Firings - Political correctness gone too far?

John Ho · #1 02-13-2003, 07:04 PM

A bunch of friends of mine got fired yesterday from the firm I used to work at (portfolio management for high net worth clients) for "inappropriate use of email."

Basically what they did was sneak over to someone's computer when he wasn't there and sent an email to another male employee like "You are looking really good these days. Need a workout partner stud?" Not the smartest thing to do. But evidently someone complained and they were fired for gay sexual harassment. This may be the first time in history 5 very heterosexual guys were fired for sexually harassing men. One of them was fired for also referring to marijuana in one of his emails to another employee(all their emails got read after the complaint).

They were never given a warning. Just fired. And a few of these guys had put in LONG hours at this company and were in fairly high positions considering their ages (mid 20s) Truly boneheaded of them but is this a reason to get fired?

I think it's fear of litigation and PC gone too far.

IrishHand · #2 02-13-2003, 07:15 PM

I'd have fired them. That rises to a level of stupidity inconsistent with what I'd want in my employees.

PS. They weren't fired for "gay sexual harassment" - they were fired for "sexual harassment." Its definition encompasses all sexual orientations. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

MMMMMM · #3 02-13-2003, 08:26 PM

A few guys can't even play a harmless joke without some pansy whining to the teacher, and the principal expels them;-)

I guess all these PC-type folks who want to make rules for everybody else never heard the old saying: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

Michael Savage might be right after all.

MMMMMM · #4 02-13-2003, 09:07 PM

If it had been a pattern of harassment that would be one thing, but a single incident as described that certainly seemed to be a joke (bad taste and poor judgment, yes)...but I mean jeez, a joke's a joke...the PC-Nazis these days are really going too far...

John Ho · #5 02-13-2003, 10:22 PM

They sent out a lot of those emails. They were fired when someone eventually complained. It's probably safe to say they had it coming.

andyfox · #6 02-13-2003, 09:47 PM

I'd have fired them instantly. The gay aspect of it is irrelevant. Sending a phony email with the intent of making it appear that someone is sexually interested in another person at the company is unacceptable, no matter how many hours they put in. To paraphrase one of our hosts, someone who would think this is OK must have other brain leaks as well that make their job performance less than optimal.

John Ho · #7 02-13-2003, 10:22 PM

One might think that. But all these guys were high achievers at the company and quickly promoted through the ranks.

I definitely see the point of firing them though. Pretty silly of them to do that.

John Cole · #8 02-14-2003, 08:09 AM

I already wonder what set of special skills, then, it requires to become a low achiever at this firm given the rather dubious actions of these high achievers.

John

John Ho · #9 02-14-2003, 08:42 AM

That is the most ridiculous overgeneralization I've ever heard. You can't (in your vast knowledge) accept the fact that young men working 50-70 hours a week for 6-7 years with only 2 weeks vacation a year (and little vacation time around the holiday season) could do something like this and still be highly productive, intelligent people? It's a very stressful environment and they were just unwinding. It was stupid and I understand why the company terminated them but this is a result of a litigious society gone mad.

Ridiculous.

John Cole · #10 02-14-2003, 03:40 PM

Productive? Perhaps. Intelligent? Certainly not in my estimation. Quite frankly, as a teenager I had better judgment about matters such as these. (And, don't get me wrong: my judgment and taste in other matters may have been very poor.) I would not have considered this a joke or funny at 17. I would guess these productive, valuable assests have learned their lesson, and it's got nothing to do with polical correctness. Next time they decide to engage in a "joke" at someone else's expense, they may be a bit more circumspect. For them, their firing is a blessing, perhaps, and, in their next job, they can demonstrate, once again, their productivity and intelligence. I hope they can also show off their wisdom this time.

John

P.S. Next time they might decide to play basketball when they feel the urge to do a "little unwinding."