J
J

Juancallclose

Director

Catalyst
Opinionated
Valued Contributor
+3

Is this considered sexual harrassment?

A few years ago, I texted my SDR about doing well on a demo and she replied "way to rock out with your cock out."


For the record, I wasn't offended

Is this out of line ?

Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
😤 Conflict Resolution
26

30 comments

Sort by:
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
12
Account Executive
Technically could be sexual harassment irrespective of genders if you want to get bent out of shape about it if its said repeatedly after requesting they stop saying that but who the fuck knows. I don’t work in HR.

it’s in pretty poor taste to label this as ‘sales humour’ if it’s a serious question.

either the culture of the team enables this and no one has an issue with it and its fine or someone does have an issue with it and it’s not fine.
Juancallclose
Catalyst
2
Director
Changed from sales humor to conflict resolution
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
1
Account Executive
There ya go
Fenderbaum
Politicker
11
Retired Choirboy🪕
Sounds like she was trying to be funny and hip, maybe trying too hard to fit in. Can't really say without being there. It's not the most appropriate response by any means. Did you have a rooster with you during the demo?
CuriousFox
WR Officer
9
🦊
COCKadoodledoo
Fenderbaum
Politicker
4
Retired Choirboy🪕
I don't get it...🐔
Diablo
Politicker
8
Sr. AE
Not sure how your relationship with that person is but I won’t take it too personally unless its repeated. It’s inappropriate in my opinion that the incident might bring some discomfort when you talk with the person next time!
braintank
Politicker
7
Enterprise Account Executive
How is that an appropriate response?
Pachacuti
Politicker
7
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
I don’t think it’s harassment, just poor taste and very inappropriate unless you’re close friends, which it appears is not the case.

I guess the next question is - do you want your relationship with this SDR to be super casual like that? The SDR is probably trying (too hard) to be “cool”. How you react will dictate that relationship moving forward.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
7
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Maybe doesn't reach the standard of harassment, but is definitely crass and inadvisable. It's also not funny.

Some people might want to think what would happen if HR was on the other line before they speak. Not sure where she's coming from that this is viewed as appropriate in any business setting, but it isn't.
oldcloser
Arsonist
6
💀
Inappropriate reply. Period. Wasn't always. Is now. Tread very lightly with this stuff. It's nasty.
punishedlad
Tycoon
5
Business Development Team Lead
I think it's definitely inappropriate, but I wouldn't go reporting to HR. If it bothered you (which it sounds like it didn't), I'd talk to her personally and express that. If you're fine with it, who cares?
Maximas
Tycoon
4
Senior Sales Executive
Sounds inappropriate enough but didn't yet reach a sexual harassment though.

Did you reply back advising her to stop!
Juancallclose
Catalyst
0
Director
No. She didn't report to me and we had a decent enough rapport to text. I think she did it another time. I think I either said "lol" and then moved on or just ignored. I wasn't offended. I'm also married, so if there was any sort of intent in that direction, I didn't take it as such and wouldn't act on it anyway.
Gasty
Notable Contributor
4
War Room Community Manager
If it's happened just this one time, it seems more like:

"Hey! I want to compliment my AE on their impressive demo, but I'd like to do it in a unique and humorous way that I'm not entirely sure about myself. But I'm Gen Z, so who cares!"
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
I wouldn’t be offended. But idk the person and i think that’s the biggest factor
Wellss
Tycoon
3
Channel sales
Harassment? Ehh probably not technically. Inappropriate? 100%
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
2
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
I hope everyone who said it was harassment was joking.
WheelofCheese
Opinionated
2
Sales Executive
Not appropriate. I’d say it’s in the grey area unless you felt uncomfortable. That being said, if a male colleague said.. way to rock those tits! I’d probably give them some side eye and be disgusted. I’m no prude, but people need to watch what they say at work.
jefe
Arsonist
2
🍁
I'd honestly never take offence to that, BUT I'd also never say that in any written communication.
Juancallclose
Catalyst
1
Director
Yep. I won't be telling my AEs "good luck and rock out with your cock out."
ASalesCoach
2
National Director of Sales
definitely a comment that needs to be addressed so that continued comments are not made. people say things all the time that cross the line. most people can be course corrected by simply bringing up that the comment was not appropriate. if they continue to make comments, you would need to bring it to your managers attention or HR.

although you did not find it offensive, many other might and that could lead to issues. just the world we now live in.
Sandra_Bearlock
Good Citizen
2
Business Development Representative
Harassment is defined by frequency, intent, and corporate hierarchy. Getting offended or not is not part of it.

If she did this a lot, it'd be harassment. If she did this to convey "romantic interest," it'd be harassment. If she did this and she were your boss/manager, it'd be harassment.

I don't think this is harassment, just inappropriate, and she should be disciplined as such. I don't mean a write-up, more like, hey, that's not cool, don't do that again.
RandyLahey
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Context is always important. No two people feel the same way, nor have the same sense of humour. I tend to be a sick little puppy, but am cautious with these jokes towards other genders.

However that's fucking hilarious, and yeah you can twist the context and trigger yourself over anything these days.
GingerBarbarian
Opinionated
1
Lead Sales
Sexual harassment usually has to be a persistent occurrence before it is called sexual harassment.
PandaBar
Politicker
1
SDR
LMAOOOOOOOOOO
SaaSyBee
Politicker
1
Founder
Were you not offended because you have that kind of rapport where that's an okay thing to say? If not, I'd probably say that this is a teaching moment.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
SDRs say the darnedest things
SADNES5
Politicker
1
down voters are marketing spies
If you have to ask... I think that speaks volumes.
Beans
Big Shot
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Yes but because of double standards it rarely applies to us lads.

Related posts

10

Should companies teach reps how to deal with sexual advances in the field?

Question
🎈
🏰
🥎
11
35
Members only

Sexual Harassment: To tell or not to tell?

Question
🙏
😤
😳
29
33
Members only

***UPDATE*** RE: Sexual Harassment - To Tell or not to Tell

Question
🙏 Mental Wellness
24
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.