Page 206 - Becoming a Successful Manager

Handling Harassment 197

Melvin has made it a point to ignore her and to seek other com-
pany. This has been going on for about two weeks. Recently, Har-
riet called Melvin at home several times just “to make small talk.”
Melvin has told her that he doesn’t appreciate those calls and fi nds
them disturbing. He also told her that he would appreciate it if she
would fi nd other people to sit with at lunch. All of these requests
have fallen on deaf ears. Harriet even told him that he’s being
“overly sensitive” and mean.
Actions such as those of Joel and Harriet would qualify as

harassment. Both examples reflect the harassers’ major motiva-
tion, which is to gratify themselves at the expense of others.

A simplified way to look at harassment is as selfi sh behavior by
a person who places more value on his or her desires and interests
than on another’s right to privacy. Such people consider their own
feelings to be more important than those of someone else. Harass-
ment can relate to sex, race, age, religion, size, physical ability,
hair color, nationality, education, or a host of other characteristics,
but the common denominator is that it is an invasion of an indi-
vidual’s privacy and space and a disregard for a person’s desires.

Guidelines for Managers

To ensure zero tolerance of harassment in your department, you
have a three-part mandate: be alert, take action, and don’t encour-
age offensive behavior through silence.

Be Alert

At all times, observe what is going on in your department. Don’t
just look at conditions; be sure you see them. There is a big dif-
ference between the two. Looking is passive; it just happens.
Seeing is active, and it entails your full attention and participa-