New Joiner Reports Office PDA: How Should I Address Their Concerns?

One of the new joiners in the customer service team reported about people in the office being seen kissing or behaving in an embarrassing manner. What should I do with this new joiner?

Dear seniors,

Greetings.

I have been working with one of the reputed hospitals as an HR professional. I am faced with a problem: one of the new joiners in the customer service team reported about people in the office being seen kissing or engaging in embarrassing behavior.

I am not sure how to address this situation. Should I ask the new joiner not to stay silent, speak to senior management, inform the old employees about this new joiner, or consider terminating the new joiner?

Please help.

Addressing Unwanted Affectionate Behavior in the Office

If some office staff have reported unwanted affectionate behavior in the office, ask for a written application from the individual. The length of service of the individual does not matter. Just because the matter was reported by a recently-joined employee does not reduce the gravity of the problem. Please do not consider the length of service of the person who has brought this to your notice or their designation. If the person is hesitant to submit a written application, do not force them to do so, but note down the following details:

a) Who is involved in the "Public Display of Affection" (PDA)? Is it restricted to only two individuals, or are there many involved?

b) How many instances has the newly joined employee observed? How frequently does this happen in a day?

c) Does the reporting manager know about the behavior of the couple?

Before instructing that person to submit a written application, discuss the matter with the senior authority. Obtain their views. If they advise acquiescence, it may be better to keep quiet. However, there is a risk in remaining silent as well. Today's seemingly harmless behavior may escalate to sexual harassment tomorrow. If a woman files a sexual harassment case in the future, it will only compound the issue.

If you receive approval from the senior authority, investigate the incident's merit independently. Determine whether the closeness between the two individuals is due to work requirements or has a sexual undertone.

Once satisfied with your investigation, you may call the couple to your office. Counsel them on maintaining proper manners and conduct in the workplace. Explain that the workplace is not a private space per se, and such actions are prohibited. Additionally, an infatuation with a colleague of the opposite sex could lead to job errors. Maintaining a respectful distance between individuals of the opposite sex is a standard norm that must be followed meticulously. If the couple denies their involvement, inform them that you have called them in after a thorough investigation.

Handle the counseling only if you are competent to do so. Note that a longer length of service does not automatically make a person a counselor. "Counseling skills" are distinct and need to be learned systematically.

You mentioned terminating the new employee. Termination would be unjust. Instead of termination, gratitude is more appropriate. Punishing the messenger will deter others from reporting issues on the shop floor.

While romance may flourish in modern workplaces, it is essential to avoid displaying affection in the office. In their personal capacity and in private spaces, individuals are free to act as they wish. However, the workplace cannot be used as a platform to indulge personal desires.

Developing a Policy on Workplace Romance

Issues like these arise when there is no "Policy on Workplace Romance" in place. Develop this policy and promptly distribute it to all office members. Ensure new employees read and understand this policy upon joining the organization.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Acts of Misconduct in the Workplace

Any indecent behavior or conduct at the workplace constitutes acts of misconduct on the part of those who indulge in such acts. Therefore, initiate necessary disciplinary action against such employees as per the service rules applicable to the identified employees.

Furthermore, in case the complainant is a woman, please initiate disciplinary action as described above since the incidents reported are unwelcome and humiliating acts amounting to sexual harassment in the workplace, as per the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act 2013.

Kritarth Team of Special Educators, PoSH Programs
19.5.2019

As per your post, a new joiner saw some coworkers kissing another at work premises and reported it to you. I hope you have it in writing from him. You seem to believe this as true even apparently without any investigation into it and are jumping to hasty conclusions about whom to punish. I am surprised that in your hospital there is no CCTV to find out such happenings. Think how greatly it would have helped in nailing the culprit from the CCTV footage. It would be better to do the first thing first—to ascertain the facts and then think of taking action.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

Dear Ritu, I have already replied to your post. However, this post is in response to the other two respondents.

For Kritharth Team: The post addresses romantic behavior between individuals of the opposite sex. At times, staff members may display boldness, but it should be handled in line with the 21st-century environment. Today's culture is open and outgoing. Viewing their behavior as misconduct and immediately invoking "service rules" could stifle the spirit of the modern workplace. Some industries are known for their open atmosphere. If HR Managers start enforcing disciplinary action like the previous generation's personnel managers, these industries could face closure. While other industries may not be as open, they are not conservative either. Therefore, counseling should be the initial step in addressing the behavior of the team members.

