Corporate Crap and Other Dubious Wisdom

have written a lot over the years about bullying in the workplace, primarily from an employees standpoint. There is, of course, another side of the issue. What if the bully is an employee who is bullying the company?

We have all seen the stories on TV and in the newspaper of some poor soul who has been sexually harassed by his or her boss. It may not be the most frequent form of bullying, but it does sell newspapers, and it does serve as a deterrent to other would-be bullies that our society has finally reached zero tolerance on this issue. The other side of the coin is that we have also empowered some employees to use this as a lever to get what they want. When a mere accusation can ruin careers and result in dragging an entire company through the mud, the tendency is for a company to handle things as quickly and quietly as possible. Promoting the accuser and firing the accused might be cheaper in the long run than the bad publicity, or an in-depth investigation by a government agency. There are other ways an employee can get what they want–other than simply doing a good job.

ne of the biggest boons to America's labor force has probably been the advent of the union. There is no question that a good union negotiates better benefits and treatment for their employee members. Once again, this can empower unscrupulous employees to take advantage of the power of the union by threatening to run to the union when they don't get their own way. What department head wants to go through intense scrutiny because of a disgruntled employees accusations of perceived unfair treatment?

The vast majority of our workers are honest, hardworking folks who want no more than an honest wage for an honest days work. It is not often the bully (or in this case blackmailer of sorts) who pays in the end, but those of us who simply go to work every day expecting to just be able to do our jobs without being manipulated. Two of the main goals of a bully are to avoid actually having to do any real work, and to make certain they control everyone around them. If you happen to be in the way your options may be pretty limited. Document everything-and keep your resume updated.

 Let me preface this entry by recommending a book titled "Fast Food Nation", The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, by Eric Schlosser (2002).  It was required reading for my Philosophy class and certainly worth the read.  It chronicles the rise of fast-food industry for about the past fifty years or so.  Moreover, and the reason it was required in Philosophy, it points out some of the areas of concern and abuse of our society by large corporations.

There is an issue that’s coming up more and more frequently.  I have to admit that it is really starting to chap my hide.  It’s starting to rust my shorts because to me it is another example of Corporate America stepping in to control our lives–even in our leisure hours (when we are actually allowed to have them without being on call by said Corporations).

We are being told what to eat, when to eat, where to eat, who to eat with, what we can say, and who we can say it to, and; who we can sleep with, where we can sleep, and in what position if any.  As K@os pointed out this morning, one more Blogger has bitten the dust because he dared to have a blog that somebody didn’t like, or because some competitive fellow employee could use it against him.  

If we look at this from the company’s viewpoint for a minute, they are within their legal rights; unless an employee has a contract, they can be terminated for any reason, or for no reason.  This is called being employed at will.  Keep in mind however, that an employee who is terminated without justification cannot be denied unemployment benefits.  There is a misconception that if you are fired or quit you are unable to collect unemployment—not true.  If you are fired without just cause (gross misconduct, willful negligence, theft, etc. All of which has to be proven to unemployment.), or forced to quit for due cause (unreasonable or illegal actions by the employer) an employer cannot stop you from collecting benefits (check with your state’s employment division).  This does not keep them from bad-mouthing you to other employers however if you have to use them for a reference.  That is technically illegal but it’s difficult to prove.  Either way they still get to screw you.

(more Crap…)

Here’s a quick update on the last post:

I recently spoke with a reliable contact from the non-profit organization I used to work for here.  As of recently, he is no longer employed there either.

It turns out that several weeks ago a discrepancy was discovered in the books.  Since this organization is primarily funded by the state, they frequently bill the State of Hawai`i back for their services.  At some point a $15,000 overpayment by the state was discovered by the accounting department.  When this was brought to the attention of the company officers to make arrangements to pay the state back, to paraphrase "We aren’t giving anything back to the state!"

A couple of weeks later, both long term accounting people were harassed out of their positions… forced to quit for questioning the wisdom of not giving money back to the state.  The high level company officer who made the statement got a raise, as well as giving a raise to his main "hit person."

Due to the nature of non-profits, it is "normal" (and company policy) for employees to receive small raises (2 - 3%)  once a year.  Both the above employees, according to my source, received 5% raises.

Both ex accounting people are also now being accused of overpaying themselves and have received nasty threatening letters from the same company official.  A point of information… neither of the accounting employees had signature authority to sign dual-signature checks.  Checks had to be presented to the same (above) company official with justification for signature.

Soo… It is my feeling that had any real investigation into the company been done, it would have shown some pretty flaky and quite possibly illegal practices.  It’s evident that the government simply chooses to stick their heads in the sand when they smell something bad.

DB

If you haven’t already read Bullying I and II, you might want to catch up before continuing.  Just click on the Bullying category in the left menu.

People have asked before if I ever ran into Bullying in the workplace myself.  The answer is of course an emphatic yes. 

It happens that when I moved to Hawai`i I worked for a large non-profit organization here as the MIS Director.  It was, and is a very fine organization as far as its mission is concerned, they work with troubled teenaged boys and so far have had success working with the community to help keep these boys out of jail and to move on to being productive members of society.  So much for their mission.  Organizationally, they suck.

Many of the examples I’ve used in previous "tongue-in-cheek" articles about HR practices are taken directly from my observations of them here.  While they may seem funny on paper, they certainly aren’t funny to the people these practices are used on in reality.  The reason they are there in the first place is because it’s allowed in the business place.

Please remember… I was a Director, and reported directly to the VP/CFO, and in his absence to the Pres./CEO.  As a Director I felt comfortable in objecting to the treatment of both potential and future employees, both my own as well as others.  Directors are like that, you know?  You would figure that a company would hire professionals and value their opinions.

Unfortunately that just isn’t the case.  Sometimes (all too often) you run into an organization that’s like "The Good Old Boy Club" squared.  Over a period of time people have worked themselves into a position of responsibility who probably shouldn’t be in that position.  Sometimes it happens.  In the beginning certain talents are needed and non-profit organizations just don’t have the money to shop around too much.  Mostly they have to take the talent that’s available.  If any of these people are in the position to hire employees it’s only natural for them to hire others just like themselves.

(more Crap…)