Tough Conversations on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment at the workplace includes all unwanted sexual advances that take
place in the work environment. According to Denisi and Griffin (1), there are two types of
sexual harassment. The two types are creation of hostile work environment and quid pro quo.
In the scenario under study, the male co-worker created a hostile work environment for the
female employee by constantly requesting a date with her even after she repeatedly declined
his request.
Plan for Conversation with the Female Employee
As the HR manager, my conversation with the female employee seek to cover three
areas. First, I will seek to understand whether the female employee understands that whatever
she was subjected to constitutes sexual harassment. It is important that workers understand
actions and behaviors that constitute sexual harassment so that any time that they encounter
such behaviors they report them as such.
Secondly, I will gather information that will determine the appropriate punishment for
the perpetrator of the harassing behaviors. For instance, I will seek to know how often the
male co-worker asked the female employee out. I will also find out how the male co-worker
reacted when his requests were denied. Did her shout at her and make physical and verbal
abuse? This kind of information will help in determining the appropriate course of action.
Lastly, I will ask the employee about the impact of the sexual harassment to her
mental health and productivity. If the behavior of her male co-worker had greatly stressed her
and affected her productivity as well as relation with other employees then she may need to
be counselled.
Plan for Conversation with the Male Co-Worker

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The conversation with the male co-worker will center on educating him about
behaviors that constitute sexual harassment and the consequences of such behaviors. Such
education is important so that no worker acts from a position of ignorance. To this end, I will
first seek to know whether he understands that his behaviors towards the female employee
constituted sexual harassment. Then I will let him understand the company’s policies related
to sexual harassment including the consequences of such behaviors to those who perpetrate
them. Finally, I will have him apologize to the female co-worker, promise to stop the
behavior in future, and put him under surveillance for a month to make sure that any repeat
behavior of sexual harassment on his part is quickly identified.

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Sources

Angelo Denisi and Ricky Griffin. 2020. HR5: Human Resources. Cengage Learning