Instead of Blaming the Victim; Practical Advice for Whistleblowers

I’m often appalled at the bad advice the media gives to people who are being bullied in the workplace. The latest example comes from the Globe and Mail’s Rob Magazine on Corporate Governess where a reader asked what to do about senior executives who were up to something unethical and possibly illegal. The headline? “Why you probably shouldn’t snitch on your employer.”

After pointing out that Canada has no whistleblower protection laws like the U.S., the magazine’s writer put the onus on the reader. After pointing out that almost any course of action could lead to unemployment, it urged him to keep it anonymous and do his own investigation first.

Suggesting that it should all be up to the employee is absurd. Here is the advice I share in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

1.     Reach out to your company’s external auditor to see if you will be protected if you report wrongdoing.

2.     If it’s safe to do so, make your report to the company’s external auditor.

3.     Keep your report free from emotional response and state just the facts. Don’t embellish, assess or be judgmental.

4.     Don’t become the investigator. The investigation is the responsibility of the organization.

5.     Know the laws where you work. Different states have different protections for whistleblowers and some have none at all.

Photo credit: BIGSTOCK 

Why So Few People Report Abuse

When asked about the sexual harassment controversy at Fox News, one of the frequent refrains the company made was that no one had ever made a complaint. Perhaps the story by Chad Bray in today’s New York Times might shed some light on why people are so reluctant to come forward. The CEO of Barclays, James E. Staley, is under investigation for trying to learn the identity of a whistleblower.

The bank had been reeling from employee misconduct and determined to restructure and resolve litigation. Staley’s predecessor, Antony Jenkins, had done a lot to reshape the corporate culture but was driven out by the directors who no longer believed he could improve returns to shareholders. Instead they brought in Staley. Now it’s been revealed that Staley tried to ascertain the identity of the anonymous whistleblower whose letters seemed to implicate Staley in some sort of cover up. When the bank discovered Staley’s actions, which included seeking the assistance of a U.S. law enforcement team, no action was taken but Staley apologized. Today it was announced that Staley would be formally reprimanded and that he would be subjected to a “very significant compensation adjustment.”

No wonder no one wants to risk their career and safety to report misconduct. Staley received little more than a slap on the wrist and some short-term embarrassment. Whistleblowers on the other hand are often subjected to ongoing harassment and stalled, or even destroyed, careers.

In her excellent column, “The Upshot,” Claire Cain Miller makes the same point when she discusses why women just don’t report sexual harassment:

“Many victims, who are most often women, fear they will face disbelief, inaction, blame or societal and professional retaliation. That could be hostility from supervisors, a bad reference to future employers or the loss of job opportunities. Their fears are grounded in reality, researchers have concluded. In one study of public-sector employees, two-thirds of workers who had complained about mistreatment described some form of retaliation in a follow-up survey.”

If you feared a witch hunt and retaliation, would you report your supervisor? How about if his supervisor is known as an even worse offender? Miller’s research showed that official harassment policies often wind up hurting women because they’re used to prove to the courts that they did what they could, rather than protect female employees.

So what can be done? Perhaps the host of the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has the right idea. His team created an edgy public service announcement to help a certain resident of Pennsylvania Avenue understand why it’s not a good idea to endorse the behavior of Bill O’Reilly. They tried to buy advertising airtime during The O’Reilly Factor, but oddly enough there were no takers in spite of a lack of advertising. Like bullies everywhere, they’re good at dishing out abuse, but not so strong when it comes to handling the resulting ridicule.

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When the Fear Factor Outweighs the O’Reilly Factor

When the leader of the free world endorses someone who is a serial sexual harasser it is tantamount to giving sexual predators not just permission, but encouragement, to misbehave. Yesterday Donald Trump told the New York Times about allegations against Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, “Personally I think he shouldn’t have settled...I don’t think Bill did anything wrong. I think he’s a person I know well. He is a good person.” 

In my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I discuss how absolutely critical it is to alter the attitudes of organizational leaders in order to create psychologically healthy, safe, fair and inclusive workplaces. But for this to happen, and the bullying and abuse to end, the entire organization requires a major shift in attitude. Trump, with his endorsement of O’Reilly, has destroyed any shift that has taken place in recent years.

I don’t buy O’Reilly’s claim that the lack of complaints to human resources over the last 20 years means that allegations are baseless. With Roger Ailes as boss, what would be the point to put in a complaint? The fear factor outweighed the O’Reilly Factor when it came to seeking justice.

