Shortly after his death, Kevin Morrissey became the “poster child” for advocates of the Workplace Bullying Institute’s Healthy Workplace Bill. So, it’s curious to see how unusually quiet they’ve been about the announcement of Ted Genoways’ resignation from VQR. In less than a week the news of Ted’s resignation generated roughly 20 google pages of articles.
Nearly two years after the managing editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review killed himself following complaints he made about his boss, Ted Genoways, Mr. Genoways has announced that he is stepping down as editor of the award-winning literary journal. – [Chronicle of Higher Education, April 4, 2012 Robin Wilson]
This weekend I finally finished editing the long version of my documentary about the aftermath of Kevin’s suicide. It’s a revealing portrait of today’s workplace bullying movement, the lack of depth in media coverage about the topic, and a cautionary tale about the complexity of our office relationships.
The final film (hat tip consulting editor Pam Arnold) is exactly what I promised everyone who agreed to take part – a chance to tell the story from their individual perspectives. And, for the first time the POV of the alleged bully is included. The result underscores the urgent need to embrace new approaches to this topic. The long awaited web version has taken an exciting turn and will soon enter the web design and coding phase that will make it a truly interactive experience. Now it’s time to turn to the interactive version.
I was up early this morning using the web to research a topic when I happened to find this Korean article advising Korean workers how to understand the style of their Americans and Europeans co-workers. I met a Korean workplace bullying expert/researcher while I was filming at the 2008 International Conference on Workplace Bullying & Harassment. She said that they were having difficulty developing a way to gauge harassment because the cultural differences were so great. This article gives some insight into what she meant… Continue reading
How far should advocates go in fudging the truth to get attention for their cause?
RETRACTING “MR. DAISEY AND THE APPLE FACTORY”
03.16.2012
[From “This American Life] Ira writes:
I have difficult news. We’ve learned that Mike Daisey’s story about Apple in China – which we broadcast in January – contained significant fabrications. We’re retracting the story because we can’t vouch for its truth. This is not a story we commissioned. It was an excerpt of Mike Daisey’s acclaimed one-man show “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” in which he talks about visiting a factory in China that makes iPhones and other Apple products. Continue reading
This infographic is courtesy of Tony Shin:
(Personal comments from an online petition created by a coalition fighting workplace bullying that asks the Obama Administration to enact uniform national legislation or regulation in response to the devastating impact of workplace bullying. Each signature generates an email sent directly to President Obama and Secretary of State, Hilda Solis.)
Tragically this is only a small sampling of the stories woven among thousands and thousands of signatures. (Some comments are excerpted)
#6936 ah yes. i remember that boss i had who screamed at me that i couldn’t quit (quite intimidating about it; i was afraid she was going to hit me), and who threw the telephone across the room and kicked animals. fun stuff. good times. y’know
OUR BULLY PULPIT 