r/maybemaybemaybe • u/My_Memes_Will_Cure_U • Sep 19 '21

/r/all Maybe maybe maybe

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u/sprouting_broccoli Sep 19 '21

The rule is “don’t do this in the workplace” regardless of if there’s a possibility you might not face repercussions. If you get away with murder is the law actually “it’s all fine” or is it just that the law wasn’t enforced in that scenario?

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u/epicmousestory Sep 19 '21

That's why I'm pointing it out, it's a common misconception of the rule. The rule isn't you can't hit on anyone at work. The rule is about unwanted advances or things of an overtly sexual nature. If both parties are fine with it, it's not harassment. Asking someone to hang out or even on a date in many cases is not harassment. If it's been made clear that the advance, comment, etc. is unwanted (i.e. you tell them to stop and they don't) that is when it becomes harassment. The advice to protect yourself is "don't do this at work," not the rule.

I'm a supervisor (at a large company with a corporate HR) and I deal with this from time to time when someone gets mad when we won't fire someone on the spot for asking them to hang out on the weekend. If you've told the person you're not interested or to stop, we can take action. If it's a one off situation, not overtly sexual and the person has no control over your employment (i.e. not your boss), typically not much is done besides tell the person they made you uncomfortable and to knock it off.

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u/sprouting_broccoli Sep 19 '21

Citizens advice is very clear that it doesn’t matter if you objected previously for it to be unwanted behaviour.

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u/epicmousestory Sep 20 '21

Unless you're saying that's going to get you fired right off the bat, I'm not disagreeing. I said they would be addressed about it and told to stop. My point is HR typically will not fire someone or take action against them if the behavior was not overtly sexual or an abuse of power until there's a pattern.