The Employee Handbook

A monthly newsletter about current challenges and conversations for values-driven HR professionals

Learning Defiance When Compliance Is What We Know

In Sanskrit, Sunita means “good.”

“As a child, I was known for being an obedient daughter and student,” said Sunita Sah, a physician, professor at Cornell’s SC Johnson School of Business, and now, an author. “I did what I was told. I did all my homework as expected. And these were the messages I received, not just from parents, but also from teachers and the community: Be good, obey. Don’t question authority. Don’t make a scene. Be polite.”

She came to realize that compliance was equated with good, and defiance with bad. But was that actually the case, or just a convenient simplification?

?At From Day One’s D.C.conference, Dr. Sah spoke in a fireside chat about her book Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes. She breaks down decades of research on when people comply, when they defy, and how they make that call.

“Is it sometimes bad to be so good?”

Sah took issue with the idea that compliance is good and defiance is bad. Consider some of the examples from her book. In one study, “nine out of 10 healthcare workers, most of them nurses, did not feel comfortable speaking up when they saw a colleague or a physician making a mistake.” And “in another survey of over 1,700 crew members of commercial airlines, half of them didn’t want to speak up when they saw an error being made.”

These are life and death situations. If we don’t defy then, when can we? “I just started to think, is it sometimes bad to be so good? What do we sacrifice by disregarding our values?”

To defy is simply to act in accordance with your true values when there is pressure to do otherwise. “It is a positive, pro-social force in society, because every act that we do, every act of compliance, consent, dissent, defiance, every single act builds and creates the society that we live in. It affects our lives, our communities, our workplaces,” she said.

Learning to Defy

Sah says that defiance isn’t innate–it’s learned. But first, we have to rethink how we see ourselves. “If you think of defiance as being loud, bold, aggressive, violent, heroic, or superhuman, and therefore not for me–both of those things are wrong. Defiance can be quiet, value-based, and it can be unique to what’s comfortable for you.”

To be clear, “some people get to defy with far less consequences than others,” she said. The further you are from a dominant status or identity, the greater the consequences for defiance. When that’s the case, many people must make the calculation of whether it’s safe to defy.?

“We can be compliant one day and we can be defiant the next day,” Sah said. She suggests practicing or scripting these moments, preparing ourselves for something we might not be used to. “It’s not about not having the personality or being larger than life. It’s a skill set that we can all learn. So even if compliance is your default, it’s not your destiny.” Read the full story here.?

Building a World of Accessible, Affordable Healthcare For All Women

In the spirit of standing up for what matters, the Women's Health Coalition for Digital Solutions is breaking barriers to make women’s healthcare more accessible.?

Composed of partner organizations such as Ovia (pregnancy), Conceive (fertility), 30 Madison (reproduction), Evernow (menopause), Talkspace (mental health), FitOn (exercise), and Nutrium (nutrition), the coalition was formed to leverage technology and innovation to improve the accessibility and affordability of women’s healthcare by working with employers to enhance corporate benefits and workplace support.

During a From Day One webinar, experts from the coalition shared resources and solutions to ensure every woman has access to high-quality care tailored to her specific needs. “All of these companies came together with a goal of creating access and creating affordability to close the gaps in women’s healthcare,” said Natalie Cummins, chief business officer at online therapy tool, Talkspace. Read the full story here or watch the recording here.?

Join us!

If you’re interested in further supporting workers’ health, don’t miss our virtual conference on April 23 about “Better Benefits: Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Workers and Their Families.” Leaders from Genentech, BuzzFeed, Stanford University, and more, are coming together to discuss all things benefits. Here’s your complimentary VIP pass.

We’re also hosting a series of 60-minute webinars, held regularly from 2-3 pm ET. Join our expert-led sessions as we dive into topics like: making healthcare work, workplace giving, breaking barriers to growth, and many more. Or join us in the real world! We’re coming to Seattle, Boston, Dallas, NYC, Minneapolis, Chicago, and more to connect local leaders on the most timely workplace topics.