Clearly, sexual predators like O’Reilly, Trump, Ailes and Bill Cosby are from a generation that sees women as objects.  The New York Times pointed out that O’Reilly’s “hectoring braggadocio and no-apologies nostalgia for a bygone American era mirror Mr. Trump’s own.”

They have become the worst kind of role models—symbols not just of privilege, but of disrespect and even harm for women. It’s particularly surprising for someone of this ilk dotes on his own daughter, Ivanka. And yet Trump’s track record speaks volumes about his disregard for women. From his disparagement of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, to his multiple settlements against sexual harassment claims, to his well known fraternization with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Trump is no different than Ailes and O’Reilly.

I believe that Trump’s endorsement of O’Reilly might be one comment too many when it comes to reelection and may even make Russiagate pale in comparison. When you examine his comments to Billy Bush, his support of Roger Ailes and his recent comments about O’Reilly, I predict he has painted himself into a corner as a sexual predator that will end his political career.

Photo credit: The Daily Beast/Reuters

Facebook Takes a Stand for Inclusion

It’s one thing to talk about diversity; it’s something entirely different to change policy to make the core culture of a business embrace inclusion. Facebook has been criticized for favoring white males as employees and board members. However, they have clearly recognized the problem and are now making diversity a priority.  The company has just added to last year’s initiative to increase diversity in hiring and retention to include a new policy requiring that 33 percent of its law firm teams include women and ethnic minorities, according to the New York Times.  For this reason, we are applauding Facebook as our Revolutionist of the Week.

As I discuss in my book From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I believe that systemic change is the only way to tackle the problem of increasing diversity. No amount of awareness seminars or momentary hiring spurts will change a corporate culture. However, by restructuring the company’s hiring and retention policies from the ground up, lasting change can be implemented.

It’s true that Facebook has a way to go in this regard—as of June 2016 new senior leadership hires improved slightly: women from 27 to 29 percent; African-Americans from 3 to 9 percent; and Latinos from 3 to 5 percent. To move this along further, Facebook is focusing on recruiting talent as well as creating programs to help students at all levels who are interested in coding and engineering.

Since this may take some time, I applaud the fact that Facebook is pushing ahead by applying this to legal counsel, since law firms are willing to go out of their way to please clients, especially major clients. By using this opportunity to promote truly inclusive workplaces, Facebook joins other enlightened corporations such as MetLife and HP in building psychologically healthy, fair and inclusive workplaces.

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Bully or News Host? Bill O’Reilly Can’t be Both

Bill O’Reilly makes being a bully look glamorous. No matter how many women bring lawsuits against him for sexual harassment, lewd behavior, unwanted advances or abusive language, Fox News puts up with his conduct. Sure, the public relations people at Fox News generate the correct human resources babble, insisting that they won’t tolerate behavior that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment”—according to an article in the New York Times—but frankly, that’s BS. As long as O’Reilly stays atop his throne as the network’s number one news anchor, nothing changes.

O’Reilly is no different than disgraced former network chairman Roger Ailes when it come to this sort of behavior. According to the New York Times, a total of five women have received settlements in exchange for their silence about O’Reilly for a whopping sum of $13 million.  And two of these cases arose after the departure of Ailes. This is quite a lot of cash for accusations that O’Reilly repeatedly insists are without merit.

Fox News’ parent company tried to back him up by alleging in a written statement to the New York Times that “no current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O’Reilly, even anonymously, we have looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them with Mr. O’Reilly. While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O’Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility. Mr. O’Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News.” How can anyone be expected to report wrongdoing when the former boss was the chief predator?

The victims of O’Reilly tell a different story. Former guest commentator and adjunct professor of psychology Wendy Walsh is calling for an independent investigation into the culture at Fox News. Walsh was promised O’Reilly’s help in becoming a paid contributor but when she rebuffed his advances he turned angry and dropped her from his show. The allegations seem to have had little effect. Walsh’s attorney told Variety that Fox News’ renewal of O’Reilly’s contract made it clear that “apparently Fox News does not think that anti-discrimination laws apply to them.”

So O’Reilly will go on broadcasting his particular brand of bigoted ideology, which frighteningly does a lot to normalize the abnormal. The irony is that he is supposed to be some sort of newsman. How can he possibly criticize the wrongdoing of others when he clearly won’t take responsibility for his own actions?

Photo credit: Fox News

Is Promising Jobs for Coal Workers Trump’s Biggest Lie?

On Tuesday, Donald Trump promised he was about to bring back coal mining jobs when he signed an executive order to undo President Barack Obama’s efforts to protect the environment from climate change. The truth is that the jobs Trump imagined no longer exist. According to an article in the New York Times, cheap and abundant natural gas, increasing renewable energy sources and an industry that is increasingly replacing coal miners with machines have drastically reduced the employment opportunities for workers.

