Companies Turn Courage into a Riskier Proposition

According to a Wall Street Journal report, “business leaders [are] cracking down on political dissent.” This changes how employees assess risk.

In his book On Moral Courage, Rushworth Kidder defines three elements: “a commitment to moral principles, an awareness of the danger involved in supporting those principles, and a willing endurance of that danger.” He also provides a framework for assessing risk: to assess ambiguity, exposure, and loss.

The workplace is becoming a less tolerant place for disruptions, so employees’ calculations must change. The article mentions political protests as well as policy complaints, for example, JPMorgan Chase’s return-to-work requirement. Here’s the explanation:

The new, hard-line playbook that companies are adopting to confront employee activism reflects two developments: One is a political climate in which companies risk the ire of the White House—and some consumers—if they appear to cater to “woke” forces, including their own staff. The other is an ever-tougher job market in which white-collar workers—especially in tech—have lost considerable leverage.

This is a significant shift. Four years ago, when Basecamp tried to limit employee dissent, it faced resignations and backlash. Now, company leaders are more often saying, “This is a business,” and “You’re an employee, not a volunteer.”

Obviously, this trend follows our political environment, but it also continues a pullback from CEO activism before the recent election. We have seen few company statements over the past few years compared to the expected statements when George Floyd was murdered. So maybe it follows that activism within the employee ranks is less tolerated.

All this to say that employees have additional risks to consider before they dispute company policies and practices they deem unfair or harmful. Kidder’s ambiguity may be less of an issue, with clear policies and some job descriptions restricting disruption, but risk of exposure and lose have increased. Protestors may suffer more ostracism, embarrassment, and job loss. As the Journal writers note, in a tight job market, these risks are even higher.

Image designed by Freepik.