Tough Conversations
Imagine you are the HR manager at a company, and a female employee came to you upset because she felt a
male coworker was creating a hostile work environment by repeatedly asking her out on dates even after she
said “no.” What would you do?
Write a plan for how would you approach your conversation with each employee, including the most essential
topics to cover. As you write your plan, think about what your goals are for this situation and how each
conversation will help you achieve those goals.
You will create and submit your assignment by using the ecree link. Just click on the link, and start writing. Your
work will be saved automatically. You’ll see some feedback on the right-hand side of the screen, including text
and videos to help guide you in the writing process. When you’re ready, you can turn in your assignment by
clicking Submit at the bottom of the page.
Click the assignment link to start your assignment in ecree. Please note that ecree works best in Firefox and
Chrome.
Write a 5–7 paragraph paper in which you:
Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee, based on the concepts found in your
textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and why?
Write a plan for the conversation you would have with the employee’s male co-worker, based on the concepts
found in your textbook. What are the most important points you would need to cover in this conversation, and
why?
Human Services/Professional Internship
Sample Solution
Tough Conversations
Tough conversation is a conversation where you have to manage emotions and information in a sensitive way in order to address poor performance or conduct, deal with personal problems, and investigate complaints. An example of this is a situation where you are the manager at a company and a female employee comes to you because she feels a male coworker is creating a hostile work environment by repeatedly asking her out on dates even after saying no, and you have to provide a solution to this. Having tough conversations may never be easy, but there are ways to make those conversation both productive and as painless as possible by being direct, specific, planning out the conversation, watching your language, allowing the other person to ask questions, managing your emotions, and offering a solution.
