Men & Women Interaction at Work
- Conduct in the Workplace
Only a few times does the Shulchon Oruch use the term “me’od me’od”, very, very much. One of these times is with regard to men distancing themselves from women. “Tzorich le’hisrachek me'hanoshim me’od me’od”, a man is supposed to distance himself from women very, very much in order not to chas ve’sholom fall victim to the sin of forbidden relations. When it comes to a female secretary in the workplace, there are many halachos about how to act to ascertain that no problems should arise. “Schor schor lekarma lo sikrav”, we tell a person who is not allowed to drink wine, a nazir, to keep his distance from a vineyard. Likewise, one has to abide by various types of restrictions so as to minimize the chance of familiarity developing between the female secretary and her male employer and vice versa. “Ein apotropos learayos”, nobody can be sure of themselves that they will not do something wrong. The employer should preferably not call the secretary by her first name, should not ask her to prepare him a cup of coffee, and not discuss personal issues with her. In essence, there should be a general code of tzniusdik, modest, and reserved conduct limited to professional matters between a female secretary and her male employer, as well as in all male-female business relationships.
https://halacha2go.com?number=115