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As the first line representing leadership, middle managers are the ones who are accessible to the majority of employees. Therefore, they often receive news of tricky situations first, before kicking them up to HR or leadership.
When an employee tells you that someone on staff has been sexually harassing him, it’s imperative that you respond with the right amount of compassion, empathy and action. This is your duty as someone with (some level of) authority and power. This is your responsibility in order to foster a corporate culture that—at every level—says no to sexual harassment. While a lot of what is culturally accepted may come from the top leadership, middle managers actually hold a lot of power when sexual harassment reports come from those who report to them.
It’s at this pivotal moment that middle managers must grapple with the significance of their role. As the first person in management to receive a grievance around sexual harassment it’s imperative that you recognize the power you have to influence a healthy work environment for all employees. It’s what you do next that will define whether or not you—and your company—are on the right side of history. Are you someone who will respond urgently but not reactively? Will you respect the secrecy of such a report, sharing it only with the few people who can help you resolve it? Can you prioritize the safety of all employees while managing an investigation? Hopefully you have some strong supports through your leadership team and HR, but it’s up to you to make use of them appropriately. If you underreact, you’re the one who gets ousted when your employee goes above your head and it becomes clear you didn’t respond to his need with the appropriate level of gravity. If you share the report with colleagues and it gets out, you’ve lost the trust not only of that employee, but of all of your employees. In addition to the influence you have on the company culture, your response to a report of sexual harassment actually has very direct impacts to both your employment status and your closest relationships at work.