Working Wounded: Hastert and the Blind Eye
Oct. 11, 2006 — -- If you've missed the story about ex-Rep. Mark Foley that has hijacked the print and electronic media during the last week and a half, congratulations. For the rest of us news junkies who've been drowning in it, it's been an eye-opening story -- and it's not just about politics.
This blog is not just about a disgraced congressman, lewd messages to underage boys or predicting how the scandal will play in Peoria. This blog will focus on what should be the key bit of learning from this entire tawdry affair. The principals involved -- Foley and Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., the speaker of the House -- offer some key lessons about abuse of power and the unwillingness of leaders to deal with that abuse.
From the start, Hastert apparently failed to take this situation seriously. Whether you believe Republican leaders who said he knew in 2003, 2005 or whenever -- it doesn't' really matter. At best, Hastert's actions appear to suggest that he thought a few randy e-mails from a congressman were no big deal. At worst, his actions appear be designed to dismiss or ignore the public and private concerns about Foley.
But the problem is much larger than Dennis Hastert, and there are bigger lessons to be learned -- in politics and in business. Unfortunately, the type of neglect that Hastert showed is all too common in today's workplace. According to my e-mail, it appears to be more the rule than the exception. And every year there are thousands of lawsuits that center around bullying, unethical behavior and harassment at work that is not addressed by management.
The "wink, wink, nod, nod" approach that too many companies use to address abuse at work is one of the most corrosive elements in business today. And there are many reasons why it is dangerous. Of course, by the time these cases reach a courtroom, there is almost always a huge price tag attached. It's a cost that can be minimized when these problems are tackled early.
But an even bigger negative is the tendency for cruelty to drive out the most precious resource in business -- great workers. People who feel insecure about their abilities will put up with a certain level of garbage at work. But the most valuable and confident people -- the ones who really make a business work -- see this kind of stuff and say, "Sayonara." Given the 4.6 percent unemployment rate, today corporations can't handle losing talented workers.
When businesses ignore abuse, the biggest loss is management's loss of credibility in the eyes of the average worker. Don't believe me? We recently posted a poll at ABCNEWS.com and asked readers: What is most important to you at work? The winning response, accounting for 41 percent of the total responses: Fair treatment. Shouldn't fair treatment be a given at work?
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