Avoid Kissing Subordinates at Home (or Anywhere) in Business and at Work

According to a recent Associated Press report, long-time NBC broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw’s response to allegations that years ago he forcibly tried to kiss and pursue an affair with a subordinate on two separate occasions (once in a hotel room, and once in her apartment) was as follows:

Brokaw said he never sought an affair, and Vester had approached him for advice. He said he “may have leaned over for a perfunctory good night kiss” on the cheek in London.

As for the hotel room visit, Brokaw said “I should not have gone but I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair.”

Like Garrison Keillor before him, Brokaw in reporting his recollection of these two incidents appears not to realize that, as the more senior employee in his organization’s hierarchy, he actually admits to behaviors on the workplace harassment spectrum that should be avoided. And that the two incidents took place with a subordinate female compounds those incidents from both a policy compliance and organizational power perspective.

How does your team avoid behaviors on the workplace harassment spectrum in business and at work?