AUG 4 — “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke
There was a time this senior director of a college I was working in demanded that a subordinate surrender his learning management system password (to the director) so said director could modify a certain student's marks.
When the subordinate refused (as there were simply no grounds to do so), the director yelled at the top of his voice, “GIVE IT TO ME NOW... OR ELSE!”.
All credit to my colleague for not budging. The director yelled a few more times and, facing a gentle wall, eventually backed down.
The student failed and had to drop out; ipso facto the institution couldn’t collect any more fees from said student for the following semester (that’s why the director was mad at my colleague for failing said student).
Does the story sound familiar? I bet it does. Sadly, other similar stories don’t always have the same happy ending.
Bullying is profitable. Period.
Platforms like Linked-In are awash with articles and comments and AI-generated graphics on corporate bullying.
It almost seems to be the theme of the year; many big companies are falling over themselves publicly condemning bullying in the workplace and affirming the importance of respect and care and openness.
As per my opening story, in most cases there is no mystery to why corporate bullying occurs and why it persists.
The reason why some office heads keep treating their subordinates like trash is rooted in factors we don’t need a Sherlock or some PhD in Psychology to ascertain: It’s because it makes the company money.
That’s it. It’s cold capitalism, plain and simple.
The reason why some heads can gaslight, scream, shout and threaten their staff is because such behaviour "gets things done" and keeps his/her KPI numbers up. Period.
It is not uncommon to see instances whereby some senior director will walk into a particular department, stand in the middle of it and, like some imperial herald, shout at the top of his or her voice to demand some answer or call out a person’s name.
The reason why some HRs refuse to investigate, let alone discipline, certain corporate bullies is because the big bosses have told them to stand down — and the reason for that is because said bullies have made a lot of cash for the bosses.
Sure, there are some cases in which a bully has been suspended and probably even fired. But, at least in my experience, this only occurs if there are no serious drawbacks or consequences to said person departing the company OR if the publicity is already so bad, the organisation has to pull the plug.
This is probably why it’s critical that bullying behaviour be recorded; testimonies and statements are much harder to obtain and lack the fire it takes to ignore the court of public opinion.
Hopefully, after July of last year things will be easier. That month Malaysia officially criminalised workplace bullying and harassment through amendments to the Penal Code (Act A1750) and Criminal Procedure Code.
This historic legal reform elevates severe psychological abuse (see note 1), digital harassment, and doxxing from internal human resources issues to criminal offence.
I don’t know much about doxxing but psychological abuse and harassment are pretty common stuff in our workplaces. The only thing sadder than seeing it happen in our offices is seeing the victims accept it and sometimes— tragically — even feel guilty for letting their departments down.
What solutions are there?
We all know that ultimately the end of corporate bullying must begin from the top. Is revenue more important than destroying the mental health of the people who work for us? Can we use forms of patience, respect, cooperation and dialogue instead of "old-fashioned" authoritarianism, oppression and abrasiveness?
Will the CHRO have the courage to clamp down on bullying cases even if her C-Suite counterparts are pressuring her to "let it go" because, oh, this particular director is critical to the organisation?
Sadly, in the case of workplace bullying, Edmund Burke’s quote stands true. We must have the strength to take up his challenge.
Note 1: A small unpopular caveat here. In the same way that not all instances of a parent scolding or disciplining their kids cannot be equated with child abuse, we cannot declare every instance of harshness or anger by the boss as acts of bullying.
I recall a Stephen Covey seminar where it was said that we cannot talk our way out of a problem we behave ourselves into. I guess it’s the same for corporate bullying?
If we behave like bullies, people will know. They just know — or at least the matured ones will know. And no amount of superficial "apologies" or sweet-talk (or even a nice bonus) will change that.
Likewise, when a boss truly respects and cares for his/her staff, that is also known, recognised and affirmed.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
