You witness someone sexually harassing one of his employees. What do you do?
This scenario does not have a cut-and-dried answer. You are most likely to be posed a question like this in an interview for a supervisory position, but any interviewer on any random day could decide that posing this dilemma is a good way to find out more about you. There's no time like the present for you to acquaint yourself with the rules governing the appropriate response to sexual harassment. They are right out there on the internet for anyone to read. In your answer, you want to come across as more than just a technical automaton with no feelings. You want to show that you understand that the situation may not be simple, but that you are a decent human being who would not simply hide under a rock to avoid dealing with an unpleasant situation.
"I have both witnessed and experienced sexual harassment. In the case where I was harassed, it was by a man who put his arms around me and started kissing me while I was talking with the harasser's supervisor. Obviously, it occurred in full view of the supervisor, and he didn't care. I finished my conversation with the boss as if the harassment were not occurring in that very moment, and I left the scene. I reported it to no one. The next day, I caught up with the harasser, and I privately made it very clear that he had better never repeat this behavior. I was quite direct. This approach worked for me. Word got around - don't even try it with me. I never had another problem.
But I know this doesn't work for everyone. Some while after that incident, another woman in my group approached me and told me that she was being harassed. She asked me for advice. I told her what I had done, but that was clearly not the right path for her. I told her that I would go with her to the Human Resources Department to report it, or I would be happy to do it on her behalf. If she did not want me to be involved, she could go on her own. I advised her this way because in my opinion, the support, advice and leverage provided by the group tasked with making sure that employees have a safe workplace, i.e. H.R., was a better starting place than the harasser or the harasser's supervisor, who might or might not take the allegations seriously. So this would be my response if I witnessed someone else being sexually harassed: approach the victim privately, offer to help, and take it from there."
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