CEO Memo U.R. My Boss, VP Xytox

CEO Memo

U.R. My Boss, VP Xytox Corporation

C.Y. Ay, Manager HR Compliance

RE:

Potential HR Issue

We have a potential Human Reousrce situation that needs both documented and attention. I am writing with the relevant facts, as well as a recommended course of action. Please let me know if I may provide more information so we may discuss.

The situation revolves around our Director of Marketing Research, Art Margulis. Margulis has been with our firm for 19 years, providing technical expertise and management in a proactive and responsible manner. He was promoted to direct of the 50-person research group four years ago, and while he has only six direct reports, his management style is such that he regularly interacts with most of the staff.

Two years ago, Margulis recruited Dr. Maria Lopez, a statistical expert. Our company was fortunate to convince Lopez to join as she had numerous high-profile opportunities. Lopez has no staff and reports directly to Margulis. Soon after joining the company, Lopez divorced, and has been rather standoffish and unsocialble with the research staff. Lopez and Margulis often have lunch together to discuss projects since the both understand and are interested in advanced statistics as it relates to our company's research.

Lopez recently noticed, and reported to Human Resources, that the conversations with Margulis have changed in tone and timbre. Lopez suspects that Margulis' recent divorce has motivated this change because he seeks more social support and personal conversations about his daughters. Lopez also reports that Margulis' body language has become far more personal -- less physical space, more prolonged eye contact, etc. Lopez is uncomfortable with this and has tried to redirect the conversations away from the personal. Instead, though, Lopez feels even more pressure to spend time with Margulis, and he recently asked her to dinner, osetnsibly because there was not time to do so during working hours.

While there has been no overt harassment, it is clear that Lopez is uncomfortable with the recent trends regarding Margulis. She is aware that he is her supervisor, and respects and values him in that role. Indeed, Lopez enjoys interacting with Margulis on a professional basis, but has no interest in moving that relationship into a more personal or intimate format. She also values her job, and does not want to make the working environment uncomfortable.

Legally, we are still in a grey area as Lopez has not asked Margulis to stop his behavior or even let him know that it was making her uncomfortable. Formally, sexual harassent is defined as the intimidation, bullying, or coercion in which sexual terms, expectations, or promise/rewards for sexual favors are either given or insinuated. In most countries, it is a form of illegal employment discrimination and most recently, many businesses have used training and every means possible to reduce the issue within the workplace. However, despite this multiple decade trend, many scholars believe that there are still some organizations, academia for instance, in which harassment remains hidden due to a myopic view from the administration and management (Dziech, 1990; Nolo, 2012). In employment law, a hostile environment refers to a situation in which employees in a workplace are subjected to a pattern of unwanted behavior and in which the supervisor takes no steps to stop such behavior. It is different from quid pro quo, in which a direct supervisor seeks sexual favors in return for something that the supervisor can do. Both are considered sexual harassment and include inappropriate pictures, jokes, suggestive remarks, asking for dates, using derogatory sexual terms, or even frequent, but unwanted, physical contact (Roberts and Mann, 2010).

However, knowing the players involved, and understanding that Margulis may be under some emotional duress, I believe that we have an opportunity to solve the situation before it devolves into something more serious. I would recommend we take the following steps:

Set up a Sexual Harassment training program for the company, and being with the research department. Ensure that Margulis attend that, and during the discussion period, make it clear that body language and attitude may also be considered harassement. Margulis would not feel focused upon, and hopefully the message will reach him.

If this does not work, it would be helpful if you took Margulis to lunch and asked him about his job, life, etc. Turn the conversation slightly to Lopez and look for clues in Margulis' behavior. Mention that the company counts on Margulis for his high standards of expertise, but that some people might interpret his informal style as wanting more than a professional relationship. Ask him to be careful when dealing with employees and that the company is counting on him to uphold high ethical standards.