Regarding the individual who reported the romantic behavior, they are a third party. The complaint did not come from a female member claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment. Therefore, addressing this issue under the provisions of POSH, 2013 is not applicable. Providing consulting services on this act does not imply linking the matter to the said act.

For Mr. Vinayak Nagar: Your suggestion of an independent inquiry is commendable. I had also mentioned this in my previous reply. You mentioned "knelling the culprit from the CCTV footage..." Whether it is "knelling" or "nailing" is a separate matter. Not all companies monitor general staff through CCTV like in Charlie Chaplin's film, "Modern Times." Surveillance of workers is outdated, and the world has progressed significantly. Close supervision is a thing of the past; performance is now monitored more than the individual.

You used the term "culprit." The physical closeness between two team members of the opposite sex may be seen as a "wrongdoing." Referring to them as "culprits" would be appropriate only if they persist in their actions after counseling or warnings. Hasty action in labeling them as culprits for misconduct should be avoided.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Hi,

You should talk to both employees first to get to know the truth. If they are found guilty, then ask them to maintain decency and moral conduct in the office. Kissing or any other romantic actions are personal choices, but they are not appropriate in the office setting. You should also check the CCTV cameras if you have surveillance in the hospital. This kind of behavior needs to stop as it can affect other employees and the work environment.

You can take action after gathering information from both sides.

Thanks

Thank you all for the help. Today I received a message from management to fire this new joiner as she is underperforming. What should I do? As I know, she is doing just fine.

Divaker, the problem is that the termination order has been issued for the new employee who reported misconduct in the office. Her performance has been satisfactory considering she has only been with us for two months.

You have written that "Divaker sir's problem is that the termination order has come for the new joinee who has informed about wrongdoing in the office. Her performance is just fine for a two-month-old staff."

I have given a reply on this point right in my first post. Nothing is ridiculous if you start terminating the whistleblowers. What does your management want from the couple? If unwanted physical intimacy is not nipped in the bud, then tomorrow they might go a step further and have an intimate action in coram populo. Is your management prepared for that?

Secondly, if she approaches the Labour Office and files a complaint about the wrongful termination, how will you justify her termination? Does your management have even the nerve to face the LO?

About the quality of your writing: Your posts deserve feedback on the way you write. I am surprised at your confusing communication. Who was involved in the action, and who was the informer that you have not written clearly. When would you like to learn the basics of business writing? If you avoid shortness and casualness in your communication, the better for your career!

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Hi Ritu,

If your management is firm on termination, despite your explanation, it would be better to persuade the employee to submit resignation and relieve her properly. This way, she will not face hurdles in the future. Do you think your management wants to conclude the issue with a stubborn action in order to set an example for others?

Thank you.

Addressing Employee Behavior Concerns

I am refraining from offering any definite solution on what you should do. I would rather suggest how you go about addressing the issue. In these days of permissiveness, social norms have changed beyond recognition. In the absence of specific information, I would only say this much. What you perceive as egregious behavior on the part of one of your employees may, after all, be an offense to your sensibilities and may not be for society in general. Sections, provisions, rules, and orders do not come to your rescue while dealing with situations like these, as the written words in the statute books are far behind ever-evolving societal norms that we encounter all the time in the office and outside the office. Consequently, I would suggest caution. Let it not be an overreaction on your part. Try to be objective and practical. To my mind, this is one behavioral aspect that can be corrected without capital punishment.

Terminating a Whistleblower

But I have a definite view on the second part of your communication. Terminating the services of a whistleblower is a sure-shot recipe for disaster for an organization, besides being unethical, particularly in this case. A classic case of shooting the messenger for carrying an inconvenient message! It also has implications for your conduct as a representative of your organization. What kind of a value system would you be representing? What cue should other employees take from your action? Answers to both, in this case, do not augur well for you and your organization. I am assuming here that you are using poor performance on the part of the whistleblower as a facade to get rid of him or her.

Avoiding Judgmental Attitudes

There is another aspect that I found a bit uncomfortable in this thread. Contributors are too ready and eager to be judgmental. Can't we do without it?

Dear Madam,

I think the action of terminating the new joinee would certainly send a strong negative message that the management approves of a permissive culture and that whoever reports this will meet with termination of his/her job. What does your management want? Convert the workplace into a nesting hub for lovebirds?

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant