3 ms·

a good rule of thumb is just to never make any comments about a female coworker's body. it's very easy to cross over to unprofessional territory and make someon

by door 9y ago

a good rule of thumb is just to never make any comments about a female coworker's body. it's very easy to cross over to unprofessional territory and make someone feel uncomfortable or degraded. that's the rule I've followed my entire life.

rhizome 9y ago
In what context is it not unprofessional to comment on a coworker's body?! I feel like I'm on crazy pills.
- Veratyr 9y ago
  First situation that comes to mind is in a conversation where the coworker has raised the subject in conversation: "I've been working out a lot the last few months. I managed to lose a lot of weight and I think I look good." "Yeah, you looks great, that work definitely paid off." The coworker brought it up, which indicates that they're comfortable talking about it and the comment is a celebration of the coworker's achievement rather than any kind of expression of sexual desire. And then of course there are professions where the body is directly relevant to the work, like acting, modelling and sports/atheleticism. All this really depends on context though. In a corporate office where everyone's barely more than strangers, I don't think even the situation above would be appropriate. In a small business where a "coworker" is as much a close friend as a colleague, I think the threshold for what's acceptable is very different.
  - rhizome 9y ago
    The Google example is none of those.
    - Veratyr 9y ago
      You asked for an example after already seeing that one, clearly giving it to you again would just lead to pointless debate so it makes sense to give you a new one.
    - TheLilHipster 9y ago
      > The Google example is none of those. Right. Its a comment on a thread, it has zero context. You don't know whether it was or wasn't appropriate based on the context. You're jumping on the "unprofessional" bandwagon without investigating further. An "affirmative stance" if you will. You don't see the irony? This is why I avoid gender politics like the plague, the debates are not grounded in logic and rationality.
      - rhizome 9y ago
        There's plenty of context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14938427 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14938427

by door 9y ago

rhizome 9y ago

In what context is it not unprofessional to comment on a coworker's body?! I feel like I'm on crazy pills.

Veratyr 9y ago
First situation that comes to mind is in a conversation where the coworker has raised the subject in conversation: "I've been working out a lot the last few months. I managed to lose a lot of weight and I think I look good." "Yeah, you looks great, that work definitely paid off." The coworker brought it up, which indicates that they're comfortable talking about it and the comment is a celebration of the coworker's achievement rather than any kind of expression of sexual desire. And then of course there are professions where the body is directly relevant to the work, like acting, modelling and sports/atheleticism. All this really depends on context though. In a corporate office where everyone's barely more than strangers, I don't think even the situation above would be appropriate. In a small business where a "coworker" is as much a close friend as a colleague, I think the threshold for what's acceptable is very different.
- rhizome 9y ago
  The Google example is none of those.
  - Veratyr 9y ago
    You asked for an example after already seeing that one, clearly giving it to you again would just lead to pointless debate so it makes sense to give you a new one.
  - TheLilHipster 9y ago
    > The Google example is none of those. Right. Its a comment on a thread, it has zero context. You don't know whether it was or wasn't appropriate based on the context. You're jumping on the "unprofessional" bandwagon without investigating further. An "affirmative stance" if you will. You don't see the irony? This is why I avoid gender politics like the plague, the debates are not grounded in logic and rationality.
    - rhizome 9y ago
      There's plenty of context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14938427 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14938427