How to Deal with Workplace Sexual Harassment Without HR
What happened after I confronted him surprised me
Within a day of signing on to join a new technology company, I received a LinkedIn message from one of my future colleagues, an attractive 40-somethings guy who had been with the company for years. He welcomed me to the organization and told me he was excited to collaborate with me. I thanked him, and that was that.
Except for it wasn’t. A few days later, I received a message where he said he was in the city and asked if I want to meet up so he can give me a lay of the land. I felt a little uneasy about it but decided that maybe it was just my fear of failure. Besides, it would be nice to get a head-start. I picked a cafe, a block from my house.
When he arrived, he was visibly drunk. It was 4 PM. He went in for a hug and told me I was a “petite little thing” and that he didn’t expect me to be attractive and smart. Between discussions around data science and marketing strategy, I made it crystal clear that I had a long-term boyfriend.
He didn’t get the signals and proceeded to rest his hand on my leg, at which point I picked it up and removed it. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I told him that his behavior is probably not indicative of what he’s really like and that I should…
