THE MORNING FUN

I. Executive Summary
The main subjects that will be examined in the chosen case study are the humors/sarcasms
inside a workplace and the possibility of harassment involved in it. Based on the case study, Brian, an
Assistant Director of Engineering blurted out a joke wherein he said how handguns are better than
women despite of the presence of his female colleague. Brian was comfortable to say such jokes
because Jane, the Hotel Manager started the meeting saying that humors can lower stress and
promotes team work.
In line with this, the joke is considered as harassment especially if it will be deeply reviewed
upon. According to US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.), inappropriate placement of
humors nor jokes in a workplace is common but it does not mean that it is acceptable and should be
used casually without thinking the weight of it. Harassment refers to as an unwelcome behavior that
may attack a person’s age, color, race, sex, religion, as long as the statement or joke made an offense
on anyone, it can be proclaimed as a harassment in workplace (Parker, 2022).
With this, it is very evident that what Brian did is unacceptable and needs to be taken care of
by the management because such humors in the workplace should not be entertained. Also, whether
an employee does not react to it negatively, there are possibilities that others may take it harshly since
everyone has different tolerance and sensitivity. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge when it comes
on raising an awareness about what kind of jokes are only acceptable inside a workplace.

II. Background
There will always be instances where an off-color joke will be heard inside a workplace. Others
may react on it while others will just ignore it completely. However, it does not negate the fact that such
humors or jokes can be considered as harassment and the person who committed such actions has the
possibility to commit other forms of harassment in the future especially if his/her actions were not
reprimanded by others or by the company itself in the first time they encountered such issue.
Harassment jokes should not be entertained in the workplace no matter how intimate the relationship is
between employers and employees (Strauss, 2018). Harassment in humors does not need specific
targets to be called as harassment, rather humors that displays misconduct about sex, religion, age is
sufficient enough to be considered as misbehavior (K2 Employment Law Group, 2021).
Humors inside a workplace is possible, may it be a friendly one or not. With this, Aznek (n.d.)
provided list that should be followed and be kept in mind by every employees and employers and these
are:
❖ Jokes or sarcasms about religions, sex, stereotypes and even politics are topics that
should be avoided and should not connected to any kind of statement.
❖ Humors that has the capacity to mock co-workers or anyone in the organization must
be avoided.
❖ Refrain from telling jokes about the topics that are trending in social media or in news.
❖ Be mindful on the right time to crack a joke.\

Another issue that is noticeable in the case study is the fact that the joke was ignored and no
one got the courage to report it or act in it. K2 Employment Law Group (2021), recommended that such
behavior must be reported so that, investigation can begin and the actions will not be repeated.
III. Case Evaluation
 The section in the study that needs focus is regarding on how the humors or sarcasms inside a
workplace has the ability to make someone feel harassed in any way. This kind of problem needs
attention because it can affect the performance of an employee and it can also make the employee
uncomfortable towards his/her work environment. S/he may find the place terrifying and indulging in a
misconduct behavior. Based on the case, something is not working properly especially when the humor
that portrays harassment is not addressed by the manager or any other employee which can make the
future situation in the workplace uncomfortable. This case is also important because such
circumstances are indeed happening and some employees do not have the spirit to go against such
verbal harassment since it is brought in covering up in a humor.