In my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire. I discuss the attraction and retention of talent because it is quite clear—within five years this will be the biggest challenge for most employers. Retention might not be the problem in the case of coal miners, but the truth is that there are almost as many jobs going unfilled as there are workers going unemployed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Demographic trends coupled with a skills mismatch have resulted in a frustrating economic paradox: Millions of workers are underemployed even as millions of jobs go unfilled. The U.S. workforce is also graying, presenting a challenge for industries that entail manual labor.”

In construction, skilled workers are aging out of their industries and younger workers just aren’t getting the technical training they need to replace them. In agriculture immigration restrictions keep skilled farmhands from arriving in time to save crops from rotting in the field—and American workers can’t be enticed to do the backbreaking work even for $20 per hour and benefits. Without innovative solutions and psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces no amount of deregulation will make a difference.

It’s clear that Trump’s executive order does nothing to help workers and everything to harm the environment.

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Liar, Liar, Bridge on Fire

One of the traits that mark an adult bully is his tireless efforts to deflect blame onto others, most frequently subordinates and coworkers. That is certainly the case with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie whose former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and former ally, Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures that led to days of traffic gridlock.

Christie, an early supporter of Donald Trump who at one time seemed poised for a position in the new cabinet, appears to be back in the administration’s good graces. It is a bitter irony that at the same time his scapegoats were convicted of public corruption thanks to a mission of political revenge on Christie’s behalf against Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee for not backing the governor’s reelection.  Christie showed his support by being in Washington while the pair was sentenced.

While Christie may have escaped unscathed, others aren’t fooled. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Judge Susan Wigenton said, “It’s very clear to me that the environment in Trenton created a culture of either you’re with us, or you’re against us.”

The response from a Christie spokesman wasn’t surprising. He tried to explain away the judge’s comment by saying that her “ill-advised remark is based on the perjurious testimony of three convicted felons.”

Not unlike the case with the executives at Wells Fargo, Christie feigned ignorance and threw others under the bus. There is no scenario in which this conviction exonerates Christie; either he was lying and corrupt, or he was inept and refused to hear what was going on around him. Either way, he reveals himself as the worst type of bully boss. It amazing it took this long for him to get back into favor with the Bully-in-Chief.

Illustration credit: Chip Bok/Bokbuster.com

What it Really Takes to Demand Equality in the Workplace

I have written a lot about why diversity programs usually fail—you cannot overlay change on a culture that is rooted in discriminatory practices. The only way to make substantive and lasting improvement is to change the entire system, which I discuss at length in my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire. That’s exactly what the resisters of the championship U.S. women’s national hockey team did when they took the risk to demand equal rights from USA Hockey and began a boycott right before the World Championship.

I’m from Canada where ice hockey is practically a religion and I’ve been appalled at how the women’s team—which has won a medal in each Olympics since it became an official event in 1998 and finished first or second in every world championship since 1990—was mistreated. There were numerous injustices. The women’s team received half the meal money stipend the men were allotted ($24 vs. $50), they were only paid to practice right before the Olympics, which meant making $6,000 for six months of work, they received substandard travel and championship rings often took years to arrive. Many of the women had to hold second and even third jobs to make ends meet.

Like Matthew Christiansen who was profiled yesterday for his brave stand against anti-gay bullying at work, the women had to take a calculated risk to affect change. It was widely reported that USA Hockey was scouting for scrubs to replace them at the World Championship—and perhaps permanently—and vitriol was hurled at them on social media.

But they had their allies as well, something that is of key importance when dealing with toxic workplace culture. Players unions from the National Hockey League, the NBA, the WNBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team all rallied to their side. Twenty U.S. senators signed a letter of support.

Team veteran Hilary Knight told the New York Times, “We’re strong, powerful women, but it’s tough. Some of the comments were tough. Standing for what you believe in isn’t always the easiest thing.” 

Now these elite athletes can have the careers they’ve earned and be able to support themselves and their families. According to the terms of the agreement, they will now receive fair pay, be rewarded for winning championships, enjoy the same travel arrangements and insurance as the men, get maternity support, and pave the way for the great women hockey players of the future, thanks to the newly created Women’s High Performance Advisory Group that will help advance youth league  players.

I wish U.S. Women’s Hockey the best of luck in their careers and at the World Championship—after Canada, of course.  

