You just received a joke that was c-mailed to you by a co-worker. You find the joke funny and consider forwarding it to another co-worker that you trust. Which human resources issue do you risk by…

Question

Options

• AForgetting to include others who might find the joke funny
• BCopyright infringement by not providing credit to the originator of the joke
• COffending a recipient who receives the joke as a result from further forwarding
• DReducing the effectiveness of spam filters

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  12% (5)
• C
  78% (32)
• D
  7% (3)

Explanation

Forwarding a joke - even to someone you trust - creates a chain you can't control: that trusted co-worker may forward it again, and it could ultimately reach someone who finds it offensive, discriminatory, or harassing, exposing both you and your organization to an HR complaint or hostile workplace claim (C).

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is not an HR issue at all - failing to include people is a social oversight, not a workplace policy concern.
• B is a stretch; joke copyright is rarely enforced and is not a recognized HR risk in a workplace context.
• D is an IT/security concern, not an HR concern, and forwarding one joke has negligible impact on spam filters.

Memory tip: Think of the "forwarding chain" - once you hit send, you lose all control over where the message goes. HR cares about impact on people, so always ask: "Could this offend someone down the chain I can't see?" That maps directly to C.

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