By Beth Mirza, senior editor for HR News
There are some things you wish you’d never read.
When the Penn State University tragedy came to light, I, like thousands of other people, read some horrible details about what the victims suffered. Things that you can’t forget, that pop into your mind when you’re falling asleep at night or driving to work in the morning.
But my discomfort at having read about the abuse doesn’t come anywhere close to the devastation the victims and their families feel. We shouldn’t forget these things; it’s best that we know them. Now the thousands of people who read the horrifying news articles and grand jury testimony have even greater impetus to prevent and stop child sexual abuse.
By shining the spotlight on what happened, and increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse, more children can be spared. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidance to organizations that serve young people to help prevent and identify possible abuse cases. Read here to see what your organization can do.
What Would We Do?
The tragedy makes business leaders ask themselves: How would my organization handle such a situation? What if an employee witnessed another employee breaking the law or doing something unethical—something that might make the organization look bad in the public eye but that should be reported to authorities? What if it wasn’t such a clear-cut decision as reporting child sexual abuse? Do my employees know where to report wrongdoing? Would they report it, if they knew?
Business leaders can increase the likelihood of their employees doing the right thing by modeling the behaviors they want their employees to exhibit. According to Dr. Jack Spark, a psychologist who has worked with professional athletes and Fortune 500 companies, there are certain attributes that, when practiced by company leaders, nearly always lead to better decision-making—by the leaders and the employees they lead:
- Caring
- Honesty
- Attitude
- Resilience
- Analytical thinking
- Communication
- Teaching
- Energy
- Rules to live by
These attributes “correlate to business success and failure,” Spark said. When leaders fail, it’s “because they don’t have moral strength.”
Think about your company. Does it have character?
For more information, read “Lessons from Penn State” in the Business Leadership section of the SHRM web site. Then let us know here what conversations the Penn State story has sparked in your organization.
6 comments
These horrific acts from Penn State mirror the unethical and illegal conduct of Wall Street. Values need to be asserted, boundaries or regulations must be established, reporting and follow-up must take place. Without these structures, the most vulnerable will be taken advantage of. And the cost to society, trust and profits will be great.
Thanks Miriam. The fallout from this tragedy is going to be widespread. Thanks for reading and commenting.
When we hear of these types of tragedies we often hear other people comment on how could others have turned such a blind eye? I try to put myself in the witnesses shoes and honestly ask myself what would I do in similar circumstances. I think the answer really determines if you can really look yourself in the mirror knowing you chose not to do the right thing.
As mentioned; organizations having clear and communicated reporting processess helps. However, I think we all possess a sense of when something isn’t quite right such as might have been the case at Penn State.
Culture is critical. As we all know, values come from the top and there should always be a culture of openness. But in all of this, we also need to create mechanisms which allow employees to seek assistance when they are in need. Emloyee Assistance Programs are such mechanisms. These programs can help folks with problems either before they act out if there is an openness to getting help from leadership. They can also help the victims and their families. Finally, they can help those who are left in the aftermath such as the employees who continue to work in the workplaces like Penn State.
I hear and agree with everything being said.Let’s not forget, though, how organizations can eat their young, metaphorically speaking. Like all powerful institutions, there continued existence is paramount, maybe the most important characteristic to them. Individuals who observe wrongdoing and report it are putting themselves and their jobs at risk. Many times a whistleblower pays and pays for doing the right thing–including never working in his or her field again. Maybe having difficulty finding a job at all.
None of this is to say it’s OK to let something as egregious as thie go unreported. In many cases, maybe all cases, of reported child abuse, there is a mechanism to keep the reporter’s name confidential. The trouble is, the institution is powerful enough to ruin the individual’s life. And will. That’s the saddest part.
Marcy,
Your comments are well taken in regards to the power an institution (even sometimes individuals) possess. How often difficult it must be to do the right thing when no one is watching. When a story breaks like this one – we quickly judge the people who could have done something or more to prevent the situation. However, we forget that most likely these are people just like ourselves.
Again, I stress that individuals have to decide if they can live with not doing what they know is right. I don’t deny that it can be a tough decision even if it means potential risk of losing their livelihoods.
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