A number of years ago, I attended a business dinner where I was seated next to a man who was a senior executive within the organization. I was brand new to my job, so I was feeling somewhat nervous about sitting right beside him and wondering what we might have in common to discuss.
As the conversation began, he asked me about where I had worked before. I shared with him that I had been a caseworker, assisting individuals who were on social assistance and were in the process of looking for work. His immediate response was to make a derogatory comment about anyone who might be in need of financial assistance.
His words came across as both cruel and disrespectful and for a moment, I was taken aback about how to respond. Thankfully, the words came to me quickly and I responded by saying that what he described was not my experience at all. I had a number of families on my caseload who were in difficult circumstances and were very appreciative of the support they had received.
When I looked across at the other side of the table, another employee had overheard our conversation and nodded to me in agreement with what I had said. It made me wonder if he had heard this type of comment before, if this was a common occurrence.
That experience stayed with me for a number of years because it was the first time that I had witnessed someone in a senior leadership position make such a disrespectful comment. I was a recent graduate at the time and although I was very aware of his position in the organization, at that moment I felt a sense of loyalty to the clients that I had served.
It was more important to me to publicly acknowledge the difficulty of their circumstances and to remain loyal to them. For me to remain silent and say nothing on their behalf would have felt like a betrayal to those who I had assisted as well as a betrayal to myself and everything that I believed in.
What was even more interesting to me was this man's response. He just shrugged it off and continued on with the conversation as if nothing had happened. He seemed oblivious to the fact that his comments may have also offended other guests at the table.
I knew that I would not be interacting with him on a regular basis, however, his comments left me feeling disappointed that someone in a leadership position would make that type of remark. I had always taken great pride in the work that I was doing and it was important to me to be part of a respectful work environment.
It also left me feeling concerned and wondering if there were other people in the organization who felt the same way as he did.
Over the course of my career in the field of employment counselling, I came to learn just how many other people have felt silenced in their workplace environment. Not wanting to speak up, for fear of the consequences. Not necessarily fear for their physical safety, but definitely concern for their emotional wellbeing.
We have it within us to put an end to a culture of silence. To create workplaces where every single employee can feel welcomed and acknowledged and treated with dignity and respect.
Let that continue to be our focus in the days to come.
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