Bullying in the Workplace Is No Joking Matter
By Poornima Vijayashanker As you know today is April 1st aka April Fools’ Day, but I’m not here to tell you a joke or …
By Poornima Vijayashanker
As you know today is April 1st aka April Fools’ Day, but I’m not here to tell you a joke or to play a prank on you.
I want to highlight a series of incidents that have been going on for awhile.
You might already be aware of these incidents…
… and you might be sick of them.
… or you might just be unaware of them, because you’ve been heads down or you’re new to the scene.
Each year, slowly, more and more reports of harassment and bullying in the workplace and community surface in the tech industry. Recently, several incidents have gotten tons of press coverage.
These incidents didn’t just come out of thin air. They’re a result of people’s attitudes and actions, and if we want to change the industry for the better, the best place to start is to examine our underlying cultural attitudes and company practices.
But if you feel like people are just complaining, then stop reading.
It’s NOT Limited to Gender
The series of incidents I’m talking about isn’t just limited to women. It’s been labeled as a woman’s problem because women have been the most outspoken.
That’s because it’s a pernicious problem.
It extends beyond women and impacts minorities. The most commonly unspoken group who is affected are immigrant men in the form of indentured servitude: employers “unintentionally” take a long time to extend them a green card.
It’s NOT Limited to Employees
This behavior extends to online communities, and it can be enabled and disabled by the leadership within companies, and their response to it. Here’s a very recent example.
The Choice Argument
Some would argue that people have a choice.
“If they’re being harassed, why don’t they just leave!”
You’re right they do have a choice.
And many do leave.
But leaving accomplishes nothing.
Leaving sends two messages to the person who gets to stay: “You can keep doing what you’re doing, but you’ll have to find someone new.” And, “I won’t say anything, because I don’t want to be labeled as a victim and called out by the community. I’m ashamed that this happened to me.”
Why should someone who is being harassed be ashamed?
Shouldn’t the harasser be the one who should be ashamed of their behavior?
Saying nothing and doing nothing doesn’t stop harassment from happening.
It let’s the harasser continue to think their behavior is permissible.
On the Run
Telling people they have a choice only means that they have a choice to live a life where they’re constantly on the run.
You’re probably right in thinking it won’t impact YOU. But what about your friend, your partner, your sibling, your parent, or even your child? What will you tell them?
Will you tell them they have a choice?
Harassment isn’t just sexual in nature.
Harassment is aggressive pressure or intimidation.
The most overt form is sexual harassment and bullying. But the more subtle forms are withholding promotions and immigration.
“They weren’t good enough!”
Maybe.
But if they really aren’t good enough, then why are they being paid and given a gag order once they site harassment?
Or, why are they being fired only after they speak up?
Innovation is about change. In tech, we focus on changing people’s lives by creating products that “disrupt existing industries” and “delight users”.
But there are groups today who aren’t being delighted, they’re lives are just being disrupted.
Your Challenge
Yes making money is important.
Yes providing shareholders value is important.
But how you do it is also important.
We’re smart people, who are used to working within constraints. I’m sure we can work through these as well to find solutions.
You can start by setting clear standards for the following:
- Conflict resolution
- Promotions
- Salaries
If you feel like you can’t set clear standards, then why not?
If you have set them, and they’re not being practiced, again why?
Nothing happens overnight. It takes consistent effort in holding people accountable.
I write these posts to provide you with some inspiration to help you innovate in the middle of your week and foster a dialogue between the two of us. But in today’s post I want to go beyond us, and I want you to start a dialogue about harassment with others: your friends, your co-workers, and most importantly your boss.
I know you can do it, and even if you’re skeptical, I’ll believe for you that everyone’s voice and actions matter, including yours!
