Preventing Suicide is a Community Responsibility

Suicide, as the result of unbearable stress in the workplace, is not relegated to the corporate world, but is occurring at an alarming rate in the private sector as well. In her recent New York Times article about the suicide epidemic in the French farming industry, Pamela Rougerie, writes about an issue, which I assert encompasses many sectors and professions.

In the chapter, “No way out: Mark’s story,” in my book, From Bully to Bull’s Eye – Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I expose the devastation that suicide wreaks with close friends and family, who quite innocently stood by not realizing the life of a close friend was hanging in perilous balance. Signs of severe depression too often go unnoticed.

As uncomfortable as it may be, we need to intervene when red flags appear. An intervention can be as simple as a kind question or a gentle offer to lend an ear to someone who is suffering. Often this small spontaneous act makes all the difference, and it can save a life.

This is why articles about suicide can help reduce the stigma, cause bystanders to reflect on what people are going through, and encourage them to intervene before it is too late. As community members, we need to begin to recognize when someone is acting abnormally and needs help extricating him or herself from the desolate lonely space in which they are suffering.

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Scaramucci is Out: The First Thing Trump Got Right

Even at a time when breaking news from the White House happens almost hourly around the clock, the firing of now former communication director Anthony Scaramucci happened at breakneck speed. Hired on July 21, he’s already packing his bags as the incoming Chief of Staff retired General John Kelly gets “…a clean slate and the ability to build his own team,” according to current press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Firing Scaramucci and hiring Kelly are the first things Donald Trump has gotten right during his presidency.

I can only speculate that the twin embarrassments of the defeat of the healthcare bill, and the blunt statement by the Pentagon that they don’t take policy orders from a tweet, compounded by the heat he’s taking from the Republicans and the Wall Street Journal, must have spurred this change. Why Kelly? It may seem counterintuitive, but bullies like authority figures and Trump, who attended military academy and had a dictatorial father, seems to worship military generals.

Kelly would be well advised to put his energy into managing the White House staff, an excellent piece of advice from the man who was considered one of the finest in his former profession—James Baker. Baker gives clear advice in this New York Times piece: “Sage Advice From the ‘Gold Standard’ of White House Chiefs of Staff.”

If Kelly listens to Baker and Trump allows him to do his job, I predict that Steve Bannon will find his wings clipped in fairly short order. It will give everyone in the White House much-needed parameters and allow Robert Mueller to do his job. We can only hope and wait and see.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

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Why Organizations Fail

It does little good to relive Donald Trump’s latest offensive tweets (after all, you never know what he’ll send out at 3 a.m.). The truth is that Trump doesn’t use Twitter to communicate; he uses it to cyberbully a nation. The results have been toxic—respect for America is down around the world, he’s sowed seeds of doubt about the nation’s electoral process, civil servants, courts, and, of course, the media. According to Ezra Klein on Vox: “Six months into his term, Trump’s policy achievements are few and thin, but he has coarsened our politics, shown the power of shamelessness, undermined our faith in each other and ourselves, modeled behavior we would punish children for exhibiting, and implicated all of us in the running fiasco of his presidency. He has diminished the country he promised to make great.”

Trump’s bullying tactics cannot be denied. Charles M. Blow took it a step further in an op-ed in the New York Times, when he pointed out that Trump’s ongoing rants reveal exactly how he defiles the office of president.  “Rather than rising to the honor of the office, Trump has lowered the office with his whiny, fragile, vindictive pettiness. The presidency has been hijacked.

What Trump is doing to America goes on every day in organizations led by bully bosses. What really jumps out for me is how insecure they really are, hiding behind a dangerous veneer of abrasiveness. Their biggest fear is being exposed as frauds who prey on people's fear—using hate as a weapon.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

Illustration credit: BIGSTOCK 

Don Quixote, Hero of the Resistance, and the Danger of Not Tilting at Windmills

Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno defined quixotic pessimism as the refusal to let the odds of success determine the value of the fight, according to Mariana Alessandri’s opinion piece that ran on Memorial Day in the New York Times. This is a truth we should consider anew as the injustices and dangers of the Trump administration continues to add up. As Alessandri points out, the worthiest causes of all are often the lost ones.

