Did I Just Cross the Line and Harass a Colleague?

A junior associate at a consulting firm is startled to realize that she may have accidentally sexually harassed a colleague during a passing conversation. She wonders if she was in the wrong and is left worried that her reputation and relationship with the person may be damaged. The case explores what to do when a workplace interaction goes awry, from both the victim and perpetrator perspective. The theoretical basis of the discussion relies on the importance of sense-making, perspective taking, interactional framing, and identity threat. Users of the case will learn techniques to reduce the likelihood of offending others, and how to respond effectively if offence is indeed taken.

The case can be used effectively in courses or modules on: equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging; organizational behaviour; communication; employee relations; human resources; and interpersonal skill development. It can help both undergraduate and graduate students improve their understanding of the process of determining appropriate workplace behaviour.<ul><li>After working through the case and assignment questions, students should be able to do the following:</li><li>Describe the importance of sense-making when responding to unexpected events.</li><li>Explain how interactional framing can influence interpretations of personal interactions.</li><li>Determine how individuals can effectively approach ambiguous situations that may be characterized as sexual harassment.</li><li>Evaluate the influence of perspective taking in the workplace.</li><li>Demonstrate the ability to engage in active perspective taking.</li><li>Evaluate how identity threat can influence responses to workplace conflict situations.</li><li>Differentiate between intent and impact and predict the influence of each in conflict situations.</li><li>Respond effectively to incidents where the other party may be offended in order to preserve relationships.</li></ul>

• EDI
• sexual harassment
• perspective-taking
• sensemaking
• interactional framing
• identity threat