Sex Toys @ Work (4)

Would your answer regarding a raffled sex-shop gift certificate change depending on the organization you’re in? Would you come to a different conclusion if you were dealing with a prim and proper Bay Street law firm vs. an organization where the culture is rougher and sexual innuendo is considered to be a precious team-building asset?

Here’s the scoop: on the one hand, a court of law would assert that a company has a duty of care toward its employees. Specifically, if something is known to be potentially offensive, it needs to be removed, no matter where you go.

My experience with `rougher’ environments has taught me that sometimes management would be well advised to pick and choose its battles. In real life, if you try hitting hard on the non-crucial matters, you may encounter a tsunami of resistance, which may fatally harm your larger attempts to turn things around on the more important respect-related issues. Like with adolescents, at times it is more prudent to opt for the salami approach: tackle one thing at a time, with the most important challenges dealt with first.

However, even in the toughest of environments, you still need to take a position and you can do so without creating a big backlash. In the sex certificate instance, it’s perfectly legitimate to say, in good spirit: “Guys, as much as we know that this would bring great pleasure to someone (!), this certificate is unprofessional. We simply can’t afford to hand it out. Now, how are those Blue Jays doing?”

This entry was posted in Blog. Bookmark the permalink.

LEARNING Hub

Access free learning tools, articles and other resources for you and your team.

REAL™ Solutions for Abrasive Leaders

Find out how you, as a senior executive or HR leader, can help restore the effectiveness of an abrasive leader.

Training Services

Discover how our training programs will energize and grow your people.

Organizational Solutions

Find out how we can help you with organizational development and initiatives.
Copyright © 2015 Bar-David Consulting. All Rights Reserved. Website by Geist Creative.