Re:Why didn't you back me up?
by googler98765 on Saturday March 07, 2015 @08:17PM
(#9163991)
Members of HR do not come with us to team offsites. Maybe they should, but they wouldn't have been around then.
Re:Why didn't you back me up?
by lentil_soup on Saturday March 07, 2015 @08:54PM
(#9164109)
It's insensitive in that your are making a false balance fallacy by equating his actions with her reaction by saying something like "He acted inappropriately, and she responded inappropriately". She was sexually harrassed, her reaction is pretty minor in this discussion.
Re:Why didn't you back me up?
by downandout on Saturday March 07, 2015 @09:09PM
(#9164159)
>her reaction is pretty minor in this discussion
Let me be clear that I believe this guy to be a jackass - not only for making the comment, but then having the nerve to officially complain about the drink. I likely would have terminated him. But by reacting the way she did, she took away any leverage that she had, and that was reflected in the outcome.
So, no, her reaction isn't "pretty minor in this discussion". It actually had a huge impact on the negative outcome.
It's not minor, it's borderline assault. Whether you're offended or not, you don't get the right to go around assaulting people like that.
Now, don't get me wrong, the guy was a dick, and it sounds like it was sexual harassment. And it should be dealt with swiftly by HR, but that should be the end of it.
I'm not sure how. He made an an inexcusable comment to her. If she felt this strongly about it, she should have taken her drink with her to HR - immediately (or as soon as practical thereafter). She would have been in a much stronger position at that point. He acted inappropriately, and she responded inappropriately.
My comment was not intended to deny the possibility of a hostile culture at Google. My point was that this incident, by itself, doesn't stand up as evidence of such a culture. Too many people read a single headline and interpret it as the rule, not the exception.