When workplace sexual harassers are rejected.

[MineralMan]

When I got out of the USAF in 1969, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with myself. So, I applied for, and was hired for an entry-level clerical job at the Gas Company near the town I grew up in. They hired me as a mail clerk, which was fine with me, but I didn't plan on that being a career. It was a decently paying job that paid the bills while I figured out my next direction.

It was a fairly large office environment, and I went around with a cart a couple of times a day to deliver mail to everyone. I met just about all of the people who worked in that place, and it was a fairly unchallenging job. One of the people I met, a woman about my age in Accounts Receivable, who I thought was quite attractive, but I wasn't really looking for a relationship at that time. So, I was just friendly with her, as I was with everyone on my mail rounds.

After about a month, though, she called me on the phone, and asked if I wanted to get together. She said that she was "intrigued" by me and wanted to find out who I was, really. So, being a 23 year old guy, I decided that was a pretty good idea. Soon, we started seeing each other outside of work on a pretty regular basis. She was a very nice person, friendly and we hit it off pretty well. It was a nice, warm relationship.

Well, word got around about this office "romance," as it does. Before long, I was approached at different times by other young guys who worked at that place. "Don't waste your time on that one." one guy said, "She's an ice maiden." Another employee warned me that "She's a total bitch." Maybe half a dozen of the men working there had some sort of negative advice to offer about her. I was quite surprised, because she hadn't exhibited any such qualities.

I ignored them, and we had a pleasant, developing relationship for about six months. Then, I decided to return to college and finish getting my degree, so that relationship didn't continue. She was not a "bitch." She was not an "ice maiden." What was going on was sour grapes from guys who had put "some moves" on her that were rejected. So, they decided to try to poison any relationship she did form. She was a nice young woman. They were not nice young men. That was it.

It was a lesson for me.

[blueinredohio]

1. I worked in a factory where there's lots of "shoptalk" most guys were decent but even when one of

them asked "want to hear a joke" I would say not if it's dirty and I never had any problems

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. Exclusively male workplaces tend to get fairly toxic at times.

I've never really enjoyed that. I don't mind the trading of mild insults back and forth, but all too often it gets extended into areas it shouldn't, I think. I walked away from working in a typical work environment way back in 1974. I work for myself and by myself, mostly, although my wife, who is also a freelance writer, shares a nearby space in our home. Her office is in a spare bedroom. Mine is in the basement. We rarely tell dirty jokes, though.