Today at work, I was required to go through “Harassment Training.” The company requires this training of all its employees, even the upper management. This course got me to thinking, and there’s even a liberal cause tie-in, which I’ll get to.

The basic gist of the policy is stated thusly:

To fulfill [The Company's] Corporate Mission, we treat people as our most important asset and expect [Company] employees to observe the highest standards of conduct. In keeping with those values, [the Company] has long been committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of a legally protected status. Accordingly, [the Company] will not tolerate any form of unlawful harassment against any [Company] employee by anyone, including other [Company] employees, vendors, or [customers]. All [Company] employees are expected to avoid any behavior or conduct that could be interpreted as unlawful harassment. [Emphasis mine] All [Company] employees are also expected to make it known promptly … whenever they experience or witness offensive behavior or conduct.

Let me first state for the record that I believe that these are noble enough goals. The problem stems from the italicized portion being too subjective, from the ways in which companies go about achieving them, and from the ways in which the underlying laws are written.

In the case of my company, we had to sit through a two hour course (more like a seminar, really), explaining what constitutes harassment, how to avoid it, and what should be done when it occurs. The short form of all of this, as Kevin likes to put it, is “don’t be a jerk.” But what comes out in the seminar goes well beyond that.

I came away from the seminar with the impression that anything I say or do can conceivably offend someone; essentially my every non-work-related word and deed can be construed by someone as harassment. The only safe way to avoid such harassment allegations is to simply abstain from any sort of socialization with your coworkers, inside or outside of the work environment. No, they didn’t say that, but that’s certainly the impression I got, and I’m not alone.

Specific examples: commenting to a coworker’s appearance (e.g., “Have you lost weight?”; “I like your new haircut”) could be construed as harassment. See an old friend in the hallway, give them a hug? Harassment. Even if both parties are okay with the hug, somebody who witnesses the hug could be offended. Asking a coworker out on a date, even once, even if it’s a peer-level position that you don’t work with regularly? Harassment. Cursing? Harassment. (Kevin and I are doomed.)

In the law, there’s a “reasonable person” standard, but I’m not sure that there’s any consensus on what that means. (And by no means am I an expert on what the law says or means.) But at least in our case, this was barely touched upon. In my mind, no reasonable person would be offended by a hug between friends, but apparently I have a different standard for what “reasonable person” means.

Racial or sexual jokes are clearly inappropriate in the workplace. Sexual contact, welcome or not, is clearly inappropriate in the workplace. Age discrimination is clearly inappropriate in the workplace. And I have no problem with any of these ideas. But to define harassment so broadly that all of the above examples are also harassment serves only to create contempt for anti-harassment laws and rules.

A common knock on liberalism is that it promotes “Political Correctness run amok.” It’s a charge that I personally disagree with (in fact, I’m not even fond of the “P.C.” term, since, as Kevin has repeatedly pointed out, the term “politeness” works just fine), but it’s easy for me to understand how this course could reinforce that impression.

And therein lies the challenge for us as liberals. Clearly, harassment (not just sexual) and discrimination (not just racial) still are pervasive, even in today’s day and age. The challenge is how best to combat such harassment and discrimination without winding up with what I’ve just experienced: a seminar that was so utterly life-negating, it makes you want to sit back, shut up, do your job, and not talk to anyone except when absolutely necessary.

How do we stand behind our ideals that every person should be able to go to a non-hostile working environment, do their job without interference, be treated with respect, and maybe even make some friends along the way, while not devolving into a paranoid society that’s afraid to say or do anything? I don’t claim to have those answers, which is why I’m bringing it up in this forum.

I look forward to your feedback.

A side note: Kevin and I work for the same company, and he has not yet gone through the training. It will be interesting to see how his impressions differ from mine, and what he has to say after enduring…, er, completing the seminar.