The word “quixotic,” you might recall, is derived from the Miguel de Cervantes romantic hero, Don Quixote de la Mancha. Don Quixote had a fondness for tilting at windmills, believing them to be giants ravishing the countryside. His loyal squire, Sancho Panza, was constantly trying to talk the noble knight out of his obsession. But it was Panza, not Quixote, who was the lost one. Panza had no interest in trying—his defeat in life was absolute.

Instead, we must use our quixotic pessimism as a shield and charge onward against those windmill-sized dangers. Alessandri writes, “Cultivating moral courage amounts to learning to shift our attention away from those who confuse criticism for action toward our own judgment of what is worthwhile, based on thinking a whole lot about what kind of world we would like to live in and the kinds of people we’d like to be. It is worth noting that Quixote went mad from reading books, and this is precisely the type of crazy that Unamuno supports. We may not be able to improve the world, but we can at least refuse to cooperate with a corrupt one.”

I would charge all revolutionists and resisters to embrace quixotic pessimism. As Mohandes K. Ghandi said, “…it is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his honor, his religion, his soul and lay the foundation for the empire’s fall or its regeneration.” We just have to keep attacking those windmills.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

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Why Being a Revolutionist is Critical Now

The image may forever be seared into the collective consciousness—Republican members of the House boarding buses to the White House to have a beer to celebrate passage of the American Health Care Act of 2017. Never mind that the AHCA has an enormous list of pre-existing conditions that unconscionably includes cesarean section and PTSD brought on by sexual assault, or that it makes it possible to charge people over 50 more than five times the rate of younger people, or that it included an exemption for Congress. And ignore that in their zeal to defeat the national healthcare safety net created by an African-American president, many Republicans admitted to never having read the thing or that they refused to wait for the cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Just remember this: This may be the moment when the average American becomes a revolutionist.

As someone who has been a revolutionist for psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces for almost a decade, it gives me hope to see Americans fired up. It’s this energy that I hope to direct to employment issues, which differ from your rights as a citizen in an important way—the freedom of expression that you are guaranteed under the Constitution does NOT apply to the workplace.  This is why keeping an eye on workplace issues is extremely important—the man currently in the White House wants to run the government like one of his workplaces.

Examples of how employees lack rights abound. Donald Trump’s friends at Fox News continue to be in the headlines with new lawsuits and federal investigations due to sexual harassment and gender discrimination allegations. Most of the women who were harassed had no recourse at work. One of the most pernicious aspects of the culture at Fox News is the practice of human resource departments to encourage employees to come forward then use that information to facilitate retaliation. As I discuss in From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, this is far from unusual. I would even argue it’s the norm; in toxic workplaces human resource departments are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Far too often they suffer from what I call “Sean Spicer Syndrome”—zero credibility, zero courage.

One of the most egregious examples of employees lacking rights at work come from Wells Fargo. I’ve written a lot about the bank’s improprieties and I’m not fooled by the assurance of its new CEO, Timothy J. Sloan, that retaliation against whistleblowers won’t be tolerated. Or, according to a recent New York Times article, that it’s “critically important” that all employees feel safe at Wells Fargo. It does nothing for the employees who were fired for reporting the bank’s abuses and then show up only as a footnote in a 110-page report by an outside law firm. In order for there to have been abuse at the levels that took place and the whistleblowers silenced, the exploitation by Wells Fargo had to be deep and systemic.

That is why I take being a revolutionist so seriously and you should, too. Fighting on against depressing odds is difficult, but we don’t have the luxury of sitting back. Trump has tried to silence the press, boost religious extremists and roll back protections for the LGBT community, in addition to that outrageous bill that masquerades as health-care reform. But it’s not over. Not only does the AHCA still need to pass in the Senate, but 2018 midterm elections are coming up quickly. Use your anger to fuel your resolve to resist. Record donations yesterday poured into sites that will fund Democratic candidates in 2018. There are marches planned, including the June 11 Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, DC. I predict we will see record crowds for Pride around the world this year. As my 98-year-old mother, a veteran of the Dutch underground during World War II told me, “you don’t want to feel as you grow older that you should have done more.” Take action now.

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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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Bridgewater Associates: Radical Transparency or The Emperor has No Clothes?

