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

America, What Have You Become?

Some recent articles reinforced my pride in being a Canadian. In the October 29- November 4 edition of The Economist the cover story “Liberty Moves North: Canada's Example to the World” outlined how “Canada is uniquely fortunate in many ways—but its liberalism and tolerance hold lessons for other Western countries.” 

USA Today reported, “The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a law that prohibits insulting or verbally abusing a public school employee in front of students violates the First Amendment.” This perplexing ruling makes it OK to bully and abuse employees, and—worse yet—do it in front of students during their most impressionable years.

Then there was the piece in The New York Times about Hamdi Ulukaya who employs resettled refugees in his Chobani yogurt factories. He’s now being targeted on social media by right-wing websites.

When you compound these examples with all of the bullying and hate mongering we are witnessing in the media in real time on prime time, Americans appear to want to normalize the abnormal. Again: thank God I am a Canadian!

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Has Walmart Discovered the Key to Happier Employees and Higher Sales?

Can the answer to what ails the global economy be found in the people in blue vests at your neighborhood Walmart? When sales went down for the first time in Walmart history they tried something new—paying workers a better wage, giving them better training and more opportunities for advancement. And guess what happened? Being valued and given opportunities are part of creating a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace. Looks like Walmart is getting it! Neil Irwin reports in The New York Times: How Did Walmart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? 

Photo: Melissa Lukenbaugh for The New York Times

The Power of Questioning in the Office

Abbey Lossing for NYT

I love the sentiment of this article from a workplace culture perspective – working in an environment that encourages healthy questioning of ideas and practices is a good sign of a psychologically healthy workplace. However, considering that 70% of North American employees are not engaged at work, I have to assume that not every workplace is structured to allow free and open questions. If more business leaders opened their corporations up to this kind of culture, they might find that their greatest asset is the curiosity and problem-solving capacity of their employees. You can read more in The New York Times.