Rashida Jones, an actor and vocal organizer for the Time’s Up movement, enlisted actor and musician Donald Glover to create a new PSA that teaches people how they should — and should not — conduct themselves in the workplace. While it’s unfortunate that in today’s world we actually need to state such things, the clever video is a must-watch.
Directed by Jones and narrated by Glover, the two-minute black-and-white animated short — which you can watch in full on BuzzFeed — addresses protocol around dating a coworker, making comments about appearances, speaking up when you see someone behaving badly, and touching in the workplace. (“Is it OK to greet your coworker with a deep full-body hug or mouth kiss?” asks Glover. “NO.”)
More: How Men Can Continue to Support the Time’s Up Movement
By turns friendly and accessible (the way you might talk to a preschooler about how to behave at school) and thoroughly sarcastic, the video distills complex dynamics into clear, simple boundaries every viewer can understand.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about whether that’s even fair to link someone pinching an ass or something off-color at work to an actual assault,” Jones told BuzzFeed. “I think a lot of people struggle with the connection because they think it’s dramatic to connect the two. So the PSA is intended to explain that there are these nuanced dynamics that are happening when there’s a power imbalance.”
Glover was also a key component to the success of the PSA. By using a nearly monotone, relaxed voice for the narration, Glover avoided coming off as preachy, which could have alienated some viewers or made them feel defensive.
More: #MeToo Founder Tarana Burke on What’s Next for the Movement
When asked what she hoped the PSA would achieve, Jones said: “This is not a mandate; we’re not telling people how to live their lives. This is really just to incite self-reflection and for people to look at the way they behave in their workplaces.”
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