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Things to Keep in Mind: Compliments at the Workspace

Faakirah Junaid

- June 23, 2021

Merriam-Webster defines a compliment as “an expression of esteem, respect, affection, or admiration”. 

A compliment by definition is a respectful way to show admiration and should not make the other person feel uncomfortable or intimidated. Appropriate compliments are those that can be delivered to anyone irrespective of their gender.

Sexual harassment by definition are acts that are sexually tinged and make the other person feel uncomfortable, threatened. Any statements that are gendered in nature or sexually coloured cannot be considered as appropriate forms of compliment.

Often before complimenting another person, it’s a good thing to evaluate if it’s an appropriate thing to say. However, complimenting others at a workplace can make the other person feel great about themselves while helping in build workspace relationships. 

An example of a compliment versus what can be construed to be sexual harassment.

Compliment:  “ You did a great job at the ideation, really impressed on your efforts at closing the contract”

“ Excellent work with our social media outreach campaign, you are a star!”

Sexual harassment:  “ You looked so beautiful at the presentation, no wonder the clients caved in. Great going”

“ I love the pictures of you on our social media pages, your beauty attracts a greater outreach”

Here are few things to keep in mind while complementing your colleagues:

  • Understanding that the motive of the compliment is to appreciate the other person and should make them feel good about themselves. While statements that are sexually harassed creates a situation of intimidation and make the person feel uncomfortable.
  • In a workspace environment, sticks to giving compliments to your colleagues regarding their skill set, intelligence and accomplishments. 
  • Make sure you validate the work quality, professionalism these things can make the employee feel valued and impact the work performance.
  • Make sure the compliments are not gender-specific or based on the physical appearance of a person.
  • Don’t give a statement that objectifies someone’s body

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The Ultimate DEI SaaS Tool

DEI measurement and benchmarking

Inclusive recruitment strategy

Interactive courses

Diversity calendar

Inclusion game

Culture survey

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Unconscious bias awareness

LGBTQ inclusion

Psychological safety

Inclusive leadership

Workplace equity index

Gender advancement scale

DEI roadmap

DEI policy drafting

Anti-harassment 

PoSH compliance

Sexual harassment awareness

Anti-discrimination

Anti-bullying

Code of conduct

Compliance policy drafting

Bystander intervention

Respect at work

Legal insights

Simplified compliance information about anti-sexual harassment, anti-discrimination, PoSH, and more

Blogs

Download whitepapers, industry DEI reports, and toolkits

Reports

Download whitepapers, industry DEI reports, and toolkits

Creatives

Use Serein’s posters and videos to engage your employees

Customers

See how industry leaders partner with Serein to achieve their DEI goals

Team

Meet our team of experts designing DEI solutions just for you

Try Us
View Demo

Nithya R

HR and Compliance Lead

LinkedIn

Nithya drives operational excellence within the HR function. She ensures that Serein maintains the highest standards of HR practices and ethical conduct. Her role extends beyond traditional HR responsibilities as she also serves as an External Member of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) for Serein’s clients, specialising in preventing workplace harassment through the PoSH vertical.

Nithya has graduated in Commerce from the University of Lucknow and has rich experience in hiring and retaining the best talents in the industry with companies like BukuWarung and Belong.co.

Nandini Abraham

Statistical Analyst

LinkedIn

Nandini conducts extensive industry-specific research on DEI trends in India, South East Asia, Europe, and the USA. Nandini is responsible for developing statistical models for DEI assessment on Serein’s DEI SaaS Tool. She designs measurement tools for DEI benchmarking, inclusion assessments, and employee experience surveys.

Nandini is passionate about creating engaging and impactful reports, toolkits, and playbooks for Serein’s customers.

Nandini holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Mathematics & Statistics from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore.

Sharanya Venkataraghavan

Safety and PoSH expert

LinkedIn

Sharanya serves as a PoSH external member for 15+ companies in e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, SaaS, and more. She supports partner organisations on legal procedures and best practices to build safe work cultures.

She has been involved in the review of PoSH policies, labour law compliances, and research regarding the risk of secondary victimisation of complainants under the PoSH Act.

Sharanya graduated with BBA, LLB (Hons.) degree from Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She has experience in PoSH and employment law with notable law firms like Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co., J. Sagar and Associates, among others.

Kirtika N

Safety and PoSH expert

LinkedIn

Kirtika is an expert speaker and workshop facilitator on topics like sexual harassment awareness, bystander intervention, and anti-harassment redressal mechanisms. She has developed learning content for investigating committees on topics like witness cooperation in a workplace sexual harassment inquiry proceeding. 

Kirtika serves as a PoSH external member for 30+ companies in fintech, healthcare, business management, gaming, and more. She has 50+ hours of experience consulting on sexual harassment investigations at the workplace and supporting partner organisations on legal procedure and best practices.

She has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Montfort College, Bengaluru, and has experience working as a trainee counselor.

Rishab Prasad

DEI Specialist

LinkedIn

Rishab is passionate about creating long-term partnerships with Serein’s customers. He is responsible for marketing, operations, customer onboarding, contract writing, and relationship building. Rishab uses his directing and filmmaking skills to design engaging content for Serein’s social media platforms.

Rishab holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with Honours from CHRIST University, Bangalore. He has directed more than nine short films on topics like stigmas of menstruation, widowhood, and adoption.

Bhavini Pant

Safety and PoSH expert

LinkedIn

Bhavini serves as a PoSH external member for 30+ companies in industries like education, healthcare, IT, Pharma, and more. She has 70+ hours of experience consulting on sexual harassment investigations in the workplace and supporting partner organizations on the legal procedure and best practices for workplace safety.

