I wanted to give an update on the employee who was uncomfortable with a male seated behind her.
We did end up moving her to a desk that was closer to her direct supervisor and in a row that was all women. We did let her know that we couldn’t guarantee her that we’d never have to seat a man by her but we’d avoid it if possible, and she was very appreciative.
Since then, she’s been assigned to a team that has one male supervisor and we’ve worked with her to avoid any uncomfortable situations (he’ll call her to check in rather than stopping by her desk, for example). She’s said that she knows that there may be times where being in close proximity with men is unavoidable and emphasized to her leader that it was nothing personal, and in general has said that she’s very grateful that we’re willing to work with her on this at all.
The only downside to the situation is that she’s presented it to peers who have asked as “I just asked to move my desk and they moved it,” which is counter to our actual policy that we only move people if there’s a business need or for medical accommodations. This has led to a few other people being frustrated that they aren’t being allowed to move upon request, and of course we’d never share with them the private details of why we actually moved her.
no subject
I wanted to give an update on the employee who was uncomfortable with a male seated behind her.
We did end up moving her to a desk that was closer to her direct supervisor and in a row that was all women. We did let her know that we couldn’t guarantee her that we’d never have to seat a man by her but we’d avoid it if possible, and she was very appreciative.
Since then, she’s been assigned to a team that has one male supervisor and we’ve worked with her to avoid any uncomfortable situations (he’ll call her to check in rather than stopping by her desk, for example). She’s said that she knows that there may be times where being in close proximity with men is unavoidable and emphasized to her leader that it was nothing personal, and in general has said that she’s very grateful that we’re willing to work with her on this at all.
The only downside to the situation is that she’s presented it to peers who have asked as “I just asked to move my desk and they moved it,” which is counter to our actual policy that we only move people if there’s a business need or for medical accommodations. This has led to a few other people being frustrated that they aren’t being allowed to move upon request, and of course we’d never share with them the private details of why we actually moved her.