A warning for office ticklers

[steph]

The guys I work for are actually non-profit attorneys (an oxymoron I know!) in a hospital--talk about suit-sensitive environment!
I totally get the "people with nothing better to do" thing--they're all over the place, but by law take the claims VERY SERIOUSLY...

I found myself in a situation a couple years back, where a good friend (almost brother like) touched me at work in what someone ELSE decided was an inappropriate way--I knew he was trying to dump a way too jealous girlfriend and had kind of used me as a means to me to drive home the point. He also knew I wouldn't punch him in the head for it--I had brothers who pulled out all the stops--I've always been "one of the guys," in that respect...She reported it, he denied it, I refused to say either way.

HR was WAY up my ass. I assured them I was not some "violated victim" who intended to file a sexual harassment claim. They finally got off my back when I said I would not only deny anything happened, but if they didn't drop it, I'd quit. Not wanting to risk losing an employee who recovered almost $750,000 for them in the space of a year, they finally left me alone.

Bottom line? As da boss always say, gotta CYA. Make sure she's willing and NO ONE who can start trouble can see you.

XOXO

 

[Iluv2Btickled]

I'm so glad I'm a musician. I can tickle or massage anyone I want while "on the job" and they actually like it.

I'd hate to work in an office.

Max

YEAH!!! MUSICIANS ROCK!!!

very random. I know😛😛

 

[BigJim]

It's definately good to be careful when in a professional enviroment, but I personally think your HR woman is a jobsworth with very little life to occupy her time. If the girl had made a complaint, maybe it would have been proper for her to pursue it. She didn't and the hatchet-faced old bint felt the need to interfere in something that was nothing to do with her.

 

[intense tickler]

I used to work for a publishing company and there was one male there who would come over to my cubicle and make comments about other womans body parts who worked there. If we were out side the workplace and he said somthing then Id have no problem. He was a jock of a moron who could never seem to understand that he and I could get into deep shit talking about that. I pointed this out to him a couple of times that he could lose his job and was putting mine in jeapordy by simple association but this guy had a ghetto mindset and simply did not understand. Many times he even made rude comments about the young lady sitting in the cubical across from me and I cringed in shame lol. Though there are laws on the books there are still a few knuckleheads that are oblivious to this as far a catching up to the real world in corporate america.

 

[steph]

It's very sad that it's gotten to this point. I've actually had male strangers, hospital staff, etc. approach and ask me if it was "ok" to tell me that i looked nice! (shakes head) what have we come to, people???

XOXO

 

[leafstk]

agreed Steph, very sad indeed. It never stops me, however, from telling the ladies they look nice or great or whatever... if you call that harrassment, better check yer heads, LOL Who doesn't like a nice compliment?

 

[BigJim]

Political correctness will be the death of genuine banter. So bollocks to it all, say I! (Do I sound suitably 19th century?😀) Be careful by all means, but don't let the authors of PC'ness bugger up our offices!!!

 

[mgctouch]

steph said:

It's very sad that it's gotten to this point. I've actually had male strangers, hospital staff, etc. approach and ask me if it was "ok" to tell me that i looked nice! (shakes head) what have we come to, people???

This is the price you pay for a lawsuit-happy society. If there is money to be had, lets get it no matter how unethical it might be.

Personally I find this to be a very sad commentary on our current society. While it is true that there still is a serious problem with sexual harassment in the workplace today, I believe that there are a lot of frivolous harassment suits out there which have brought us down to this depressing state of affairs.

I am 100% behind the person who files a garassment suit when there is a truly valid case. Nobody deserves to be harassed. But when it means that yu can't hug, massage, or tickle your friends because the possibility is there for the company to be sued, it paints a very depressing picture.

I once worked for a motorhome rental agence and many of our visitors came to us from overseas. They look at our lawsuit happy society and shake their heads in disbelief.

If I recall correctly, some of my Australian guests said that they see the signs of things deteriorating into that society over there (I really hope that I am wrong) but it is rediculous over in in the United States.

 

[barney_rebel]

I remember in the 80s (pre Anita Hill) there were really no harrassment laws on the books. Females were harrassed as sport and there was nowhere to go if you wanted your job. I remember all the abuse I took, especially if I wouldn't go out with the boss.

LOL. I know this is a late post, but I remember when we were discussing harassment at work, and he says to me: "back in my day and age, 'her-ass' was two words.."

 

[Em Es]

Speaking of workplace tickling . . .

Reading this thread made me nostalgic for Mary, a female colleague I used to tickle, so here's the the story I posted about her:

http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=34745

As several contributors to this thread mentioned, you have to pick the right victim and strike at the right times. Not to pat myself on the back, but I think my Mary story illustrates that.

 

[Roseblossom]

LOL. ...we were discussing harassment at work, and he says to me: "back in my day and age, 'her-ass' was two words.."

OMG, Barney - I bet you cringed! You have all my sympathy for having to work for a cretin like that.

Thank you for this excellent example of why these protection laws had to be created in the first place.

~Rose~

 

[barney_rebel]

OMG, Barney - I bet you cringed! You have all my sympathy for having to work for a cretin like that.

Thank you for this excellent example of why these protection laws had to be created in the first place.

~Rose~

LOL!! No, it was a bunch of guys at the bar after work. This old guy was known to be rude at times. It was all "fun and games"

The ironic thing was that his wife was the head of HR in one of the departments. This is one of the biggest multinational financial services company in the world too.

