In the long run I do agree with Firestone, as I believe that with the current environment for Elizabeth in the office, she should begin looking for a new job. It seems that she has not been able to move past the emotional effect that Brad and Claudia’s relationship has had on her, and if she is not making progress towards moving on, she must seek another solution to her problem. If she continues in the direction she is going, she will have a lower performance and the perception she receives at work may get worse. Allowing her personal life to affect her career trajectory would be her biggest mistake at this point. On the other hand, I do think Lazar’s point of rushing into a decision is very valid. It is important for Elizabeth to negotiate the best possible exiting package that she can, and ensure that the job offer she is leaving for is equally as rewarding. This thoughtful exit can also allow her enough time to see if she is able to naturally move on from the situation, if she is offered a promotion to the other office, or if the culture gets better at her current office. I agree with both experts that she must be very thoughtful about how she handles this decision because as a woman, she may face unwarranted discrimination.
Now, thinking in the lens of a manager, I would want to be very cognizant of how I treat both parties, regardless of status in the company. I would first ensure the HR side of the company has procedures to handle the situation, and if they do not, push the HR team to create protocols so that each employee can have a clear outline of what they should expect from the company. I would then have a conversation with Elizabeth about how much she would like to be interacting with Brad and Claudia from now on, and how this interaction level can still allow for effective work to be done. I would also aim to have a conversation with Brad (or have another manager discuss this with Brad) to align the company on how best these two employees can work with each other.
