Bullying IS more than hard stares and raised voices
THERE’S no denying a hard stare can leave someone on the receiving end of it feeling rather intimidated. In the world of fiction, the very lovable Paddington Bear is the foremost exponent of the tactic. In the world of politics, that title goes to the somewhat less cuddly Dominic Raab.
Then again, being deputy PM and justice secretary involves rather greater responsibilities than does wandering round in search of marmalade sandwiches.
Mr Raab is subject to a Whitehall inquiry after allegations of bullying were made against him by civil servants.
Staring is alleged to have been one of the “micro-aggressions” he deployed against staff who displeased him.
So, sometimes, was branding work handed into him as “not good enough” and berating senior officials who gave advice he regarded as flawed, lazy or ill thought-out. Some say that on occasion he raised his voice. He says he never shouted.
It may turn out that there is more to the complaints against Mr Raab than the rather trivial grievances that have so far come to light. But on the face of it he is quite right to assert that demanding the best from people working in an elite and wellpaid profession – and taking issue with them when those standards were not reached – does not constitute bullying.
“I think standards of professionalism, whether they’re in the business sector, the voluntary sector or the public sector should involve setting high standards and zero bullying, and those two things are perfectly reconcilable,” he said.
FOLLOWING the sacking from the Cabinet of Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs and before that the resignation of Gavin Williamson over sweary text messages sent to a fellow MP, there must be a suspicion that some Whitehall mandarins have judged this the perfect time to take revenge on a minister who has clearly never been in the business of buttering them up.
One does not have to be a Neanderthal to find the allegations made so far unconvincing. Anyone who worked at a high level in almost any industry prior to the turn of the century – and that certainly includes the newspaper industry – will surely chuckle at the idea that a superior shooting them a filthy look or telling them off for shoddy work might justify them lodging a formal complaint.
Repeatedly picking on one particular individual has never been acceptable and has always rightly been seen as bullying. But given that up to two dozen civil servants are thought to have filed complaints about Mr Raab, he seems at least to have been a consistently tough taskmaster or an equal opportunities aggressor, depending upon your point of view.
By the standards of other elite pursuits – think, for instance, of professional football and the famous “hairdryer” treatment meted out by Sir Alex Ferguson to players he judged not to be pulling their weight – it all seems rather laughable.
In Whitehall the management style of Sir Alex would no doubt have led to his early removal. But 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups later most Manchester United fans will be glad that didn’t happen in their game.
And so will most of the nowretired footballers he managed who when challenged to “show us your medals” can point to a glittering array.
The truth is that sometimes a rollicking can help to improve performance.
To stick with footballing vernacular, there are times when a player needs an arm around him and times when he needs a metaphorical kick-up the backside.
ONCE UPON a time it was commonplace for people in many workplaces to swear when exchanging views with colleagues about the business of the day. This even came to be known as “industrial language”.
These days we live in more enlightened times, in office environments at least – though some of those working in less cosseted conditions could no doubt still tell stories about bad treatment from line managers.
In Whitehall, the pendulum seems to have swung too far towards the preferences of the staff and away from the prime job: delivering the agenda of a duly elected government.
Hence working from home appears to have become the norm since the pandemic, even in departments where ministers have expressly asked top civil servants to get staff back to their desks. Hence also the growing amount of resources devoted to trivialities like compiling lists of the preferred pronouns of staff members.
Mr Raab, very much a “he/ him” of the old school, is clearly not an ideal fit for such a workplace culture.
But must he change – or should the culture change back to something more traditional? On the basis of what has so far emerged, the case for the latter is surely much stronger.
‘Sometimes a rollicking can help to improve performance’