If deterrents are weak, so is speak-up

I know it’s an obvious sub-heading, but my kids have had some sobering lessons in this area over the past few weeks.

No. 1 is dealing with ‘mean girls,’ who, I admit, are very skilled at bullying. They know where the CCTV cameras aren’t and what crimes are singularly small but psychologically sapping when aggregated. For instance, grabbing my daughter’s Chromebook pen and chucking it down the lab sink in chemistry, or kicking her until he shin opened up in football (soccer) practice.

I asked my daughter why she hadn’t said anything (she used to). She explained that the punishments are weak. Detention (the usual punishment for minor ‘physical altercations’) was deemed too austere and has been downgraded to yet another intervention by teachers acting as gonzo shrinks over lunch. Suspensions are reserved for undoubtedly horrible sins, but those that reflect most poorly on the school in the current zeitgeist. So, mean girls who were unwise enough to make racist remarks to two Asian sisters were immediately suspended and will be excluded if there is a repeat.

That’s good. But kicking someone until they bleed is not good.

If we’re part of the rule-setters, when did we last look at the tariffs for different violations? People will stop speaking up if they’re erratic or place a premium on risks to the organisation (not the individual). For instance, stealing is usually fireable (even when petty), but being a hideously psychotic manager isn’t always (see here the EY India scandal involving a young woman’s suicide).

For speaking up to work, we need to put ourselves in the position of the person suffering, not where HR usually sits: protecting the business (reputation, bottom line, etc.).