Although most workplaces we enter nowadays will have explicit policies against sexual harassment among employees, that sadly doesn’t mean that such behavior has stopped occurring in our society.
And while it’s a particular hazard for public-facing professionals such as Disney cast members or journalists , it can still be a disappointingly widespread issue in more private corporate settings.
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As we can see in some recent cases , this is particularly true when management colludes with problem employees to create toxic and unsafe environments as it’s hard for those affected by their actions to feel like they have any recourse.
So while one woman’s reaction to a flirtatious text may seem disproportionate to some, this context makes it clear that any warning sign suggesting you’re walking into such an environment should be taken seriously and acted upon.
On March 24, a Michigan woman named Alexandria Kelly uploaded a TikTok detailing the conversation she had with a potential employer on LinkedIn.
As we can see in her video, this exchange starts out normally enough with a timeshare and resort manager explaining which locations he’s seeking hires for.
But what gave her pause was his last message, which stated, “I’m actually glad we don’t work together because I don’t think I’d get anything accomplished watching you walk around the office.”
Not only did being hit on not exactly ingratiate Kelly to the possibility of being hired by this man, but she saw it as a major red flag to how he could be treating other people.
Since he works for a franchise of Hyatt Hotels called Hyatt Vacation Rentals, she stated in this follow-up that she messaged the company and was awaiting an update from their HR department.
But while she went about doing this, she also made another interesting discovery about the man she spoke to.
In her words,”I found his wife and his daughter on Facebook.”
And while Kelly had sent them messages as well, she made it clear that this decision made her anxious, saying, “It feels crappy to have to feel scared even though you just want to stop being sexually harassed.”
So much so that in this additional update, she revealed that she unsent the messages to his family members and blocked them so they couldn’t see who had tried to contact them.
And while she didn’t feel she was allowed to share much about her subsequent phone call with Hyatt’s HR representative, she was assured that action would be taken against the man.
And although Kelly has uploaded another follow-up TikTok in the time since, it seems that she’s no closer to finding out what exactly that action will be.
Instead, this update covered reactions to her initial video and explained that while she has felt significant anxiety at the prospect of responding to the man’s statement, she felt that speaking up for women who experience similar treatment would be a responsible use of her platform.
She also shared that she has had past experiences with sexual harassment and sexual violence and wishes to take any opportunity she can in preventing it from happening to others.
