“A more subtle indication of this is workplace discussion of sexual relationships. . . ,” “When employees that develop friendships at work start to discuss more private or confidential details, it’s a sign that the atmosphere is too relaxed.”

that aside from obviously inappropriate contact, managers should watch for any touching that appears suggestive. Managers should let employees know immediately if something is inappropriate.

dot-coms are seeing more sexually explicit materials in the work area than traditional companies: screen savers, posters, Web sites, and other inappropriate items. “Managers need to take steps to make sure [they are] removed immediately, and that employees are told what’s inappropriate,” Samel says.

Samel says incidents where very young, high-school look or age like employees are hired without unique skills, but possibly with connections to an employee or manager, are a red flag because sexual relationships are usually involved. “There could be exceptions for a genius software engineer, but most of the time there’s a bigger problem,” Samel says.

more out-of-town employees at dot-coms staying at co-workers’ or managers’ homes — something he hasn’t seen in established companies. “It would be money well spent by these companies to put employees up in a hotel,” Samel says.