Just how radical is the “transparency” at Bridgewater Associates? The huge hedge fund gathered quite a bit of negative press after an employee filed a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities about the firm’s culture of constant video surveillance and recording all meetings. Matters were further compounded by a filing by the National Labor Relations Board, which revealed some of the behind-the-scenes workings of the firm, which seemed to include a fair amount of humiliation and occasional harassment.

At the New Work Summit conference sponsored by the New York Times, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio described the culture of his organization as being like a nudist camp: “…it’s very awkward. There has to be getting over the emotional reaction,” he said.

As an expert in cultural transformations in the workplace, I see a cutthroat culture where employees have license to discredit one another as one is pitted against the other. If the New York Times statement that one-third of their hires leave within two years is accurate, they either do a terrible job of hiring people or it’s a horrible job—or perhaps both.

Adam Grant in his book, The Originals, highlights Bridgewater as having a “commitment” culture where “the secret is promoting original ideas.” This is great in theory but has a dark side when applied without parameters that reinforce civility.  As I discuss in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, employees’ behavior is rooted in the workplace culture that surrounds them. As Oscar Wilde said, it’s the prisons, not the prisoners, which need reformation.

I’ve written recently about how Uber CEO Travis Kalanick who reeling under allegations needs to change the way he leads. The behavior of his firm reflects the culture he created. This is true of all CEOs, although sadly neither Kalanick nor Dalio seem to grasp this.

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Have Industry Leaders Earned the Right to Self Regulate?

It used to be called letting the inmates run the asylum—business insiders are now putting in requests to the White House to have different regulatory policies overturned. Trump strategist Steve Bannon has described this as “the deconstruction of the administrative state.”

In a March 5 article in the New York Times, “Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More,” Eric Lipton and Binyamin Appelbaum reveal how telecomm giants will no longer have to protect customers from having their personal information hacked, the big banks won’t need to require extra fees against high-risk trades, and people with severe mental health issues will be free to purchase guns. These changes and many are part of “one of the most significant shifts in regulatory policy in recent decades,” they write.

Reviewing regulations and policies is necessary to ensure that they are still relevant and that they provide protections against the abuse of power, corruption and the erosion of human rights. Business interests must also be taken into account and must be addressed when regulations create unfair competitive advantages and restrain growth and performance. But what we are witnessing isn’t a thoughtful balance with which other administrations have struggled, but the wholesale elimination and gutting of regulatory safeguards.

Last year I posted 150 blogs, the majority of which focused on the abuse of power, control, corruption and scandals in every sector in our society. One of the notable exceptions was my blog post about how well Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, handled the emission switch scandal. Sadly, the reason I haven't written more positive stories is because there are so few to report on. Because of this, I assert that there is too little evidence of corporations with a record of balancing social conscience with business objectives for organizational leaders to have earned the right to self-regulate. Taking the leash off without a thoughtful review is irresponsible and dangerous.

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Bully Boss Andrew Puzder Forced Out as Labor Nominee

It looks as though Donald Trump’s latest attempt to fill a cabinet position with someone reported to be a bully boss has failed.

Tomorrow, Andrew Puzder was due to begin confirmation hearings as nominee for labor secretary. Puzder, who is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which includes Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, has a poor track record. He opposes legislation to raise the minimum wage or pay overtime to employees. There has been outcry about his corporation’s policies by unions, a history of hiring an undocumented domestic worker in his home, and allegations of domestic abuse (although his ex-wife recently recanted). As New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio recently pointed out, the position of labor secretary should be filled by someone who understands that workers’ rights are good for business.

According to the New York Times, Puzder withdrew his name from nomination Wednesday afternoon when several Republican senators indicated they would not confirm him. Given how Trump has stacked his cabinet with individuals with little regard for workers’ rights, women’s rights or just plain human rights, this could be a positive development. However, the only truly acceptable resolution would be to appoint a labor secretary who would truly represent American workers and offer them hope for a better future.

It’s important for employees to realize that activism and resistance really does work. Keep calling your elective representatives and let them know about the issues that mean the most to you. There is more information on how to become a resistor, activist and defender in the workplace my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore

What We Can Learn from Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' Right Now

There’s a lot we can learn from William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies—particularly now. In this excellent New York Times article, Lois Lowry finds herself despairing about the circumstances that led the children to such a hell: Their Inner Beasts: ‘Lord of the Flies’ Six Decades Later. 

Credit: Neil Gower, Faber & Faber 2011 centenary edition