Culture on Fire has been constructing a list of items that are potentially important levers for change in the promotion of equity in uniformed services. Currently it looks a bit like this;
The List (work in progress)
- The role of HR
- Defending the organisation comes first (ranks above equity)
- Ignoring or silencing the victim to protect the organization
- People in HR may feel pressure from above to do this
- Senior managers/strategy
- Strategic avoidance
- Reputation first
- The “main job” of firefighting get priority over all others (if harassment were to be treated like an emergency incident, then it may be solved). Leaders often forget that this is a workplace and every individual has a legal right to be protected from harmful conduct at that workplace
- Due to ongoing budget restraints, the neo-liberal approach may argue that it is cheaper/easier to accept the cost of harassment than to fight it
- Toxic behaviour
- Detailed education about what it looks like, how it feels and where it manifests
- Leaders must set the tone about acceptable behaviour (in reality, this may not be happening)
- What doesn’t work (thoughts)
- Enquiries lack a humanistic approach
- When toxic cultures are identified, there is a lot of hand rubbing, claims of innocence or shock, promises to change and do better. Then the cycle repeats itself
- Employing the same people, maintaining a hegemonous workforce that is threatened by difference
- Ignoring equality creates barriers to diverse people and the wider and better economic and workplace outcomes that they bring
- Indirect discrimination (in particular towards women and other marginalized groups) are harder to challenge (direct discrimination is now illegal – so indirect discrimination is the next step in maintaining segregation)
- Physical Employment Standards designed to keep women out
- Continually returning to old practices – looking at outcome and not cause. Circular process of the same old hand rubbing, shock and disbelief, we will act – then failing to act (or make meaningful change).
In the spirit of action research the following is a more speculative list of notes
Strategic avoidance
There is evidence that firefighters are adept in hiding information from their officers
There are also indications that officers/managers may be hiding negative news from leaders. What is not clear is if this is deliberate strategy or not.
Do many managers act in self-interest, not the greater good?
Potentially, leaders may be briefed but that is into a “deaf ear” with no documentation of it, so the manager/leader can deny knowing about it
Ignoring the victim
There is a great deal of evidence that when a target, victim, etc. calls out bad behaviour, instead of getting justice, they get marginalized.
The role of HR
What role does HR play in the maintenance of toxic culture? Is it to support victims/targets or manage organizational risk? Organizations want to:
– Minimize legal risk and reputational harm.
– Protect the organization and senior leadership.
– Ensure compliance and silencing of targets/victims to meet the above requirements.
Fitness
Are physical employment standards a tool to ensure ongoing segregation? They are rooted in historical inequity, many of them are outdated, and did not involve diverse input (ie, women) when they were developed. They place extreme importance on ways of working that preference male physiology.
Stopping at the source
Is it possible to get people to call out bad behaviour immediately when it happens? Could a nudge or wink or actual questioning directly stop most harassment? How do you stop bad behaviour in organizations that are rife with it? Standing up to bullying and harassment should never be the responsibility of those who are being harassed or bullied.
Finance
Leaders are cutting front line protection to save money. Protecting reputations and balancing budgets are closely linked. Huge payouts to targets or victims are costly from a financial and reputational standpoint.
Is there a desire to silence people immediately if they are deemed a risk to the organizations reputation and a financial liability?
Discussing case studies/individual’s experience
1. Strong messaging of zero (near impossibility – so low) tolerance to all forms of bullying and harassment
2. Education of, and supporting and promoting psycho-social safety
3. Improving the protection for victims who call out harassment.
4. Leadership and training for managers and leaders to recognize their responsibilities in fostering an inclusive and safe workplace for all of their employees
5. Ongoing activism and lobbying for supports for victims/targets (including financial, legal and psychological)
6. Ensure working groups that are formed to tackle culture change include diverse voices, and then listen to what those voices have to say
7. Change discriminatory hiring practices that filter out diverse candidates. Examine every step of the recruitment process to find and remove bias or discrimination.
