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by aaomidi 2461 days ago
> Your manager thought you were overreacting, given whatever proof / accusations you provided. Just because he / she did not agree with it, does not mean they are evil.

In a company the size of google, managers aren't the people that should have an opinion on this matter. What that manager said, assuming this document is valid, is absolutely terrible. Heck, if some manager in my hypothetical company told someone that their report of sexual harassment is an "overreaction" that person wouldn't be manager for long.

3 comments

I often see discussions like this, but there is no specific action described. How does one test for overreaction or not, if nothing is specified? Some paranoid people may get insulted by a a single unconscious look that you don’t really control, cause it’s just your facial feature. And then think about it all day, checking in more random details.

Can someone who read it please cite it here?

Somewhat blissfully, work isn't a court of law, and the source document makes clear everyone and their mother knew what was going on, and they knew the employee would go public with these claims, and yet had the courage to not throw someone else under the bus so they could appear morally pure
Fair enough. Perhaps a process needs to be in place in which no matter what the accusation is, it needs to go through a proper HR process. Having said that, if a manager should have no opinion on a sexual harassment accusation, then the accuser should have gone directly to HR.
A manager can be in an advisor role with some employees. In a mentor relationship I think giving an opinion should allowed.

If a manager knows this person's goals and understands the harassment process and resources involved then they may suggest not reporting. Most of the time its to save themselves but this could be a wise strategy