Is The Workplace Becoming Big Brother?
A friend of mine, who coincidentally introduced me to the wonderful work of LinkedIn, refuses to have an online presence (i.e. beyond the professional) despite the fact I believe she has so much personal insight to share with the world. But with a mushrooming of cases like this one in Russia as reported by the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-44467425), I'm beginning to understand why. In case you aren't up to speed, in this 24-hour media cycle where every story only enjoys 15 minutes of fame, a Russian teacher, Viktoria Popova (26), is currently trending online following images of her modeling plus-size swimwear which she posted on Instagram. She wore a one-piece swimsuit, necklace and head scarf. The images have since been deleted, but not soon enough to save her job. Her school fired her for 'bringing her school and profession into disrepute' according to Russian media.
No matter your stance on this matter, such cases raise a philosophical question about the extent to which workplace life intrudes on people's personal (and private) space. We already spend 70% of our active lives in the workplace (based on some estimates) and it is difficult to achieve a balance between a successful career and a great personal life as it is. Should the workplace now determine what we do, say or even think outside working hours?
But beyond just having an intriguing discussion of Orwellian proportions, I feel, if this trend becomes the norm, we will lose something much more fundamental to our very nature as working people. What is that 'something - that 'je ne sais quoi' that I refer to? A case in point: A friend on social media had to unfriend his workmates on FaceBook after one of them reported him to his line manager about an "inappropriate" post he had made on his wall. In an angry post forerunning the 'unfriend-pocalypse', he said: "Couldn't you have just approached me and had a discussion than run crying to mummy?". His language was a lot more colorful, but his wrath was justified. That 'something' I fear we will lose, in my view, will be the ability to seek understanding first before passing judgment. To put it another way, we will become a world where people will be found guilty before being proved innocent.
Whatever happened to just talking to someone you disagree with? When did we turn into tattle-tales and spineless snitches? When did we value our need to 'not be offended' so much that we are willing to sell out our workmates because they hold a different opinion or live a different lifestyle to ours?
As an employer running an organization, my staff have private lives - and that's just what they are ----- private! They will have thoughts, ideas or lifestyles I won't agree with as will they regarding my own lifestyle choices. In the event that they do something in their personal life that may have an implication for our operations, I would rather have an open discussion, hear their side, share my perspective and come to a considered understanding of how we address the matter. If sacking someone will be necessary it has to be reasoned and justified. What the Russian teacher did, as reported in the BBC article, did not warrant his dismissal and the public reaction by her fellow teachers in Russia, which has since pressured the school to reinstate Popova, is understandable.
Do we really want a world where diversity of ideas/lifestyles outside the workplace is moderated through the lens of office etiquette by an ever-watching boss or HR manager? Do we really want a workplace of automatons who bob their heads in agreement and lack character or personality or originality?
Who knows, I may be over-reacting. Maybe we should all keep our thoughts, opinions, and lives to ourselves and then we will have a brave new world where we will never really know what people really think or who they are as real 'flesh and blood' people. Maybe (?).
#teachersarepeopletoo #workplacepolitics #NSFW