Posted by denised in 
The Internet’s abuzz with people talking about whether or not its ok for bosses to sleep with their employees. The day after Letterman made the shocking announcement that he was being blackmailed by someone threatening to reveal his past “sexual relationships” with female employees, I wondered about the stupidity of the blackmailer, revealed to be a 48 Hours producer, in accepting a $2 million blackmail check. But I also wondered what kind of environment existed behind the scenes at the Late Show where it was apparently common knowledge that David Letterman regularly had sexual relationships with female employees. Letterman called it “creepy.” Yeah. That about sums it up.
As I watched news reports identifying Stephanie Birkitt as one of the employees previously linked sexually with Letterman, I saw clips of her reporting for the Late Show during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and wondered whether she earned that assignment from hard work and dedication, or whether she earned it from “hard work and dedication.” Therein lies one of the major problems with relationships between bosses and their subordinates. It forever taints any accomplishment the employee makes under his/her boss’ leadership. I have no way of knowing how Late Show employees who weren’t sexually involved with Letterman felt about it, but I know how I felt when I suspected a colleague of involvement with a boss. I remember feeling embarrassed for them (they were both married at the time) and having an overall feeling of “what’s the use?!” Thinking that it didn’t matter how hard I tried or how many hours I worked. There was an underlying understanding that a sexual relationship trumped hard work and dedication any day.
I’ve posted before about a female manager sending cologne to a male subordinate. Not only did she send him cologne, she sent it to the office. A small, close-knit, open cubicle office. And because there was no card on the package, several of us gathered around the employee to share in the unveiling of the surprise we were all certain his wife sent him. When he opened the gift and we clearly saw the manager’s name on the packing slip, the surprise and embarrassment in the air was tangible. He immediately denied any relationship with her and genuinely seemed surprised. But we never looked at him or any of his accomplishments the same again. Regardless of whether there was a relationship going on between the two, the manager should have known better. In fact, it was her job to know better. She was the office’s Human Resources manager.
CBS can insist until the cows come home that Letterman didn’t violate any of its policies. Ms. Birkitt and other female employees of the Late Show will probably all agree that their relationships were mutually consensual. But how consensual or equal can a relationship be between someone who signs the checks and someone who cashes them? And what effect does the relationship ultimately have on the company and employees who don’t engage in such relationships. CBS and the Late Show might call this consensual, but I think Letterman was spot on when he called it creepy.
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