The issues Netflix has run into while attempting to establish a sexual harassment policy for its employees demonstrates
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:55 am
The issues Netflix has run into while attempting to establish asexual harassment policy for its employees demonstrates thelogistical difficulties in turning good intentions into action.This activity is important because the difficulties Netflixencountered are no different from what other companies mightencounter as they attempt to create rules to counter sexualharassment in the workplace.
The goal of this activity is for you to critically evaluateNetflix’s rules and understand what lessons can be learned fromtheir attempts to combat sexual harassment.
Read about Netflix’s attempts to address sexual harassmentwithin the company. Then, using the three-step problem-solvingapproach, answer the questions that follow.
When actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct,Netflix was among the companies that responded unequivocally,removing him as executive producer and star of its acclaimed series“House of Cards” and then abandoning another deal with him, despitelosing $39 million in the process. When it came to setting aninternal sexual harassment policy for its own employees, however,Netflix drew a more confused reaction.
The new policy reportedly forbids employees to ask each otherfor their phone numbers without prior permission, to flirt, or toask a colleague for a date again if he or she has already said no.It encourages employees to shout, “Stop! Don’t do that again,” if acolleague behaves inappropriately. But rumors about a rule thatsaid employees should not stare at each other for more than fiveseconds at a time drew particular mockery in the media, and amongNetflix employees as well. They reportedly began deliberatelystaring at each other, counting to five, and looking away.
Critics also wondered how employees could network with eachother for business purposes without sharing phone numbers andquestioned why Netflix seemed to presume that every such requestwas made for the purpose of dating or in pursuit of sex. Netflixresponded by issuing this statement: “We’re proud of theanti-harassment training we offer to our productions. We want everyNetflix production to be a safe and respectful working environment.We believe the resources we offer empower people on our sets tospeak up, and shouldn’t be trivialized.”1
Some, however, felt the policies themselves trivialized the veryreal problems of sexual harassment at work, which have been inespecially sharp focus since the rise of the #MeToo movement. Alater statement from Netflix said the five-second “rule” was not arule but rather a suggestion raised in a training session about thenew policy.2
Apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach
Footnotes
1. Suzanne Lucas, “Netflix Has a New Sexual HarassmentPolicy. It’s Like 7th Grade on Steroids,” Inc.com, June 14, 2018.https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/netfl ... cid=search.
2. K. Timpf, “Report: Netflix Bans Employees from Lookingat Each Other for More Than Five Seconds,” National Review, June14, 2018,https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/ ... ng-rule/;K. Gurchiek, “Don’t Look! Reports of Netflix’s ‘No Staring’ RuleRaise Harassment Questions,” Society for Human Resource Management,June 22, 2018, https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/ ... ring-rule/; andS. Lucas, “Netflix Has a New Sexual Harassment Policy. It’s Like7th Grade,” Inc., June 14, 2018,https://www.inc.com/suzannelucas/netfli ... cid=search.
8b. Which of the following best represents Netfl...
Which of the following best represents Netflix employees’objection to the new sexual harassment policies as a whole?
Multiple Choice
The new rules trivialize sexual harassment and are impracticalin some cases.
The new rules would be difficult to enforce.
The new rules would get too many employees in trouble.
The new rules would penalize too few employees and allow certainemployees to get away with infractions.
The new rules generate negative press for Netflix.
The goal of this activity is for you to critically evaluateNetflix’s rules and understand what lessons can be learned fromtheir attempts to combat sexual harassment.
Read about Netflix’s attempts to address sexual harassmentwithin the company. Then, using the three-step problem-solvingapproach, answer the questions that follow.
When actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct,Netflix was among the companies that responded unequivocally,removing him as executive producer and star of its acclaimed series“House of Cards” and then abandoning another deal with him, despitelosing $39 million in the process. When it came to setting aninternal sexual harassment policy for its own employees, however,Netflix drew a more confused reaction.
The new policy reportedly forbids employees to ask each otherfor their phone numbers without prior permission, to flirt, or toask a colleague for a date again if he or she has already said no.It encourages employees to shout, “Stop! Don’t do that again,” if acolleague behaves inappropriately. But rumors about a rule thatsaid employees should not stare at each other for more than fiveseconds at a time drew particular mockery in the media, and amongNetflix employees as well. They reportedly began deliberatelystaring at each other, counting to five, and looking away.
Critics also wondered how employees could network with eachother for business purposes without sharing phone numbers andquestioned why Netflix seemed to presume that every such requestwas made for the purpose of dating or in pursuit of sex. Netflixresponded by issuing this statement: “We’re proud of theanti-harassment training we offer to our productions. We want everyNetflix production to be a safe and respectful working environment.We believe the resources we offer empower people on our sets tospeak up, and shouldn’t be trivialized.”1
Some, however, felt the policies themselves trivialized the veryreal problems of sexual harassment at work, which have been inespecially sharp focus since the rise of the #MeToo movement. Alater statement from Netflix said the five-second “rule” was not arule but rather a suggestion raised in a training session about thenew policy.2
Apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach
Footnotes
1. Suzanne Lucas, “Netflix Has a New Sexual HarassmentPolicy. It’s Like 7th Grade on Steroids,” Inc.com, June 14, 2018.https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/netfl ... cid=search.
2. K. Timpf, “Report: Netflix Bans Employees from Lookingat Each Other for More Than Five Seconds,” National Review, June14, 2018,https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/ ... ng-rule/;K. Gurchiek, “Don’t Look! Reports of Netflix’s ‘No Staring’ RuleRaise Harassment Questions,” Society for Human Resource Management,June 22, 2018, https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/ ... ring-rule/; andS. Lucas, “Netflix Has a New Sexual Harassment Policy. It’s Like7th Grade,” Inc., June 14, 2018,https://www.inc.com/suzannelucas/netfli ... cid=search.
8b. Which of the following best represents Netfl...
Which of the following best represents Netflix employees’objection to the new sexual harassment policies as a whole?
Multiple Choice
The new rules trivialize sexual harassment and are impracticalin some cases.
The new rules would be difficult to enforce.
The new rules would get too many employees in trouble.
The new rules would penalize too few employees and allow certainemployees to get away with infractions.
The new rules generate negative press for Netflix.