Lewdness in the workplace

How lewd is too lewd? Recently in America, US navy captain Owen Honors was relieved of his command of the USS Enterprise due to the videos he made and showed to his crew. The videos were made nearly five years ago, when he was the executive officer of the ship. The videos in question, apparently produced to boost morale in combat, were part of pre-movie entertainment and included scenes of sailors showering, masturbation and sexist jokes, gay slurs and a lot of swearing. Perhaps Churchill's comment about naval duty consisting of rum, sodomy and the lash has never looked so relevant.

The dismissal of Honors caused controversy as people flocked to his defence including many women and gay lobbyists saying that 'it is political correctness gone mad.' Others say he deserved his fate despite a distinguished military career. 

Since his dismissal a "Support Captain Owen Honors” Facebook page has popped up and as of last week has 20,000 fans. The question becomes when does sexually explicit language or behaviour rise to the level of harassment and is it ever acceptable in the workplace?

Sexual talk at work has long been a tricky proposition, but in recent years employers have become far more sensitive to complaints about how lewd behavior might create a hostile work environment, particularly for women in male-dominated fields. This means that companys err on the side of caution and will take disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment even if what they do is not deemed sexual harassment under the law.  Sensible, really.