 

[Roseblossom]

LOL!! The ironic thing was that his wife was the head of HR in one of the departments.

Heehee, I wonder how long she was able to stand being his wife?

~Rose~

 

[stdave]

a warning for office ticklers

Back in the 80's I worked in a place where I got tickled and also tickled a girl. I don't know if she had a full blown fetish, but she sure enjoyed tickling. Anyway, those were the politcally incorrect days and I sure would not try such a thing now.

 

[Neutron]

I'm A Manager

And had you touched another employee at my plant I'd have fired you on the spot. It's a line you NEVER cross or even approach at work. You're there to work, not tickle and you never touch anyone from the opposite sex at work. I might sound like a dick, but I've fired guys before for doing similar things. You protect the company not the employee.

Tron

 

[Darkknight]

Lighten up Tron. Geez. And yeah you sound like a dick.

DK

 

[kingp]

Tron??

So basically Tron, you would fire a productive worker for tickling a female friend co-worker who didn't object to the act, and wind up losing an experienced worker, and cost the company money in hiring and training another worker??? Doesn't sound like solid managerial policy to me. Not to mention the possible slow down in the unit's production due to the loss of one employee while waiting for a replacement...You need to at least approach the gentleman first and give him a chance to clean up the behavior. There are worse things to worry about out there believe me.

 

[barney_rebel]

Re: I'm A Manager

And had you touched another employee at my plant I'd have fired you on the spot. It's a line you NEVER cross or even approach at work. You're there to work, not tickle and you never touch anyone from the opposite sex at work. I might sound like a dick, but I've fired guys before for doing similar things. You protect the company not the employee.

Tron

That's what elevators are for 😉

 

[metroguy2k4]

See, this is one of the things I don't understand about my generation. Sure, no one should feel sexually threatened in the workplace and if I am ever in a managerial position, I would not tolerate any kind of coworker abuse or bullying (the kind of crap that goes on in too many offices). But at the same time, I think some of us folks younger than 40 take things too far. Many offices have become "Office Space" style nightmares due to uptight management and humorless employees. A productive workforce is a happy workforce and, yes, that can also include consensual flirting on the job. I think this is just another example of the dearth of character in modern American society --- I mean, we wouldn't need all of this PC mumbo jumbo if people would just be kind and considerate to each other, inside and outside of the workplace. But that's just one man's opinion.

 

[tickleboynyc]

Lighten up Tron. Geez. And yeah you sound like a dick.

DK

amen! Yes you do!
'you protect the company not the worker'...Jeez. no wonder our society is so screwed up. People don't matter, corporations do.

 

[tickleboynyc]

Re: Tron??

So basically Tron, you would fire a productive worker for tickling a female friend co-worker who didn't object to the act, and wind up losing an experienced worker, and cost the company money in hiring and training another worker??? Doesn't sound like solid managerial policy to me. Not to mention the possible slow down in the unit's production due to the loss of one employee while waiting for a replacement...You need to at least approach the gentleman first and give him a chance to clean up the behavior. There are worse things to worry about out there believe me.

Very good point. i've always believed that a happy worker is a productive worker. Doesn't that simply make sense? apparently not, in today's corporate culture...

 

[metroguy2k4]

Well put, tickleboynyc. I think a couple of things are driving this madness in the workplace. First, the litigative nature of our society is getting way out of hand. Law schools crank out thousands of new lawyers every year. You can pretty much sue someone for anything nowadays, and companies are trying to cover their collective asses as much as possible.

The other factor is the lack of values in today's America. As you said, any culture that starts to value the corporation over the individual is headed in the wrong direction. In Tron's defense, I'm sure he's just following company policy, but isn't it sad that our companies are instructing management to act in such a way? I mean, how many married couples initially met at work? Where else are working adults supposed to meet significant others? What are we, some kind of Orwellian society where our individuality ceases to exist when we step inside the workplace? Those of you who've seen the old movie "1984" will know what I'm talking about. No wonder there are so many lonely young professionals out there --- they don't dare ask any of their coworkers out to dinner for fear of being let go!

 

[BigJim]

Re: I'm A Manager

And had you touched another employee at my plant I'd have fired you on the spot. It's a line you NEVER cross or even approach at work. You're there to work, not tickle and you never touch anyone from the opposite sex at work. I might sound like a dick, but I've fired guys before for doing similar things. You protect the company not the employee.

Tron

Would you say your experience in the military gave you a harder line on adhering to rules and less discretion Mike? Or would you say you were like that anyway and so gravitated towards the military?

I have to say that I tickled a female colleague several times. (Admittedly I don't exactly work in an "office".) It was non-sexual and she provoked it by verbally taunting me, knowing exactly what was coming. She was one of those characters who just couldn't help herself. (Why aren't there more like her? lol)

 

[stdave]

to neutron

Thats okay tron, I forgive you. I know I flew off the handle in my first posts and now the tables have turned. Anyway as I said those tickles happened back in the 80's, I would never even consider doing anything like that now.

 

[Tickler Bart]

P50,
Hey thanx for the heads up on the George Carlin thing.
I'll have to tell averyone on this side of the nation that it wasn't George Carlin after all.
The funny part is that I DID say that to myself that it didn't sound like him, but I just accepted it.
I went to his web site & read what he said about it.
thanx again...