She liked her office job, most of the people were really nice.
It was only a junior position in the company, a grade two. A lot of what she did was pretty menial, mainly data input with occasional printing, copying and stapling. She wasn’t too keen about using the printer in the small alcove down the corridor. She never knew when the General Manager would be in there. She found him to be rather creepy. She had been running copies off in there recently when he came in. She didn’t feel comfortable about him standing so close. She was as polite as she could be, after all, he was the most senior in the department, a grade eight. She got out as soon as she could.
It had played on her mind a little and she made a point of finding out what she could about him from the other girls. She found that she wasn’t alone in the way she felt about it, but didn’t find out very much about him. Apparently, he was in his fifties, divorced, and played golf most weekends. It seemed that not much was known about him outside of the office.
She had all but forgotten about it, until once again, she needed to use the printer. She was turning to leave when he came in. They almost collided. He seemed to brush against her. Maybe it was accidental, but she didn’t think so. The incident upset her, and once more she found it an uncomfortable experience that she found hard to shake off.
The next time it happened, it was blatant. Again, at the printer. He was deliberately reaching across in front of her and pressing against her. She left her copies behind and returned to her desk. It bothered her so much that she got up again and headed for the ladies’ toilet. She sat in a cubicle and cried for a while. Moments went by and discomfort turned to anger. She needed to do something about it. She needed to report it. Grade eight or not.
After thinking it over, she called Human Resources the next day. She made an appointment. She had only met the HR lady a couple of times. She seemed rather prim, but listened politely before handing her a complaints form to fill in. It was suggested that she take it home and fill it in, then return it when she was ready. She was told that sometimes these incidents took on more significance than they deserved at the time, and that reviewing it a day or two later the whole thing can be seen in a different light.
On that advice, she took the form home, filled it in and returned it the next day. Despite appearing to be surprised at how quickly the form had been returned, the woman read through the complaint carefully. It was obvious that she took her responsibilities seriously. She was a grade four, after all. She said she felt that the incidents were in themselves not enough to go ahead with, and cause bad feelings among the staff. She stated that one of her aims was to have a happy office. But she said she had done the right thing by making a report. She said it would be kept on record with full confidentiality confirmed. She said that no action would be taken at this point.
She came away from the meeting with mixed views about the whole thing. She had already made up her mind that if the situation got worse, she would simply leave. She’d have no hesitation about that. She would move on and find work elsewhere. It was as easy as that. In fact, she may just start looking around anyway.
However, she stayed on, and just a few weeks later had the opportunity to apply for a promotion. The role had more responsibility attached to it, but it was nothing that she couldn’t handle. She applied for it and was successful. It was an upgrade to level three and the increase in money that went with it was really good. She took on the new role and felt really comfortable in it. She reflected on the fact that not long ago she had considered moving on.
It was almost three months later that the next potential change in her work status presented itself. One of the middle managers retired, and it was decided to advertise the role internally. Although it was a grade five position, it was part of what she had been doing and it dealt with the same type of work, but from above. What did she have to lose? She applied, along with applicants from other departments. There were seven in all and they were listed for initial interviews. These took place over a week and a half; each being told that they would be informed of the outcome during the following week.
Although she had gone into it with a fairly cavalier attitude of ‘give it a go’, she had actually found the whole process quite exhausting and more than a little nerve-racking. The General Manager and the Human Resources Manager were two of those who made up the four-member interviewing panel. She would just have to wait it out now.
A couple of days later she was packing up to go home when her phone rang. It was the General Manager asking her to come to his office. Of course, her nerves were jangling as she made her way through to the large office in the corner of the building. She knocked and he beckoned her in and returned to his writing.
She stood nervously for a moment.
He looked up. “Congratulations on being short-listed,” he said with a smile.
She was speechless.
“I have a bottle of champagne in the fridge at home, I wondered whether you’d care to celebrate?”
