Ask a Manager: Alison is stumped

[minoanmiss]

Concerning a medical issue.

3. In which I am stumped

I’m a newly-promoted manager (yay!), and AAM has been a great resource for me during the last couple months of learning to manage. Lately, I often find myself thinking up resolutions to various scenarios so I can try to be prepared in unexpected or outlandish situations. I’m interested in your take on how to professionally handle something that’s stumped me.

A few jobs ago, I had a coworker with severe priapism (persistent erections not caused by sexual stimulation). He always carried a doctor’s note with him and was extremely open about his condition; usually whenever we had a new hire, he’d take that person aside and explain that if they ever noticed anything, it wasn’t personal. It was a very small company, and since he was a genuinely nice guy, there was never any trouble there.

But it got me thinking on how to navigate something like that if someone with this condition wanted to keep their health private (as would be their right), and a coworker complained of sexual harassment. What could be done then?

Wow, I have no idea! You’ve stumped me. If I were the employer in this situation, I’d consult with a lawyer. But I’d imagine it’s easier to handle it internally within an office; it would be much harder more difficult if the person had a job that required him to deal with various members of the public on a regular basis.

Comments

[rosefox]

What astonishes me is the idea that anyone would notice whether a coworker had an erection! I certainly don't look at my colleagues' crotches.

[minoanmiss]

Actually, now that I have my peripheral vision back* I've been noticing how much I notice from the corner of my eye. If someone walked past me with an erection I think I would notice their profile without consciously looking, not least based on living with two people so equipped. Certainly if someone stood next to me while I was sitting down I would notice.

*: last year I switched from glasses to lenses

[lilysea]

I certainly don't look at my colleagues' crotches.

Back when I was able to work, I certainly didn't do it on purpose,

but if a man stands a short distance away from a seated coworker, his crotch is at eye line...

this was quite annoying with a coworker who cycled into work and then wore his crotch hugging bike shorts for the next 3-4 hours...

The man who did it was a senior exec, and he didn't give off a sexual harrassment vibe - basically, he would come into the office, and before he could get changed, a long line of people would buttonhole him with papers to sign and issues to discuss, so he'd be in bike shorts for hours -

but it still really annoyed all the women in the office to have to talk to him while they were seated and he was standing in bike shorts - and this was a workplace that was 98% women.