Non-formal complaint made against. What do I do next?
I was working on a collaborative project with our sister organization and weeks after my work on the project was completed and I went back to my regular job, I was informed by a manager at the sister organization one their employees has filed a non-formal complaint against me and others (not sure how many others) about insensitive remarks made towards the employee.
The manager repeated the remarks that were claimed to be said towards said employee and I was appalled because they were sentences I would never say directly or anyone in the right mind would say to a colleague without offending someone. From my time working alongside said employee, we had many fun casual conversations and the employee would often go into personal details. The employee was very young, had a very social personality and liked to talk a lot. I do recall having conversations on the topic the employee made complaints about but I don't recall saying anything that would be seen as possibly insensitive and there was no hints or signs of the employee being uncomfortable around me. The complaint surprised me and caught me off guard.
The manager said my story sounds in line and heard enough. I don't know what will happen next and whether or not I should inform my manager of the situation. Should I follow up with the manager on the situation or leave it as is?
It feels bad to be wrongfully accused of something I did not do and I am going to assume everyone who worked on the project may have a bad image of me going forward. I will likely never see said employee again but I may encounter others at the sister organization on future projects. This is a first for me since I've always been known to avoid stepping on any toes and get along with everyone.
Any advice on how to move on from this would be appreciated.
TL;DR: Colleague made a non-formal complaint against me to their manager about things I said. I told the manager I never said such things and always got along with the colleague and the complaint surprised me. How do I move on from this?
The manager repeated the remarks that were claimed to be said towards said employee and I was appalled because they were sentences I would never say directly or anyone in the right mind would say to a colleague without offending someone. From my time working alongside said employee, we had many fun casual conversations and the employee would often go into personal details. The employee was very young, had a very social personality and liked to talk a lot. I do recall having conversations on the topic the employee made complaints about but I don't recall saying anything that would be seen as possibly insensitive and there was no hints or signs of the employee being uncomfortable around me. The complaint surprised me and caught me off guard.
The manager said my story sounds in line and heard enough. I don't know what will happen next and whether or not I should inform my manager of the situation. Should I follow up with the manager on the situation or leave it as is?
It feels bad to be wrongfully accused of something I did not do and I am going to assume everyone who worked on the project may have a bad image of me going forward. I will likely never see said employee again but I may encounter others at the sister organization on future projects. This is a first for me since I've always been known to avoid stepping on any toes and get along with everyone.
Any advice on how to move on from this would be appreciated.
TL;DR: Colleague made a non-formal complaint against me to their manager about things I said. I told the manager I never said such things and always got along with the colleague and the complaint surprised me. How do I move on from this?
