Workplace Harassment: Lessons from CBC on What Not To Do
Posted on 4/26/2015
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It’s out! The investigation findings regarding Jian Ghomeshi’s case has been released.

Not only did CBC management
fail to enforce its own Behavioural Standards, they also ignored staff
complaints against Mr. Ghomeshi by not acting or investigating when they should
have.
As detailed in the findings,
“CBC failed to live up to its obligations to provide its employees a workplace that is free from disrespectful and abusive behavior”
As detailed in the findings,
“CBC failed to live up to its obligations to provide its employees a workplace that is free from disrespectful and abusive behavior”
With the news, the public broadcaster has further cemented it’s
notoriety in becoming the “poster child” of what not to do when handling workplace harassment issues.
As I read
through the report, 2 questions stuck in my head, and that is.…
- How does a large sophisticated organization like CBC commit such workplace blunders?
- How did Mr. Ghomeshi’s troubling behaviour go unchecked for so many years?
I believe corporate politics and workplace culture has a lot to do with it.
This is common in many workplaces as well as
in life - money, power and greed can lead to intentional blindness. Senior
executives at CBC chose to turn a blind eye because frankly, Mr. Ghomeshi was a money-maker.
This is the downside of corporate politics whereby personal interests prevail with a disregard for the greater good. Without the
right values instilled and modeled from the top, the wrong ones will permeate
throughout an organization at the expense of personal integrity and the well-being of employees who work there.
In essence,
CBC allowed a tumor to grow with ferocious power in the workplace. A culture of fear, silence, disrespect and mistrust
was then created.
Let’s
imagine for a second, if an internal investigation was conducted by CBC at the
outset, knowing what you know of the politics and culture inside, do you feel
it would have been done properly and objectively?
This is a key challenge with internal workplace investigations that I see based on my
years in corporate HR. I will examine this area in greater detail in
a future post. Before then, just some tips from my point of view...
HR Tips:
For CBC to regain any credibility in fulfilling it's duty to protect workers and ensure a safe and harassment-free work enviornment, the tone needs to be set from the top and executives need to start "walking the talk".
Policies and procedures set must also be consistently followed, otherwise, they become meaningless and will not help to lessen an employers' exposure to liabilities...something CBC is learning the hard way.
Please check back in May for a continuation of this blog series.
HR Tips:
For CBC to regain any credibility in fulfilling it's duty to protect workers and ensure a safe and harassment-free work enviornment, the tone needs to be set from the top and executives need to start "walking the talk".
Policies and procedures set must also be consistently followed, otherwise, they become meaningless and will not help to lessen an employers' exposure to liabilities...something CBC is learning the hard way.
Please check back in May for a continuation of this blog series.
* Please note the content shared in this blog post is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
What do you think? Share with us your thoughts on this topic!
What do you think? Share with us your thoughts on this topic!
At Strategywise HR, we understand the HR challenges you face and the workplace laws that affect you. If workplace issues are keeping you up at night, or you need an experienced and objective workplace investigator, please contact us at 905-879-9994 for a free consultation.
Our top priority is to help you make informed people decisions that reduce risk and avoid costly mistakes.
Our top priority is to help you make informed people decisions that reduce risk and avoid costly mistakes.

About the author
Belle Yuan is the founder of Strategywise HR. She is professionally designated as a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) with a wealth of corporate experience in human resources and labour/employee relations. Her passion lies in working with conscientious employers in developing proactive strategies that will engage, problem solve, and reduce HR risks and costs in managing staff.
She genuinely loves to help and regularly shares her expertise through blogs, and social media and has been featured in the Canadian HR Reporter. To learn more about her, follow her on social media.
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