co-workers regarding the most intimate of issues: sex, sexuality, gender, chronic illness, family dysfunction, terminal illnesses, depression, surgery and even sexual harassment.
Myself, I have over 10 independent certifications in Human Resource subjects, including Legal Issues for HR & Management, Legal Issues for Employees, Benefits Administration, Benefits Management, Change Management, Business Coaching, Diversity Awareness, Human Resources Generalist, Behavioral Interviewing, Interviewing & Hiring, Interpersonal Communications, Legal Research, Managing People, Negotiation Strategies, and Sexual Harassment Awareness. All of these certifications were achieved or renewed in July 2004.
Much of what the HR folks had to say about sexual harassment in the workplace was straight forward. However, several major pieces of information were questionable, and some issues were just plain wrong. Some of what was said is not in keeping with the EEOC guidelines, the case law, or the "reasonable person standard" which is the final arbiter of the matter IF a case were to go to court.
The entirety of the presentation was to get our signatures on a piece of paper saying that we had received the training and a copy of the company policy. It was purely a CYA move that put the entire faculty and staff on notice that if a sexual harassment complaint is filed, we are on our own.
The end result is that the vast majority of the faculty and staff are now making jokes about our corporate leaders having their proverbial craniums stuck between their legs and inserted deeply into the large colon via the rectal cavity. It has proven to the faculty and staff that the corporate leadership has no real regard for its workers. The training has alienated us (or should I say further alienated us) from the leadership and the corporate mission. The whole experience has the faculty and staff wondering if the corporate leadership has an inkling regarding what it is that we do at our campus.
In the mean time, I still get and give hugs to my colleagues. I still make appropriate physical contact with colleagues, students and others based upon our mutual understanding of our relationships and recognition of appropriateness. I still stand toe-to-toe with my bosses and decry what is wrong about the campus and corporate leadership, then go have dinner with them... often having some form of appropriate physical contact with either of the three people that administer the programs I teach.
What is it that makes the "big bosses" in the corporate leadership insist on dehumanizing the workplace and the teaching-learning experience in favor of following some lawyer's interpretation of the world? Something is wrong.
There is no doubt that sexual harassment is a real issue with devastating results. However, the vast majority of these issues are misunderstandings or failure of someone to behave themselves appropriately. Those issues that go beyond an investigation by management and into EEOC complaints (or courts) are usually because MANAGEMENT has not done the job of screening idiots out of the workplace.
In the case of "quid pro quo" harassment, the managers and supervisors are usually the culprits. Clarence Thomas should have never made it to the Supreme Court Bench and his "act-alikes" should never hold a management or supervisory position.
In the case of "hostile environment" harassment, management has not done the job of screening people appropriately at the time of hiring.
In either case, beating falsely developed ideas and information about sexual harassment into our heads, proferring ill-defined procedures for dealing with issues that arise in the workplace, and employing a seriously defective CYA approach is just plain WRONG.
Please feel free to hug me if you drop by my workplace. If I feel offended or uncomfortable, I am adult enough to let you know directly. If you don't get the message that I want you to stop, I'll probably break a body part or two until you either get the message or can never touch someone inappropriately again. Either way, I win... you lose... and I will still get touched appropriately and will still receive a joke in my e-mail now and again.
Jim
It is important to note that I am a teacher in an adult vocational career school and that my campus teaches primarily Allied Health courses and programs. Many of the faculty are required to teach a course on Legal Aspects of Allied Health and we include materials on workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.
Most of our faculty are nurses and have years of experience in dealing with patients, families and co-workers regarding the most intimate of issues: sex, sexuality, gender, chronic illness, family dysfunction, terminal illnesses, depression, surgery and even sexual harassment.
Myself, I have over 10 independent certifications in Human Resource subjects, including Legal Issues for HR & Management, Legal Issues for Employees, Benefits Administration, Benefits Management, Change Management, Business Coaching, Diversity Awareness, Human Resources Generalist, Behavioral Interviewing, Interviewing & Hiring, Interpersonal Communications, Legal Research, Managing People, Negotiation Strategies, and Sexual Harassment Awareness. All of these certifications were achieved or renewed in July 2004.
Much of what the HR folks had to say about sexual harassment in the workplace was straight forward. However, several major pieces of information were questionable, and some issues were just plain wrong. Some of what was said is not in keeping with the EEOC guidelines, the case law, or the "reasonable person standard" which is the final arbiter of the matter IF a case were to go to court.
The entirety of the presentation was to get our signatures on a piece of paper saying that we had received the training and a copy of the company policy. It was purely a CYA move that put the entire faculty and staff on notice that if a sexual harassment complaint is filed, we are on our own.
The end result is that the vast majority of the faculty and staff are now making jokes about our corporate leaders having their proverbial craniums stuck between their legs and inserted deeply into the large colon via the rectal cavity. It has proven to the faculty and staff that the corporate leadership has no real regard for its workers. The training has alienated us (or should I say further alienated us) from the leadership and the corporate mission. The whole experience has the faculty and staff wondering if the corporate leadership has an inkling regarding what it is that we do at our campus.
In the mean time, I still get and give hugs to my colleagues. I still make appropriate physical contact with colleagues, students and others based upon our mutual understanding of our relationships and recognition of appropriateness. I still stand toe-to-toe with my bosses and decry what is wrong about the campus and corporate leadership, then go have dinner with them... often having some form of appropriate physical contact with either of the three people that administer the programs I teach.
What is it that makes the "big bosses" in the corporate leadership insist on dehumanizing the workplace and the teaching-learning experience in favor of following some lawyer's interpretation of the world? Something is wrong.
There is no doubt that sexual harassment is a real issue with devastating results. However, the vast majority of these issues are misunderstandings or failure of someone to behave themselves appropriately. Those issues that go beyond an investigation by management and into EEOC complaints (or courts) are usually because MANAGEMENT has not done the job of screening idiots out of the workplace.
In the case of "quid pro quo" harassment, the managers and supervisors are usually the culprits. Clarence Thomas should have never made it to the Supreme Court Bench and his "act-alikes" should never hold a management or supervisory position.
In the case of "hostile environment" harassment, management has not done the job of screening people appropriately at the time of hiring.
In either case, beating falsely developed ideas and information about sexual harassment into our heads, proferring ill-defined procedures for dealing with issues that arise in the workplace, and employing a seriously defective CYA approach is just plain WRONG.
Please feel free to hug me if you drop by my workplace. If I feel offended or uncomfortable, I am adult enough to let you know directly. If you don't get the message that I want you to stop, I'll probably break a body part or two until you either get the message or can never touch someone inappropriately again. Either way, I win... you lose... and I will still get touched appropriately and will still receive a joke in my e-mail now and again.
Jim
posted by Jim Downey at 5:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home