Actually, in my opinion, workers are people, not cogs in a machine. We, as employers, may rent their time, but if we treat them like people, they’ll be more productive and happy then if we treat them as replaceable parts to a machine. And, much though we might like to deny it, sexuality is an important part of being a person.
Right now, most employers are litigation shy. They want to stop any behavior that might offend any person in the workplace. So they go all out to end sexual harrassment. Of course, in the process, they overshoot the mark. At my workplace, the definition of harrassment is the same as it is over at Askville. If someone doesn’t like it, or if someone says they don’t like it, it’s harrassment.
I’m against harrassment as much as anyone. But I don’t think the employer owns my time completely, nor do I feel I own my employees time. If they need time to go to a lecture, or take their dogs to the vet, or even just lay on the grass in the sun, I don’t care, so long as their work gets done. If they want to pleasure themselves privately, during work hours, I really don’t care. I’ll bet it makes them happier and more productive.
One of the major problems with the culture in this country, I think, is an excess of puritanism, which causes a denigration of sexuality, as well as much too much emphasis on keeping your nose to the grindstone. Come on! Relax a little! Life is about more than money.