“I am a touchy-feely kind of guy and tend toward hugging employees when I first see them each day. Is this wrong?”
Your HR Survival Tip
Hugging your employees isn’t recommended and it might be cause for legal action, as in the case of Zetwick vs. County of Yolo.
In that lawsuit, Zetwick, a female Sheriff’s correctional officer filed a claim of hostile work environment… and she has records of what happened and when. Her claims were against the new Sheriff and include over 125 hugs and 1 unwelcome kiss on the cheek between 1999 and 2013. In addition, she witnessed this happening to dozens of other female employees and only saw male employees getting handshakes. Although these were very short hugs with no sexual touching or comments, these hugs were “chest to breasts” (legal jargon).
A major question in this case was how a hostile work environment is determined. The original court stated this behavior was not severe and pervasive. The appeals court panel, who determines if the case can be appealed, has approved the case for appeal because they said the behavior only needed to be severe OR pervasive. The Sheriff’s behavior was pervasive and, therefore, could be considered abusive. The behavior carried more weight since he was not only by a supervisor but the highest ranking officer in the department.
This again reminds us that everyone from supervisor to owner has the added weight of representing the whole company in both word and deed. In other words, if you do or say something wrong, it’s much more serious than if your direct reports do or say the same thing.
It turns out the Sheriff did hug some men but, overall, he was much, much more generous to females with his hugs. The appeals panel stated this difference could be due to a sexual attitude and disrespect of his female employees and added weight to their approval for the appeal.
The big message here is to know your audience and to recognize hugging only the opposite sex could get you into trouble. General hugging is not recommended unless you’re very sure it will be welcomed. Try something new… ask if the person is okay with being hugged or touched. Even then, pay attention to their body language because the way they react can also be a statement. If no one wants your hugs, go outside and hug a tree.
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