Surviving Work.

This blog, on many an occassion has been a refuge from the spate of misery that regularly impedes my life. A secure space to express personal thoughts and opinions for my own cathartic satisfaction. My habitual torment is predominantly associated with my professional life, most notably the persistent moral quandaries that make work a considerable challenge. Whether its being pressured into accepting a role I didn’t want, the absent health and safety measures initiated during COVID, or just the general deceitful rhetoric of a company whose HR department is only rivaled by that of “Umbrella” for “questionable ethics”. Today’s topic however concerns an incident that occured last week, resulting in an employee being physically accosted by a supervisor and subsequent acquittal of said supervisor.

Now I should probably preface this by saying that much of what I’m about to say is delicate, highly confidential information that relies on consistent speculation, my own observations and unreliable witness testimony. But considering the historic negligence of the company, I’m interpreting much of this as reliable. Also, I was the one tasked with sending security to manage a significant situation, that led to his removal from the building. Because in any decently run company, the individual in question would have been out on his all bullying ass immediately. Gone! Quicker than Sonic on steroids. In most instances, grabbing someone by the throat and pinning them to the wall because they owe you money is usually frowned upon. Human resources would have suspended them, pending an investigation to establish all the salient facts and determine an appropriate response. Which in this case is immediate dismissal. The obvious caveat to this being that this isn’t a decently run company, nor one that cares for the those lower down in the hierarchy. Instead the measures taken seem to placate the incident, ensuring that a committed member of staff is reinstated quickly, at the expense of what the company deems an expendable subordinate. Easy to replace.

Again I have to reiterate that I have no firm evidence to support these claims other than consistently circulating rumours, including the prevalent supposition that there is video evidence corroborating the claims of GBH, as well as fist size hole in the wall. Not to mention my own experience with the accused, having been well acquainted with his volatility in a previous exchange, with him taking great umbrage to my flippant remark about golf not being a real sport. I am well aware of his temperament, as well as he influence on those around him. He has this radiating, gravitational pull that attracts other, aspiring egotists. Forming his own little entourage of impressionable young men, that willingly abide by his rule and further inflate his considerable hubris. So when one of his acolytes was called in to discuss the incident with a member of HR, its not surprising that he would back him without hesitation. Which is a bit like exonerating Hitler after hearing testimony from Hermann Göring!

I’m not surprised by this acquittal. This a company operated by a committee that will make a prejudicial decision based on the effectiveness of the accused, not his actions. Turn a blind eye to a grievous abuse of power if it suites their needs. And yet discipline those that have taken time off sick…..during a pandemic! The kind of people that would push you under a bus, then accuse you of negligence. What most disappoints me however is the complicity of those I thought could be respected. The people in a position to do the right thing, but choosing not too. People of integrity who are supposed to protect those that find themselves at the behest of some lumbering knuckle dragger that think they are untouchable, not validate their delusions. That, out of all of this is the most concerning.