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New Delhi: The 8th submission in the #WeTwo series on equal workplaces shares the account of an organisation head who asked the HR Head to resign following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a junior colleague.
Here’s her story:
The newly appointed HR head and our secretarial assistant seemed to hit it off well. The assistant was tasked with helping the HR person settle in. A couple of months later, the assistant complained that she was felt up by the former. When questioned, the HR lady conceded that she may have expressed her fondness for the younger woman, but insisted that she “did not cross the line”. She claimed to be outraged at the allegation and pointed out that she was married to a man. As the head of the organisation, I felt it was unbecoming of an HR leader to get intimate with colleagues, especially a junior. I asked her to resign with immediate effect and requested my assistant to not discuss this with others. I was in a dilemma for a while on whether I was right in sacking the HR head, but my peers assured me that it was.
We asked Turmeric Consulting’s Roopa Badrinath for her take on the case.
This incident unfolded at a media company. Have you come across/heard of such complaints (of inappropriate behaviour against colleagues of the same gender) in ad agencies? Are agencies/companies prepared to handle such situations?
Yes, I have come across a situation like this. While the key issue here is sexual harassment, it also highlights the potential abuse of power, breach of professional boundaries, and the creation of an uncomfortable workplace environment.
When such complaints arise, agencies and companies may initially struggle to handle them, particularly when the protector turns perpetrator—when the very custodian of culture becomes the focal point of alleged misconduct. This can be especially disconcerting and challenging for organisations.
The good news is that many companies are now better equipped to address such scenarios through robust anti-harassment policies and gender-neutral codes of conduct. While the POSH Act does not address same-sex harassment, a company’s Code of Conduct can and should step in to provide recourse to the aggrieved party.
However, despite the emphasis on POSH training as prescribed by law, many workplaces still lack the necessary training or sensitivity to effectively address sexual harassment involving same-gender colleagues or other non-traditional scenarios. This gap highlights the importance of creating greater awareness around possible scenarios to ensure a safe and respectful work environment for all.
In this submission, there seems to be no evidence of harassment. If the allegation is true, it was a proposition from one adult woman to another. Should they have been left to handle it between themselves?
If the interaction had been consensual, there would not have been a complaint, right? The definition of sexual harassment includes any unwelcome physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. In this case, the fact that a formal complaint was raised suggests that the behaviour was indeed unwelcome.
Handling such an issue between themselves would have undermined the seriousness of the issue and reflected an abdication of the organisation’s responsibility to ensure a safe and respectful workplace.
Should the HR person have been fired? What else could have been done?
In hindsight (which, as they say, is always 20/20), the CEO could have adopted a more structured approach by engaging a neutral third party—an individual trained and experienced in handling such sensitive situations - to conduct an internal inquiry. This would have reinforced the organisation’s commitment to due process and provided a fair and transparent resolution for all parties involved.
Was the CEO right in asking the assistant to not discuss the issue with others? What could s/he possibly do to prevent such a situation from recurring?
We all know that it takes a great deal of moral courage to discuss such issues openly, even on a need-to-know basis. This hesitation often reflects the current culture of the organisation. If the company lacks an open and inclusive culture that prioritises transparency and taking its people along, leaders may feel pressured to conform to the existing norms of staying silent or brushing issues under the carpet.
To prevent a recurrence of such a situation, the company needs to set in place a process to conduct an impartial inquiry. It should communicate its anti-harassment policies while highlighting their applicability across the organisation irrespective of seniority and positional power. Ensure that the POSH training also includes a module on same-gender harassment. Last but not least, nothing can beat the role modelling of inclusive behaviours by the Exco members. Remember they are the lighthouses of any organisation!
Also read:
#WeTwo: 'He was way senior. I was silenced. He is still there.'
#WeTwo: I was sidelined because of not socialising with my team after work
#WeTwo: “These are opportunities to uphold positive culture, compassion and moral intelligence”
#WeTwo: My boss asked me if I would be comfortable sharing his room…
#WeTwo: Asking a subordinate to share a room is misuse of power dynamics
#WeTwo: Our boss was a flirt… but almost all the women seemed to play along.
#WeTwo: When with one of the women, his gaze would invariably drop to our bosom…
#WeTwo: Before I announced my pregnancy, I was recognised as a rising star
#WeTwo: I refused her unjust promotion; she complained that I had forced her into our affair
Have an experience to share? Let’s speak up together for equal workplaces. Write to: wetwo@bestmediainfo.com. Confidentiality assured. Click on the links above to learn more about #WeTwo and how it intends to empower equal workplaces.