Before Serein, Bhavini worked as an archivist at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and as an editorial assistant for IIT Bombay’s PR and Alumni Associations department.

She has a Master’s degree in Education from Azim Premji University where she worked extensively with the management on anti-sexual harassment legal implementation. Her work involved the interpretation of the law in a university as a workplace and an educational institution for adults. 

Rhea D’Silva

Designer

LinkedIn

Rhea is the aesthetic and creative eye behind Serein’s marketing and sales collateral. She manages website content and social media content calendar. She works closely with Serein’s content experts to design catchy invites, toolkits, and company culture reports.

Rhea creates animated content for Serein’s learning platform. She is focused on understanding the user’s need for engagement and learning to create impactful content. 

Rhea holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from St. Xavier’s University, Mumbai where she majored in advertising.

Thejaswini CA

LMS Platform Associate

LinkedIn

Thejaswini is responsible for the operations and maintenance of Serein’s in-house e-learning platform. She assists customers to deliver learning content and assess employee engagement through Serein’s tracking system. 

Thejaswini is also engaged with finance and other operations to ensure Serein’s 500+ long-term partners are compliant with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) law.

Thejaswini holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Application from Field Marshal KM Cariappa College, Kodagu.

Arathi Kannan

Head of DEI: India, Global

LinkedIn

Arathi leads the design and execution of DEI measurement tools for global partners. These include Serein’s Diversity Index, the scope of unconscious bias in recruitment and promotions, and the scope of unconscious bias in external messaging. 

She has also designed a standardized tool to review company policies and products through an inclusion lens. Arathi leads workshops on inclusion, unconscious bias, domestic violence, mental health, and well-being. 

Arathi is a published researcher with Master’s degrees in Applied Psychology and Criminology from Bond University, Australia. Her experience includes working with people from different backgrounds, including refugee groups.

Dr. Ruchika Sharma

Guest Consultant: Gender

LinkedIn

Ruchika assists with research and facilitation of sessions on domestic violence, sexual harassment, employee well-being, and women’s leadership. She is a feature writer for Serein’s blogs where she writes about gender, women’s history, domestic violence, and sexual harassment awareness in the workplace.

Ruchika is a published author with books like ‘Concubinage, Race and Law in Early Colonial Bengal: Bequeathing Intimacy, Servicing the Empire’ published by Routledge, Taylor, and Francis publications. She has been teaching History at the University of Delhi for over a decade. She has a Ph.D. in History from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Faakirah Junaid Rafiquee

Head of Legal

LinkedIn

Faakirah is a legal professional and expert facilitator on topics like anti-sexual harassment, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws in India, South East Asia, Europe, and the USA. Faakirah has conducted 100+ training sessions on the prevention of sexual harassment for employees and internal committee members.

She has 150+ hours of experience consulting on sexual harassment investigations in the workplace. Her legal research at Serein includes policy analysis, human rights, women’s rights, and document drafting.

Faakirah is an experienced legal professional. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in law with a focus on women’s rights and policy analysis from the University of Kashmir. She holds a Master of Law degree specializing in alternative dispute resolution from O.P Jindal School of Law.

Aparna Pandurangan

Head of Operations

LinkedIn

Aparna is leading the finance and operations at Serein. She has also been responsible for Serein’s online platform, customer management, and marketing.

She works closely with Serein’s 500+ long-term partners to ensure they are compliant with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) law. Aparna is a workshop facilitator on topics like the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace in languages like Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.

Aparna Pandurangan holds a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University, Chennai. 

Bianca D’Costa

Head of PoSH: India, Global

LinkedIn

Bianca leads the compliance partnerships and workshops on anti-sexual harassment, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws in India, South East Asia, Europe, and the USA. She has 100+ hours of experience consulting on sexual harassment investigations in the workplace.

Bianca designs gamified learning modules for a unique and impactful learner experience on topics like gender inclusion, PwD inclusion, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and regional inclusion among others. 

Before Serein, Bianca worked in hospitality for 5 years with Emirates Airlines. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. Xavier’s University, Mumbai. She is presently pursuing a Master’s degree in Gender and Sexuality in Global Politics from SOAS University of London.

Chryslynn D’Costa

Co-founder and CPO |

LinkedIn

Chryslynn leads the product development of Serein’s DEI SaaS tool. She designs learning content and strategic insights for companies to measure their DEI growth, and achieve bias-free recruitment and psychological safety.

Chryslynn is a regular columnist with publications like ‘LiveMint’ and ‘The Hindu’ where she writes about unconscious bias, prevention of sexual harassment, and company culture.

Before Serein, she was a Gandhi Fellow working in rural Rajasthan to address educational leadership and gender equity in government schools. She graduated from Azim Premji University in Bangalore with a Master’s in Education where she specialised in gender and sexuality education.

Dr. Ishani Roy

Founder and CEO

LinkedIn

Ishani founded Serein to provide a data and research-based approach to solving DEI challenges at the workplace. She advises company leaders, startup founders, and venture capital firms on industry best practices to increase diversity and design a DEI roadmap.

Ishani is a recipient of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award 2023 for the global impact of her work in the DEI space.

Before founding Serein, Ishani was a scientist at GE Research working in the Aerospace Lab. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University on developing mathematical models to solve Astrophysics problems. She did her Post-doctoral studies at the University of Oxford and St. Thomas Hospital in Biomathematics.

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