Blog for Budget Justified:

All in a Day's Work at the Federal Government

Lisa

Interesting that Tim brought sexual harassment up within the context of management taking away all perks, leaving employees to seek enjoyment in other ways. Hooters. Especially since the staff in our department also feel that all their perks are taken away one by one. And that creates an atmosphere where the staff wants to get away with things behind management's backs.

Also interesting that he called it entertainment. Does he think the purpose of the women is for the men’s entertainment? Or is he trying to be funny, trying to entertain me. Part of me does see entertainment value for myself by observing, but not necessarily participating in, Charlie’s games. I don’t always run when I might be better off if I left the office for a moment. I’m curious about what silly thing he’s going to do or say next. I laugh at him, not with him.

And why did Tim connect an obscenity in an article with quotes from the controllers to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment hadn't crossed my mind. Why does he keep talking about it? Guilty conscience?

He could be trying to gradually desensitize me to behavior that could be construed as sexual harassment. And maybe he is trying to get my promise not to tattle on him for any future sexual harassment. But honestly, I don't think he's plotting a sexual harassment campaign on me. Too weird. Maybe he knows what Charlie is like around new women and trying to warn me not to get Charlie fired.

An obscenity in a forwarded email doesn't bring to mind sexual harassment. Poor taste, bad writing, but not sexual harassment. In fact, when I read it, I wasn't surprised to see it there. The article was full of quotes from the controllers, saying they all go out to Hooters after work. Now that's an institution that hires women specifically to get harassed.


Episode 1: Boss’s Affair

I'm the new woman at work. I’ve been here a little over a month. I'm in my thirties and this is my second job since completing grad school and moving my husband of well over a decade across the country. In both of these jobs, within a few weeks of my arrival, a male co-worker has taken my hand and put it somewhere it doesn't belong.

Surely I couldn’t be the only one the Charlie has been sticking his fingers on. The whole game came way too easily for him. So I’m hiding a camera in a box on my shelf. To keep a video diary of what’s going on.

It looks like Charlie’s not the only one looking for action. He’s just following the lead of management. Interesting that Barry and Jane came in to work all cozy together this morning. Barry’s behavior makes it seem like a little cozying is what management not only condones, but encourages, in order for women to get ahead. Jane has a masters degree in engineering. It disgusts me that this is the level to which she has to stoop to gain favor from management. And thanks Jane, for perpetuating women’s bad stereotypes.

As the new woman, I don't know a whole lot of people in the organization and they don't know anything about me. I don't have a network of colleagues to interact with. My government boss hasn't spoken to me more than once since I started because he's transferring to a different department in a few weeks and doesn't care what I do. I have several other bosses, but none in charge of my work.

So I would hang out with the most fun guy who would pay any attention to me. Now the person I enjoy talking to the most is the person I need to be wary of.

Luckily at my previous job, the male co-worker with wandering hands quit within a few months. I'm not betting on being so lucky with the current one. So I'm documenting this to help me understand what's really going on, to analyze how my perception of the situation changes from day to day, and to help any other co-workers who may be affected by this problem.