WTF work is nuts

October 8, 2009 8:38 PM

Is this a hostile work environment?

I work for a college. I am a faculty department chair. I was just given notice by the administration that I "allegedly reprimanded and acted unprofessionally and this behavior was perceived as a hostile work environment."

I did talk to a faculty member who had send out a barrage of emails and upset the entire staff (I have the emails and the staff's response to them). I told her that her behavior was unacceptable and to refrain from this behavior. I didn't yell or insult her. The entire conversation lasted about 2 minutes (there are witnesses).

This person is the former department chair who was forced to resign for a number of reasons, including causing the staff to cry and scream.

How should I approach this? ugh

posted by anonymous to work & money (14 comments total)

Document. Document. Document.
Then, present your response, as a matter of fact.
Continue to document.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 8:45 PM on October 8 [4 favorites]

Anyone can make an allegation and the administration needs to investigate it or face the possibility of getting into trouble themselves. Doesn't mean that the allegation is true or that the administration believes it is true. Did the notice include any information about what their next step is? Did they specify who filed the grievance or are you guessing?
Obviously the first thing that you want to do is document as completely as possible.

If you don't know what the next step should be, but the notice did say who the other party was, then I would reply that the reprimand was delivered in a professional fashion. If they need more details, please let you know. If they didn't cite the specific incident then I would say that you are not aware of any incidents that were less than professional but if they provided more information you would be pleased to respond more specifically. (Note: I am assuming that you are 100% sure that a neutral third party would find your behavior entirely professional.)
posted by metahawk at 9:04 PM on October 8

No no no no. A hostile work environment should have one of the two elements: severe _or_ pervasive enough such that a _reasonable_ person would find the environment to be hostile (Oncale v. Sundowners). That case dealt with sexual harassment/gender-motivated discrimination, but based on what you say, the genders don't matter--your behavior wasn't severe enough abuse nor pervasive enough (repeatedly abusive) enough to qualify as a HWE, no matter the perception. Actually, the department chair forced to resign could probably be charged creating a HWE.

Document, document, document. Get people to corroborate your side. And yes, anonymize this question NOW.
posted by dhn at 9:29 PM on October 8 [2 favorites]

Also, find out what your institution's policy is - Make sure you read it and understand the rules. It's like taxes, many people don't have a clue about the details until the really need to know. Do you know the scope of your HWE policy? Is it based on discrimination, retaliation, or threatening behavior? What's covered, and is this situation under the scope, is one of the first questions.

Often there is some 'who should you contact to discuss further' language in the policy- hopefully one of those people are ombudspeople, though I know not every institution has one. But does your institution have any sort of confidential problem resolution or faculty assistance program? Someone you could talk to? Do you have access to a confidential subsidized legal service from work?

It seems that it isn't so much that you need to respond to this specific situation, but you need to consider what support you need for the long haul. For example, how to work professionally/support staff who are either potentially watching the first shots of a 'boss war' going down, or just watching a 'shot in the dark slap in the face oh I didn't mean it' snark from the former chair. Do you have colleagues, or can you find online resources/ books about academe that talk about how to address this as a faculty chair?

Best of luck to you.
posted by anitanita at 9:52 PM on October 8

Your work sounds nuts. Does your boss have your back or are they just glad you are the fall guy between them and your colleague? What was your boss expecting you to do with the information - especially after you showed the emails? Worse case scenario, you can always change from being the chair to your original position, but management and co-workers are probably happy you are playing the patsy and focusing your nutty so-workers energy on you. Use that leverage and the threat of leaving to get power to change your department.

Are you sure you want to stay in this job?
posted by saucysault at 10:39 PM on October 8

"allegedly reprimanded and acted unprofessionally and this behavior was perceived as a hostile work environment."

The key word is "allegedly." Like the others have said, document everything (if it isn't in writing, it didn't happen). If the person in question has already been dismissed from a position for assholishness, the administration is probably just covering their collective ass for the inevitable lawsuit.
posted by nestor_makhno at 12:00 AM on October 9

The university will do some kind of "investigation" (mainly talking to people) and probably if you're telling the truth here you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
posted by delmoi at 1:39 AM on October 9

(er, I should say "if you're description is accurate", rather then "telling the truth", that sounds overly dramatic)
posted by delmoi at 1:43 AM on October 9

So, there are witnesses. Did you reprimand this person in public? That can be perceived as hostile and unnecessarily humiliating, depending on your tone. It can really put someone on the defensive. Private reprimands are better.
posted by yath at 2:37 AM on October 9

I am a University/College Administrator but not Your Administrator. More than likely, they are following up to a complaint they have received; they have little choice but to do so. You would do yourself and them a huge favour if you'd follow the suggestions made: document everything (including names of witnesses) and present the information as factually/calmly as possible.

Based on what you describe, I would say that you did your job. It was your duty to tell the complainant that her behaviour was unacceptable. Reprimanding someone for inappropriate behaviour does NOT per se constitute creating a hostile environment. It is easy for the complainant to file a complaint. This is a tactic that is often used by bullies in a workplace environment.
posted by aroberge at 4:16 AM on October 9 [2 favorites]

So, there are witnesses. Did you reprimand this person in public? That can be perceived as hostile and unnecessarily humiliating, depending on your tone.

This. If there were witnesses then you reprimanded this person in public, this is a huge no-no. Staff reprimands are a private matter and should not be discussed with the staff members co-workers/colleagues let alone delivered in front of them.

How should I approach this? ugh

Find out what the administration expects you to do now, if they don't have expectations then as a professional courtesy, I would apologise to this staff member for humiliating her in-front of witnesses. Make it clear that the reprimand still stands but that you should have issued it privately and for that you apologize.

Then leave it at that and don't make the same mistake in the future. Whether its an official reprimand or just a 'talking to', you should never discuss an employee's performance/behaviour (especially in the negative) with them when there are other people present
posted by missmagenta at 4:22 AM on October 9

In many states, a simple claimed "hostile work environment" by itself is not legally actionable. The term comes up in connection with discrimination based on statutorily-protected classes such as sex, race, ethnicity, religion, etc.

But, that does not prevent an institution from adopting its own policies and enforcing them.

Consultation with a knowledgeable lawyer is highly recommended.
posted by megatherium at 4:44 AM on October 9 [1 favorite]

Sounds like someone got a bug up their butt because of sour grapes. Nthing: Document x3.
posted by bunny hugger at 5:54 AM on October 9

To pass along some advice from an associate, which I now follow religiously...

Whenever I'm in any position that could potentially come back to bite me in the butt, be it a loud arguemnt or a pissed off co-worker or subordinate, or a favor for someone in power but not my immediate line manager, I immediately document the events in an email and send it to myself . This email is written to myself, for myself - but would not contain anything I'd be unwilling to show someone else. It's not an essay, and not full of complaints - just the facts. If it's questioned later, not only do I have notes I can trust (because I wrote them), but I can also calmly show whoever needs to see it that I am on top of my game enough to record these things. (Oh, sure HR boss, you mean the issue with Rebecca last month? Hang on, I made a note about that. See, here's the email I sent myself right after that meeting..... ). This is very effective... and the fact that you wrote the notes *before* an issue turned into, well, an issue, means it's not interpreted as a defence or come-back or whatever - it's just professional.
posted by TravellingDen at 10:47 AM on October 9 [3 favorites]