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Originally Posted by Boblobla
I met my wife at work and I don't really understand why that is an issue.
EDIT: to clarify, I don't think asking a coworker out on a date should be considered sexual harassment should it? I am in no way advocating unwanted sexual advances or sending dick pics to coworkers...
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This is where there's lots of confusion and ambiguity. Some people want work to be a strictly all-business environment. For others, work is their main social outlet, it's where they forge friendships, and sometimes meet sexual partners.
So when men say they're going to keep work strictly professional and not engage socially in mixed company, they come under fire for 'over-reacting':
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ticle37176443/
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Some of these men decided it best to avoid the opposite sex altogether: no boozy holiday parties, no off-site meetings and no mentorship of female colleagues...
"They're not feeling educated on what can and can't be said at this time so they're just withdrawing," said Calgary's Christine Hart, a self-described "gender intelligence expert" who spoke at the Men and Masculinity 2017 Summit, which attracted a co-ed audience of about 100 last month in Toronto.
Hart addressed a "new, shifting dynamic between men and women" in the workplace. In discussions with summit attendees, coaching clients, colleagues and friends, Hart says some men have told her they've grown wary of co-ed, after-work drinks, jokes in the staff room and "compliments," fearing they will be misconstrued. She claims some men are also shying away from mentoring female colleagues because of "the appearance of impropriety."
"That's the word that keeps coming up when I'm asking men … 'fear' that they're well-intentioned but that they might mess up," Hart said. "Everyone is a little freaked out at the moment."
...Some critics believe this new-found confusion amounts to a cop-out. Sexual-harassment codes have been on the books for decades now. These are hardly new social norms. Men who complain that workplace standards have become unreasonable lately sound out of touch or like they've got something to hide.
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Dismissing the wariness of men is disingenuous. In an ideal world, there would never be any ambiguity about the intent of jokes or flirtation. We don't live in an ideal world.