Sex scandals in the workplace — What's the big deal?
Last week, Mark Hurd settled a lawsuit brought on by his former employer Hewlett-Packard after he was hired to help lead rival Oracle. You might remember Hurd resigned as HP CEO in August, following an internal investigation that found he falsified expense forms to conceal a relationship with a former TV reality show contestant turned marketing consultant, Jodie Fisher. Fisher had charged Hurd with sexual harassment (they eventually settled out of court).
The drama that has played over the last couple of months — which has cost HP millions of dollars and tarnished its reputation — underscores the need for clearly-stated and communicated policies as it relates to sexual harassment specifically and harassment and violence generally.
We have all heard of managers who were overly “huggy”, that made sexually crude and suggestive comments, and pursued personal relationships with colleagues even when those feelings weren’t reciprocated. Some people, even today, justify such behaviour, arguing that we’ve become hypersensitive or to politically correct to such matters in the workplace. The fact is such behaviour when left unchecked can lead to toxic and highly-charged workplace environments, lost productivity and, of course, costly litigation.
This is why it’s so important an organization, regardless of its size, spell out in plain language what is and what isn’t acceptable as well as the consequences should any employee be in violation of those terms, not only with fellow colleagues but customers and, as in the case of Hurd, suppliers. It’s important to have every employee read the policy and sign it. And employees, including executives need to take some training to make sure they clearly understand the policy and what steps are in place should an individual feel they are being harassed.
Organizations should also have someone in place, ideally an ombudsman, who can investigate such conflicts in an independent and neutral manner. Whether that person be an ombudsman or someone on staff designated to handle these issues, the person must be able to take the findings of the investigation to someone in the organization who can enforce the policy. In the case involving Hurd, it would have been necessary for the issue to go to the Board of Directors.
Ultimately, HP found that Hurd didn’t violate the company’s sexual harassment policy (although he did violate its ethic protocols as the result of falsifying expenses, which is why he was dismissed). Still, the case serves as an important reminder that sexual harassment in the workplace should never be taken lightly, and an organization needs to be ready with a clearly communicated and accessible policy to deal with the issue. In many cases, if an internal policy is in place that works, as it should, the issue may not result in a hit to an organization’s reputation and significant financial liability.
-- by MSN Money guest blogger Marshall Schnapp B.A., LL.B. LL.M.
Marshall is the Principal at Solution ADR, a conflict management firm created with the recognition that workplace conflicts can be managed effectively to improve workplace productivity, maintain employee satisfaction, comply with legislative requirements and reduce exposure to lengthy and costly litigation.
Posted by: Seon | Oct 1, 2021 9:11:12 AM
Said ombudsman will only care about the situation for as long as you have to file a report. Usualy 30 days. If you don't deal with a situation by then then they don't have to deal with you. You are just a number, not to mention a victim.
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Posted by: Anne | Oct 22, 2021 3:38:15 AM
Sure wish you were around when there was sexual harrassment on a young lady by her manager almost daily. She was sexually harrassed by her manager in the province of Nova Scotia`s Liquor Corporation in 1998. There were meetings with NSGEU (her union!!) also with HR at the Liquor Corporation. The girl was a shy, timid. quiet lady. They came in droves to meet with the employees re the situation, but it always ended up with her fellow employees fighting over hours of work, what shifts they had, and WHO MOPPED THE FLOOR AFTER CLOSING!!. MGR. never stayed. After the whole subject broke, he had the employees convinced that the girl and himself had something `going on`for about 4 months. If you could only be within 3 ft. of him, believe me, that wasn`t happening! The girl was admitted to a mental health clinic (at her own expense) after fighting with WCB for 6 months. I think, after 3 years, she received a pittance of a payment, both divided equally between the NSGEU and the Liquor Corporation. But, in the meantime, the mgr. was a little short in his tally of the warehouse. All he had to do was look after the beer, but couldn`t do that. How do you misplace $19,000 in a small liquor store. The trial came up, but since it was a `white collar``crime, the charges were stayed; he was let go with CP. But KARMA reared its ugly head. He was on his way back to his apartment(he lost his house due to not paying taxes), fell down, hit his head on the ice and died alone on the sidewalk at 3a.m. on a cold icy sidewalk. Should they all end their lives this way!!The poor girl has not worked a day since, and did not qualify for Canada Pension. She is living with her mother, and I go visit them as often as I can, and take them out for lunch and a little drive around the countryside.