Maintaining a Genuine Sense of Self - And Being True to That

[Silverbirch]

This is something which I've been thinking about again since last night. Oh it's something I have worked hard at since my last breakup, but last night, I was reminded about how this affects all areas of our lives. I heard something that is happening in a previous workplace. Over this last year and a half, I became, what I have thought is somewhat cynical. I used to be an idealist, and had this shattered from very bad things which happened at work, so I distanced myself from that workplace because despite a lot of effort and sticking my neck out, ultimately, I was betrayed by management.

 

A person felt it necessary to tell me about very bad things happening where I had worked as a team leader. This person then said it is nothing to do with them which is not actually true. They witnessed something which I believe the are legally obliged to report. I had to deal with that sort of thing constantly as a team leader. I'm thinking about reporting it, but I would need to gain evidence, and I don't believe this person will stick to their story. I don't think she is lying though.

 

What I found out though is that people who I believe have high values have compromised themselves through their close association with others who do not have ethics. They too have not been supported by management.

 

I am so glad I separated myself from that environment. I am thinking and planning on how I might eventually be able to successfully blow the whistle on something really shameful.

 

This isn't just about work for me. It's about knowing who you are and what you believe in and not depending on others to tell you what is right or wrong. You need to look inside yourself for this. I truly know what this means now.

 

I know I am now of maturity in my life that I require intervals of separation from people and situations to develop and maintain clarity in my thoughts which will hopefully transpire into my actions.

 

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this.

[stuka80]

I have consciously thought of this myself and i've long ago come to the conclusion that the vast majority of people are fickle and would readily betray any sense of themselves and their ethics and morals if they even have any to begin with whenever the going gets tough. How hard it has to get for people to go against themselves and others will vary from person to person obviously. I've been guilty of this, no one is perfect but i'd like to think that i've always stayed true to my core character and morality that i believe in.

 

Like you, i'm also at the moment having major problems with my manager. Almost everyone actually has a problem with the way he's running things, very questionable moral ethics on his part but aside from me and maybe one other person, nobody is really complaining to higher management or sticking up for themselves. And between me and the other guy, i'm really the one pushing for something to be done. I'm very frustrated at work at the moment and morale of everyone is low because of this. I'm actually willing to lose my job over this issue because i'm not going to let someone just do whatever they want to do and change the rules around as they see fit just because they're in charge.

 

I've come to pretty much realize though that it's how the whole thing works. Shady people most of the time get away with things while upright people usually gets screwed over....unfortunately. By the way, look at my sig. its very appropriate to what you're talking about

[Silverbirch]

Hi Stuka and thanks for replying. I'm actually thinking that because of the way senior management have handled issues in the past, and the fact that they recently changed processes with regard to reporting of incidents, including serious ones, that I will need to take such a complaint to a government body outside of the organisation. There will be no point in doing this unless I can have evidence and gain support from people who witness such incidents. They changed processes so that instead of staff sending copies of reports to the relevant government body, they send them to management. Because people trust management less and less, staff are voicing concerns about the possibility that management are likely in at least some cases to destroy such documentation.

 

One the one hand, you have people who basically care about nothing much but their careers, some only about collecting their paychecks, and of course, we DO all need to get paid to keep a roof over our heads. Why also should the people with ethics risk losing their jobs because they speak out against things which, in this case, are highly illegal. It is a shame for various fields to lose such people. There has to be a way to deal matters like this so that people can be protected. I will need to think out strategies. For example, what comes to mind would be preparing myself to be able to gain support from the workers union when the time comes.

 

In the organisation I work for, certain people in middle and senior management are known as "The Champagne Set". They are a clique who socialise together. I have heard a claim that they also have "frozen" certain people out of management - I know someone who was a very good manager who left the organisation partly because of her frustration with them.

 

I'm also holding onto that view that "power shifts". The people who are powerful right now, may not always be.

 

Nice quote Stuka. I hope you are successful, and I hope also that you will be able to protect yourself in the process of dealing with this unscrupulous person.

 

I thought I had become cynical, but perhaps I have simply had a better look at the reality of how things work with management. It doesn't necessarily mean I should give up, but I should think things out carefully. I was idealistic and I would say now that I was naieve, but surely it's possible to learn ways to maintain ethics and actually gain support, make the workplace a better place where people will look forward to coming and gain enthusiasm instead of feeling worn down.

 

When I was a team leader, there were co-workers who were very loyal to me, but they had even less power than I had. I did my best at that time to make things better for everybody, but feel I failed because I didn't know how to work the system.

 

"I've come to pretty much realize though that it's how the whole thing works. Shady people most of the time get away with things while upright people usually gets screwed over....unfortunately. By the way, look at my sig. its very appropriate to what you're talking about "

 

Maybe part of the reason for that is that shady people are often adept at understanding how systems and processes work, and through that, become adept at exploiting the system. I hope that makes sense to you.

 

Good luck with your work.

[Silverbirch]

Hi Stuka and thanks for replying. I'm actually thinking that because of the way senior management have handled issues in the past, and the fact that they recently changed processes with regard to reporting of incidents, including serious ones, that I will need to take such a complaint to a government body outside of the organisation. There will be no point in doing this unless I can have evidence and gain support from people who witness such incidents. They changed processes so that instead of staff sending copies of reports to the relevant government body, they send them to management. Because people trust management less and less, staff are voicing concerns about the possibility that management are likely in at least some cases to destroy such documentation.

 

One the one hand, you have people who basically care about nothing much but their careers, some only about collecting their paychecks, and of course, we DO all need to get paid to keep a roof over our heads. Why also should the people with ethics risk losing their jobs because they speak out against things which, in this case, are highly illegal. It is a shame for various fields to lose such people. There has to be a way to deal matters like this so that people can be protected. I will need to think out strategies. For example, what comes to mind would be preparing myself to be able to gain support from the workers union when the time comes.

 

In the organisation I work for, certain people in middle and senior management are known as "The Champagne Set". They are a clique who socialise together. I have heard a claim that they also have "frozen" certain people out of management - I know someone who was a very good manager who left the organisation partly because of her frustration with them.

 

I'm also holding onto that view that "power shifts". The people who are powerful right now, may not always be.

 

Nice quote Stuka. I hope you are successful, and I hope also that you will be able to protect yourself in the process of dealing with this unscrupulous person.

 

I thought I had become cynical, but perhaps I have simply had a better look at the reality of how things work with management. It doesn't necessarily mean I should give up, but I should think things out carefully. I was idealistic and I would say now that I was naieve, but surely it's possible to learn ways to maintain ethics and actually gain support, make the workplace a better place where people will look forward to coming and gain enthusiasm instead of feeling worn down.

 

When I was a team leader, there were co-workers who were very loyal to me, but they had even less power than I had. I did my best at that time to make things better for everybody, but feel I failed because I didn't know how to work the system.

 

"I've come to pretty much realize though that it's how the whole thing works. Shady people most of the time get away with things while upright people usually gets screwed over....unfortunately. By the way, look at my sig. its very appropriate to what you're talking about "

 

Maybe part of the reason for that is that shady people are often adept at understanding how systems and processes work, and through that, become adept at exploiting the system. I hope that makes sense to you.

 

Good luck with your work.