IV. Proposed Solutions

❖ Do not tolerate inside jokes that aims to strike discrimination, abuse and inequality
circumstances by not giving attention or submissive response upon hearing such humor
rather reprimand it right away by talking to the perpetrator or straight to the management
so that, the issue will be taken care by the most appropriate people.
❖ Do a weekly or monthly reminder or arise of awareness towards harassment humors so
that, everyone in the organization will always be reminded on what kind of sarcasms can
only be applied inside and towards each other.
❖ Make it the organization’s habit to spread positivity through encouraging quotations
instead of starting the day with humors.
❖ The company must operate a program or training regarding on the avoidance of
inappropriate behavior and all must participate, from the top-level management down to
the last part of the organization.
The following proposed solutions are advisable and can result to the decrease of harassment
that is emerging in any kind of work environment mainly because, taking an action, may it be a minimal
move by just calling out the perpetrator can raise an awareness that what they did or said was
unacceptable and it needs to be resolved by the management. These solutions can work because
according to Page (2020), a healthy working environment is a place where the mental state of every
employee is stable and they always had this feeling of being safe whenever they go to work. Moreover,
having compassion and sensitivity on the communication towards each other can encourage growth in
the company and it will boost each other to refrain from spitting inside jokes that can ruin the
atmosphere.

V. Conclusion & Recommendation

Humors and sarcasms in the workplace are prominent and at the same time unacceptable
because it can be a form of harassment, whether it is act toward a specific audience or not. Harassment
in a workplace must be reprimanded right away and should not be take lightly as it concerns the well-
being of the employee who felt uncomfortable upon hearing the humor.
In accordance to this, reprimanding this type of harassment is a required action because if not,
some serious harassment is possible to appear. When such situation arises, it is advised to call out the
doer of the action and immediately report it to the management so further response will be applied.
Also, this will awaken the company that they should enact a program or training that concerns verbal
harassment so that, everyone would be aware of the consequences that a bad humor has.
With that, it is recommended that the company must organize a strict yet valuable harassment
training to anyone in the organization and it should start with the top-level management so that, other
worker below them would take it seriously and also to compromise fairness. Meaning to say, if someone
on higher position did the action of harassment jokes, then s/he is not exempted to receive the
appropriate consequence. This type of rules in then harassment training program would encourage
 everyone to be more sensitive and to think more before telling something. This strategy has the power
to completely eliminate harassment in a form of a humor inside the workplace.
This strategy is also the most appropriate because it is for the whole organization and not just
on specific people. Bringing up this issue in a form of training program would encourage everyone to
participate and to enhance their personality for the benefit of all the people around them. Aside from
this, training means that it is a requirement and everyone in the organization must attend and display
their learnings immediately and daily.

VI. Implementation
The chosen strategy regarding the issue displayed in the case study will be put into action
once the company became aware that such serious harassment is roaming around inside their
organization. Once the company is aware, it can now start to plan which date is applicable for the
harassment training programs to be executed so that everyone can attend and participate.
Implementing a training program must not be a one-time program but it should continuously be enacted
so that, there is a constant reminder for everyone on what actions and words should they say and do
inside a workplace. This training program can also be implemented through departments by
departments so that, all will be guided accordingly.

VII. References
Aznek, K. (n.d.). What’s not so funny at work. Retrieved from https://www.insperity.com/blog/humor-in-
the-workplace/
K2 Employment Law Group. (2021). When a Joke Becomes Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from
https://www.k2employmentlaw.com/blog/2021/may/when-a-joke-becomes-sexual-harassment/
K2 Employment Law Group. (2021). What Should I Do If I Hear Offensive Jokes. Retrieved from
https://www.k2employmentlaw.com/blog/2021/may/when-a-joke-becomes-sexual-harassment/
Page, S. (2020). How To Create a Healthy Work Environment During Unusual Times. Retrieved from
https://info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/healthy-work- environment#:~:text=A
%20healthy%20workplace%20is%20one%20where%20employees%20t hrive%2 0in
%20their,Flexibility
Parker, L. (2022). Learn the Difference: Joking vs. Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved from
https://www.larryhparker.com/learn-the-difference-joking-vs-harassment-in-the-workplace/
Strauss, D. (2018). Can jokes be considered sexual harassment. Retrieved from
https://www.employmentlawyersandiego.com/blog/2018/08/can-jokes-be-considered-sexual-
harassment/
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Inappropriate humor in a Workplace. Retrieved
from https://everfi.com/blog/workplace-training/but-it-was-just-a-joke-when-humor-turns-mean-
at-work/