Be Your Own Detective

If you are dealing with a race-based issue at work, it is best to be your own detective. You should be doing everything possible to prove your case—especially if you know you are building a case based on circumstantial evidence.

Part of being a detective (or private eye) is learning how to be a good snoop. Part of snooping involves eavesdropping. I will be the first to admit that I have put a glass to a wall and listened to conversations in the office next door. I would stand in corridors and listen to conversations until I heard someone approaching. If I thought any conversation could be useful to me, I would do my best to listen in.

Eavesdropping may be one of your best ways to get inside information. Don’t feel guilty about invading someone’s privacy because they could have found a more secure place to speak, if they didn’t want anyone to hear what they had to say.

Quietly loiter near open office doors and listen in on private conversations and phone calls that may seem to shed some insight on your situation or the perpetrator in your case. People are bold. You’d be surprised what they will talk about with an open door, when they are standing at the printer, are in the bathroom or if they are standing in a cubicle where anyone can hear what they have to say.

If you hear any juicy tidbits, write them down and file them away. Later on, determine how you can use the information to your advantage.

Remember, if you are having problems with someone, sometimes there are other people that are also having issues. If you are being harassed by an unpopular coworker or manager, listen in for conversations where other workers are talking about their personal ordeals with this person. This information can help you establish a pattern of negative behavior and can show an out-of-control coworker or manager.

You never know how eavesdropping can help provide you with a lead that can develop into a wealth of information that you can use against a coworker, manager or the company, as a whole.