There was a time when it was a taboo to talk about AIDS. But how long could the silence last?  AIDS is unpleasant, but it is true. The problem has to be addressed, controlled and cured.  Similarly, it has largely been a taboo to even mention issues like workplace bullying, office politics, sexual harassment, favoritism, nepotism, sexism, etc.

Workplace bullying!

If you utter any of those words, then you are unprofessional, you are not a team player, you are a loser, you are a whiner, you don’t have corporate ability, and worst of all you are the offender.  How dare you use those terminology and offend the people that you are accusing.  Get lost, brush up your skills. Or better still, just get lost!

Some managements may not be aware of their existence. Some may be in denial. Some may feign ignorance as these issues are generally perceived as something that does not impact them or their interests. Even if they acknowledge, they may not take action to contain them via effective policies, checks and balances in the system. Understandable to some extent, because honesty cannot be mandated with a policy. It is something a person either has or doesn’t have.

Silence has been the best available option to those at the receiving end of it. But that is slowly changing.

By giving people the power to share, we’re making the world more transparent. – Mark Zuckerberg

Sure, the world is becoming more transparent. We can read around, people have openly started talking about workplace bullying. They are sharing their good as well as bad experiences on social media.

We can read that they are not posting out of vengeance.  They are not necessarily naming anyone when posting about bad experiences. They are exposing themselves, but still trying to protect the identity of their offenders. They are not even venting online. They are only trying to educate us, educate the perpetrators, educate the silent spectators. They are doing great service in contributing to the change that is underway.

Some managements are working on addressing workplace bullying and such problems. Some have found some solutions that they must share. The next generation will be happier than us. As a result of this social media revolution, we can anticipate positive changes in organization cultures in the years ahead, as managements become more aware about what they have been blissfully unaware of, and people start realizing that dirty dark secrets are only dirty and dark, but not secrets anymore.

Down the line you may read about yourself in a blog post written by your colleagues and subordinates. They may not  reveal your identity, because they continue to respect you. You will still be safe. But if you have a conscience!

You are creating blog topics everyday. It is up to you what topics you want to give your colleagues to blog about – happy experiences or nightmares!