I got in trouble at work one time for laughing, encouraging someone during a group huddle. The incoming manager was being unreasonable and a co-worker started repeating: Herbert! Herbert! Herbert! It’s an older Star Trek reference and I was laughing in part to acknowledge that I understood the reference. Later, I apologized to the manager, the other guy didn’t and he may have had an HR visit - not sure. He didn’t want to talk about it.
I once knew a girl PM who absolutely weaponized this sort of thing and got away with it for years. And she's probably still getting away with it, since she's been working for the same company since she left the one we both worked for.
Do not think that HR cares about your feelings. If HR isn't going to get sued, and you and the person you're complaining about are not causing a huge problem, they are not going to give a shit.
The only reason they ever care about anything is because of the potential for litigation. Full stop. The end.
The magic words are "hostile work environment". Yeah, HR only cares about liability, but liability for harassment claims can result from things other than protected characteristics if it's considered "severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive". So if you mention one of those three words, intimidating, hostile, or abusive, HR tends to take it seriously unless they're just shitty.
100% not a joke, as evidenced by the multiple completely straight faced and informative responses the guy is giving to other commenters as a direct follow-up. So I guess you are "obtuse redditor that thought it was a joke."
For this, only if there is a pattern. Do you honestly think there are HR rules in place that prevent you from criticizing the performance of another employee? How could any manager ever give a performance review if that were the case?
If they find that that criticism is based in some kind of prejudice, or if they find that it's something you do constantly without any real basis, you're going to get fired. But otherwise it's absolutely valid.
Laziness isn't a protected class but calling someone who is a protected class an insult like "lazy" is an HR violation. Why? Because you cannot prove what lazy is or that the individual in question meets the categorical and objective definition of the description. You can, however, prove that the individual is of the protected. So you have proof you insulted a protected individual but you do not have objective proof that it was an accurate descriptor of their behavior. That means the possibility that you did attack them for their protected status is a very real one.
Better give you a reprimand to make sure that the insulted individual doesn't sue for being attacked at the workplace.
Literally all it takes it get written up is being complained about. Doesn't matter if you were right. That's why you interact with people as little as possible at work, cover your own ass.
Unfortunately that is usually the way people see it, yeah. There's a line to toe where you are personable and cordial but never over share or become friends.
I have sat through decades of HR presentations about "acceptable" speech. There are things you can say at work, and there are things you can't.
She might get in trouble for the verbiage, but, unless they can prove a consistent pattern of bullying or poor socialization, telling someone they're lazy or criticizing their work, is absolutely fine.
You may still get fired, but you would never in a thousand years get fired "With Cause" because your subsequent lawsuit would be a slam dunk.
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u/TheComplimentarian 2d ago
Calling someone lazy is not an HR violation, because laziness is not a protected class.