buried, and silence becomes part of the job. “
In companies with strong, healthy cultures, people feel safe raising concerns. In toxic ones, issues get
The Shadow of Culture Workplace culture doesn’t just set the mood. It sets the rules for what’s allowed, ignored, or quietly tolerated. In companies with strong, healthy cultures, people feel safe raising concerns. In toxic ones, issues get buried, and silence becomes part of the job.
Early in my career, I learned this the hard way. I was working in accounting. One day, our foreign CEO passed me in the hallway and leaned in: “Give me a kiss,” he whispered. I froze. A few seconds passed. Then he burst out laughing: “I’m joking.” At the time, I believed him. At least I convinced myself I did. Looking back now, I’m still not sure. Years later, as a manager, I was on the other side of a tough situation. A woman on my team accused her male supervisor of harassment and asked me to fire him. She was known to be flirtatious, and I couldn’t tell whether this was real or retaliation. That’s the trouble with these cases, silence can hide the truth but so can misused accusations. There’s no easy playbook.
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ISSUE 16 GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE
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