The Quieting of Career Trauma

I am frequently asked how I got into the field of Diversity and Inclusion.

The answer is I didn't. I was there already. It was just called something else, simply not quite as glamorous and cerebral sounding. The field of D,E & I mushroomed around me and others in that space.

My role was around overcoming discrimination and exclusion. The language was punchy and precise: anti-discrimination, combating workplace bullying, sexual and other harassment, plus securing equal opportunity for women. Today we talk about diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and psychological safety. Everything has become "quiet" or "great," which for me has a slightly warmer, fuzzier, more benign air about it.

With the re-framing of that language, came the explosion of the D & I profession.

But what else changed? What we still have is silent suffering of victims and targets and quiet cover-ups of bad corporate behaviour and practices.

We have to ask ourselves if an unintended consequence of massaging the messaging has somehow contributed to diminishing and distracting from what is a stark reality for many.

Career trauma and abuse.

Definition of Career Trauma

Workplace or career trauma can be defined as the physical or psychological harm caused to employees when they are at work. Toxic environments, poorly managed workplaces and bad bosses can cause real and long term and damaging distress. This can be via hurtful and negative behaviours such as bullying, exclusion, betrayal, or intimidation. Layer on the damaging impact of mergers, restructuring, downsizing, and reorganisations on employees.

These factors make it hard for employees to maintain a sense of mental and even physical equilibrium. A poll found that 53% of Americans had experienced what they considered to be a traumatic event in the workplace. 28% of people cite being laid off as traumatic.

It’s like an inelastic collision that permanently impairs one’s trust in humanity.

Caroline Mrozla-Toscano, PhD

No time stamp

I have talked recently to a number of people who have been overcome with emotion as they recount either their current or historic workplace experiences. The reactions ranged from a slight catch in their voices, their eyes welling up, to distraught sobbing. For some this happened decades ago, because there is no time stamp on trauma. For others it was last week. But for all, their experiences have left indelible memories and deep psychological scars which are having a profound impact.

A colleague recounted a situation in her career history where her boss yelled and swore at her. She suggested that this was part of a "quiet firing" pattern.

NOOO!! this was verbal ABUSE & BULLYING (shouty capital letters intentional.) There is nothing quiet about shouting and there shouldn't be anything quiet about bullying. But there is.

Research shows that in the U.S

• 30% of Americans have suffered abusive conduct at work
• 19% have witnessed it
• 49% are affected by it

The mental health problems associated with it endure for years, but are those career traumas accurately captured by the terms "quiet firing and quitting? Microaggressions? Does the softening of the language contribute to minimising the problem to make dominant groups more comfortable.

Quiet ignoring

It was only six or seven years ago (so pre #MeToo ) when I asked a number of prominent event managers in the HR and Gender Balance space if I could run workshops on bullying and sexual harassment. I was turned down based on a predicted lack of potential interest. That is, the topic wouldn't put bums on seats, because it simply wasn't cool back then. When I was successful, the sessions were at off-peak times - like during cocktail hour.

"Hmmm.... let's think about this. Free drink or hear about nasty workplace abuse. Tough call."

The sessions were held in rooms you'd need Google Maps to find. On one occasion we had to set up the chairs ourselves.

I talked to CHROs directly who all looked faintly bemused, taking the line "if something isn't reported, it's not happening." Even though I explained in words of one syllable I was working with women in their companies who were struggling with workplace bullying. They not only knew who their "brilliant jerks" were, but even the stupid ones but were choosing to ignore their behaviour. Early research suggests that it can take as many as six abusive incidents before the perpetrator is held accountable.

Then the scale of #MeToo and then later #BLM finally gave these issues their rightful place in the global spotlight, simply because for the first time there were too many voice to ignore.

The quiet cover-up

But we are still only scratching the surface.Toxic practices are deeply embedded in our cultures with a long history of HR and Legal being complicit in protecting the perpetrators with metaphoric firewalls leading to large-scale "quiet" business cover-ups. Although not workplace incidents, think Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of sex trafficking minors - but to whom? They were seemingly trafficked into a void because we still have no punters, apart from Randy Andy, as he used to be called.

Then the Miramax, Harvey Weinstein scandal (convicted serial, sex offender in case you had forgotten) is another case in point.

Zelda Perkins, Weinstein's former U.K. Personal Assistant has set up an organisation Can't Buy My Silence to overturn the right to use N.D.As (Non Disclosure Agreements) which victims of workplace bullying and harassment are regularly coerced into signing. She aims to bring about legal and regulatory change that will make NDAs unenforceable for anything other than their original purpose: to prevent the sharing of confidential business information.?

Frequently victims are banned from getting help, whether medical or psychological and especially going to the police. They were legally bound to remain completely and permanently silent while the perpetrator is unscathed, and in Weinstein's case went on to re-offend. And re-offend. ?In Perkin's own case she wasn't even allowed a copy of the agreement she had signed.

Quiet settling

Not all career trauma is the result of extreme abuse or violence. It can be about any pattern of behaviour which diminishes and demeans an individual. Trauma may come from a single extreme event, such as workplace violence, or a series of lower level stressors which cumulatively lead to damaging psychological and physical responses.

This can be caused by demeaning work conditions, direct discrimination, unclear job expectations, unrealistic deadlines and workloads, abuse (verbal and psychological) plus job insecurity and general uncertainty. Although not always catastrophic, the build up of a pattern of these behaviours are still widespread and can be cumulative and very damaging long-term. Frequently targets quietly compromise and settle for what they think is their professional lot and maybe "quiet quit." Or actually quit.

The question is do the words lack of psychological safety and belonging really cover what people are going through? Have we diluted these experiences with corporate-speak especially the latest language of quiet everything? And of course no one talks about quiet power.

Let me know what you think.

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