Organisational culture - Ethics compliance or sham?

I thought I’d make a start with at least one post, this week, of what became a surreal creepy psychological thriller on multiple levels. This trauma and shock has become a worse nightmare than the night I tragically lost my dad to suicide. 

When policies, procedures and stated values exist on paper but are repeatedly not followed in practice, the appearance of proper process can conceal something very different. This has been described in workplace-bullying research as “sham dealing”: managerial actions that “appear” to be genuine dealing but are not. That is how the organisation’s conduct was toward me when I had no choice but to request a safe work environment for my health and wellbeing.

Many relatable issues will come into play as I write my story. I start with a professional related topic of organisational culture. There is so much dialogue on LinkedIn about the toxicity of large organisations putting profit over people, and how the nature of work has evolved, and how governance in many organisations don’t actually govern ethically. You will come to understand more from my own experience. 

I think on LinkedIn, and even the fact that I had already created another work-related blog years ago, also linked to this account, it’s obvious which organisation was my first hand experience. But the problem is not with one organisation. It’s systemic and global. It’s many organisations and sectors becoming too corporatised, powerful, and, God help us all, narcissistic in their leadership.

In my case, it was never like that. Being in the higher education sector, in this organisation since August 2001, it was still a young university and truly had a leadership committed to the mission and values espoused. Many of us have been there long enough to experience the change for the worse. Government policies and a web of powerful strategic alliances played a huge role. When higher education became more corporatised, the mission and values, while there as a “brand”, were not a priority for leaders. Nor complying with policies, regulations and laws. Profit was. Not the people. Sound familiar? It became what’s called sham dealing.

I witnessed and experienced staff being overworked beyond what appeared reasonable, and concerns arose about treatment that I understood as contemptuous, deceptive, bullying, harassing and discriminatory. No matter how much a person tries to tolerate the toxicity, that is sadly coming from fellow human beings, a person reaches breaking point. 

So I begin my story. In mid-2019, after a poorly implemented restructure that left me under resourced, unsupported and exposed to bullying, discrimination, harassment and other unethical behaviour, I burnt out. I couldn’t sustain that unhealthy level of stress and violation any longer. Actually, I finally snapped at my manager (since 2001), that mid-winter morning, because it was years of having to tolerate a toxic environment, that harmed other staff, but finally took a toll on me. I had my own team to manage and protect, as per policies, if not humanity, while also having private and personal responsibilities that were just that: personal and private. One did not affect the other. My manager made it her personal business (with many staff) when it wasn’t her business. I walked into my workplace, after profusely crying all night, my eyes puffed and purple, looking as though someone had punched me (I was punched, but not physically). I finally said, “You’re my problem.” 

I remember her immediate response as: “This is bullying. I’m human too.” To me, this felt like a reversal of responsibility: my attempt to describe the harm I was experiencing was turned back against me. 

Since 2001, the work I accomplished that raised the profile and image of the library in our university community, the positive influence I demonstrated, the respect and dignity and integrity toward every person I encountered on this campus, nationally and beyond, in my professional capacity, including my loyalty and commitment to my work for this manager, amounted to this one sentence deflected onto me. 

And so begins the DARVO tactic. But when this is used by those appointed in roles of safety and compliance, that are anything but safe and compliant in their WHS core responsibilities, it’s a recipe for disaster for many staff, and ultimately, the integrity of the organisation. Somewhere along the way in executive leadership, integrity left the building. 

We need to bring back integrity. 

I’ll end with this note. There’s been no resignation, no deed of release, no NDA, nothing of this nature. Brilliant staff committed to the mission and values, especially to the dignity of the human person and common good, belong in this organisation. I experienced subsequent actions as attempts to silence me. I continued using my skills as an information manager to preserve records and document serious governance, workplace-safety and compliance failures by duty holders within the organisation.

Mud does not stick to integrity. Where bullying, discrimination, harassment or adverse action is substantiated, responsible duty holders must be held accountable. Organisations must take effective steps—including removing people from safety-sensitive responsibilities where necessary—to prevent further harm and protect lives.