Employees at Vox Media Inc. aren’t happy about this year’s holiday party. The media company, which employs hundreds of journalists, decided to end its open-bar policy following allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. In lieu of unlimited drinks, this year’s festivities will be heavy on hors d’oeuvres. “Don’t want to miss out on the more food,” one employee whined in a message to co-workers.
Emotions among three Vox staffers, all of whom requested anonymity, ranged from annoyance to grudging acceptance. A few felt the drink limit unfairly punished everyone. Another felt babied, arguing that alcohol isn’t the root of sexual harassment and treating it as such sends the wrong message about whether the company is serious about fixing the real problem.
As sex misconduct allegations ripple across industries, companies are starting to reckon with how the workplace allows, or enables, inappropriate behavior. That means not only looking at structural issues, such as human resource departments and sexual harassment training, but scrutinizing routine work events. And since it’s that time of year, the annual festivities have left a lot of employers struggling with what to do about this fraught holiday tradition.
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