HR Soapbox Blog

(Published August 20, 2010)

Websites devoted to tyrannical bosses and abusive supervisors are nothing new.  I wouldn't normally give publicity to any of them, but eBossWatch.com was brought to my attention recently.  It is yet another unpleasant product of the Internet. 

eBossWatch ostensibly provides a forum for beleaguered workers to out their abusive bosses, so that other workers can be warned before taking a job for said boss.  But it's not just a place for disgruntled workers to vent; someone is hoping to make money off of it.  The site charges $19.95 to search court records and media sources to see if someone has been "accused of infractions such as creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, or employment discrimination."  Yes, just "accused," not necessarily found liable.

The site touts a National Sexual Harassment Registry in which the information "has been confirmed from publicly available sources such as court records and the news media."  Okay, I'm glad that not any ol' anonymous person can go in and label someone a sexual harasser.  However, #1: The Registry includes those who have only been accused of harassment.  The website says the Registry was inspired by the FBI's National Sex Offender Registry.  The inspiration doesn't go very far because merely being accused of being a sex offender does not land one on the Sex Offender Registry. 

However, #2: Nowhere does the site explain if and how it tracks each case or how often it updates the information.  In fact, you can be accused of harassment and be found not liable, and still be listed in the Registry.  Case in point: former Hewlitt-Packard CEO Mark Hurd.  The article linked to his name clearly states that the internal investigation determined that the harassment claim was not supported by the facts.  So why is he still listed in the Registry?

However, #3: Settled cases are included on the site.  The site explains, "The overwhelming majority of sexual harassment complaints are settled out of court without the alleged harasser or employer admitting to any wrongdoing."  There is that assumption of guilt again.  In some cases, the harasser/employer doesn't admit wrongdoing because…they didn't do anything wrong.  Settlements are not always the result of the defendant realizing they're going to lose, and lose big, if they go to trial (although it appears that way on televised courtroom dramas).  Employers often settle because it is easier and more cost-effective to do so than to win at trial.

At least the site does admit that people in the Registry "may or may not be guilty of harassment."  At least.

Gloria Ju
Editor in Chief

(Published August 23, 2010) 

As a kid, being an August baby meant I never had to go to school on my birthday.  As an adult, this has translated into taking off whenever my birthday falls on a workday.  Luckily, my employer doesn't make a big deal out of celebrating employees' birthdays.  If I worked at a friend's former employer, my decision to take off might not be as well received.

That's because there was a department-wide requirement at my friend's former company that employees must decorate the workspace of the colleague whose birthday immediately succeeded their own, regardless of how well they got along or knew each other.  Employees had to use their own money to purchase extensive decorations (a single balloon wouldn't suffice) and a cake big enough to feed the 20-person department.  Could you imagine if someone went to those lengths for my birthday, and I didn't show up at work that day?!  Eep!

Birthday celebrations here at AHI are very low-key.  We typically wish each other a happy birthday and leave it at that.  If employees want to celebrate by, say, taking the birthday boy/girl to lunch or happy hour, that's entirely on them.   Occasionally, we'll celebrate a colleague's major "0" birthday together as a company. 
 
The employer of another friend takes a more "middle of the road" approach to celebrating employees' birthdays.  His employer invites all employees to gather in the kitchen at noon on the last day of every month to celebrate that month's birthdays.  Employees voluntarily disclose whether they celebrated a birthday that month, and there's never any pressure to reveal an age.  Attendance nets you a generous chunk of delicious birthday cake and some paid time away from your desk in addition to your normal meal and rest breaks.  (This idea of additional paid time off, an extra 30 minutes to be exact, is what prevented the employees I mentioned earlier who were required to decorate their co-workers' workspaces from revolting.)

Just in case you were wondering who gets tasked with organizing the monthly celebrations and ordering the cake, get ready to cringe.  It's HR.  First dress code police, and now party planner?!  What's next?

Melissa V. Pomerantz
Editor