Photo credit: The Nation/Reuters

Brutal LGBTQ Discrimination Leads to Historic Court Ruling

One man’s courage in the face of brutal sexual discrimination has led to a court precedent that may make it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers on the basis of sexual orientation. According to this harrowing article in Slate that describes the abuse he suffered, Matthew Christiansen won the right to sue his employer from the U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit. For resisting the horrific workplace bullying he suffered, and taking a stand as a resister, a defender, a protector and an activist, Christiansen is our Revolutionist of the Week.

According to Mark Joseph Stern on Slate, Christiansen has earned the right to sue his employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars sex stereotyping against employees who do not conform to gender norms. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann wrote that recent legal developments support a greater interpretation of “sex discrimination” and that Title VII should already protect gay employees from bullying in the workplace. There seems to be growing consensus among federal judges on this matter.

None of this would have come to light without Christiansen’s bravery in the face of relentless cruelty at work. The Chief Digital Officer at his place of employment had targeted him from the very beginning and drew obscene pictures of Christiansen that he shared with colleagues throughout the office, spread rumors about his HIV status, referred to him using homophobic slurs and made crude references to his sex life during business meetings. Christiansen couldn’t take the abuse anymore and reached out for legal advice. When lawyer after lawyer turned him down—and some even questioned if he was to blame—he persevered and finally found an attorney who wanted to empower LGBT employees facing similar prejudice.

Getting help wasn’t easy. Fighting this battle meant that Christiansen had to report to work every day and even accept assignments that were personally challenging, but sticking with it brought surprises. According to Christiansen’s attorney, Susan Chana Lask, “After his name was in the papers, he said, ‘Susan, I’m so freaked out to go to work.’ But when he did, people he didn’t even know came up to him and hugged him. They just said, ‘thank you.’”

I’ve written at great length about what to do if you find yourself the target of bullying in the workplace in my columns, as well as in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire. First, and most importantly, do not try to do it alone. It took awhile, but Christiansen found support from his lawyer, and later from his coworkers. My research has shown that organizations that make horrific bullying possible have a systemic problem and there are other victims. By banding together they can offer one another support. Other key tips to survival are:

·       Build your sense of self: Don’t let the bully break you.

·       Don’t become a bully: Don’t let the bully turn you into someone who targets others.

·       Understand the motivation: Learn why you are targeted. It will help you fight.

·       Avoid the Bully’s Trap: Don’t let the bully set you up for a confrontation or failure.

·       Call the bully out: Let the bully know if front of supervisors the harassment must stop.

·       Get professional help: Attorneys and therapists are equipped to help you.

·       Become a revolutionist: As someone who has called out bullying, you are now in a powerful position to change things for the better. Accept this challenge to build a better workplace and a better world.

Christiansen hasn’t yet had his day in court, but we will be watching to see how it goes and cheering on this brave revolutionist.

Photo credit: Susan Chana Lask

Where’s the Beef? DC Dumpster Fires Steal Focus from Tainted Meat

The endless reality television drama that is Washington is pushing news headlines alerting us of real danger down below the fold. Lost in the revelation-per-minute scandals recently was news of a major Brazilian federal police investigation into tainted and adulterated meat that was being exported by Brazil’s largest meat processors. While the United States gets only a small fraction of meat imports from Brazil this could have become a widespread human tragedy if it had gone unrecognized. Among the places that purchased this unsanitary product were schools and retail chains including Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

When dishonest practices happen on such a large scale, I have to wonder what workplace conditions were like that made corruption—in this case bribing government officials to loosen regulations—possible. What was it about the culture of JBS (the world’s largest beef exporter) and BRF (the world’s largest poultry exporter) that would enable such behavior as mixing healthy meat with tainted product, chemicals and/or foreign matter? Clearly there was a culture of fear that kept insiders from revealing what they knew or sharing that information with a superior who would be motivated to stop the practices.

From my experience working with embattled companies, I find when this happens, no amount of classes, awareness seminars, pleas for employee communication or morale building makes any difference. Bad practices are built into this sort of culture and cannot be changed. The only way to save the company is to dismantle it and rebuild it into a culture that has transparency built in from the foundation.

Based on the reported decline in export revenues, it’s all too likely that not just the country’s reputation but the economy of Brazil has been severely damaged. I have to wonder if the beef industry will recover from this scandal.

This is all too reminiscent of the ongoing tragedy in Flint, MI or the banking debacles at Wells Fargo and TD Bank. Leaders need to wake up and realize that they must create a workplace culture that allows employees to report devious and dangerous practices without fear of reprisal. It’s only by enabling workers to resist bad practices that C-suite executives can sleep soundly at night.

Photo credit: Reuters