06/21/2017

How to Respond to an Offensive Comment at Work

This is a tough situation where you have to weigh the merits of speaking up

Your colleague says something that immediately makes you feel uncomfortable. He thinks he’s just being funny, but the comment is inappropriate — maybe even offensive, sexist, or racist. What should you say or do if you find yourself in this situation? Is there a way to draw attention to the comment without putting the other person on the defensive? And are you risking your reputation, job, or career by speaking up?

What the Experts Say
There’s no denying that this is a tough situation. Joan Williams, founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of the Law, says that these decisions are particularly risky because they involve “two of the most corrosive elements of bias in the workplace”: the uncertainty that whether what you heard is bias and the fear that you might be penalized for how you handle it. It’s normal to question ourselves in these situations, wondering whether we heard the person right or if it was just a joke.

Even if you think you would say something in the situation, you may find the reality is different. Research by Alexander Czopp, the director of the Center for Cross-Cultural Research at Western Washington University, and his colleagues show that there is a “discrepancy between what people predict they would do and what they actually do.” Here’s some advice for the next time a colleague says something offensive.

Please click here to read the complete article from The Harvard Business Review.