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Power Deviant Behaviors
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Robert Wechsler
With the "big news" this week being the sexting of Rep. Anthony Weiner, it
seems appropriate to write about a piece I came across on the
i-sight.com website entitled "Do
All
Workplace
Fraud Investigations Lead to Porn?" The piece
discusses the ideas of Ryan Hubbs, a
forensic accountant.
Hubbs’ research indicates a correlation between what he calls the power deviant behaviors — bullying, harassment, intimidation, and retaliation — and corruption and fraud.
The piece quotes Hubbs as saying, “Over the past several years of conducting investigations, it almost seemed that regardless of the allegation or complaint, we’d find pornography or other workplace deviant behaviors. It happened so much that I jokingly coined the phrase that all investigations lead to porn, because it truly felt this way. ... In a conflict of interest case we would identify an intra-office affair or abuse of the email system mostly involving porn.”
This does not, of course, mean that if you were to look at all officials' computers, wherever you found porn you would be likely to find corrupt behavior. But the use of a work computer for viewing or sharing porn does manifest a government official's problem with the difference between the personal and the public, a boundary issue (in psychspeak) at the heart of dealing irresponsibly with conflicts of interest. Having an office affair with a subordinate says much the same thing.
With respect to the meaning of power deviant behaviors, the emphasis should be on the "power," not the "deviant." Many people who are careful about separating the personal and the public engage in behavior many would consider deviant. It is the blurring of the personal and the public, and especially the abuse of power for personal reasons, that turns deviant behavior into unethical behavior. Although sexting may be sexier, bullying, intimidating, and retaliating are stronger indications that an official is abusing his or her power in ways that are seriously harmful both to subordinates in the workplace and to the public interest.
Is it an accident that Rep. Weiner has a reputation for being very hard on his subordinates? This should be considered a more serious problem than his sexting. But holding an important government office seems to give individuals the right to abuse the people around them. Most people appear to believe that such an individual is driven rather than abusive, and that his work is so important, it trumps the feelings of subordinates.
The question is, does the abuse of subordinates reflect an equal propensity to abuse the public? If you put yourself first in one way, will you not put yourself first in other important ways, as well?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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Hubbs’ research indicates a correlation between what he calls the power deviant behaviors — bullying, harassment, intimidation, and retaliation — and corruption and fraud.
The piece quotes Hubbs as saying, “Over the past several years of conducting investigations, it almost seemed that regardless of the allegation or complaint, we’d find pornography or other workplace deviant behaviors. It happened so much that I jokingly coined the phrase that all investigations lead to porn, because it truly felt this way. ... In a conflict of interest case we would identify an intra-office affair or abuse of the email system mostly involving porn.”
This does not, of course, mean that if you were to look at all officials' computers, wherever you found porn you would be likely to find corrupt behavior. But the use of a work computer for viewing or sharing porn does manifest a government official's problem with the difference between the personal and the public, a boundary issue (in psychspeak) at the heart of dealing irresponsibly with conflicts of interest. Having an office affair with a subordinate says much the same thing.
With respect to the meaning of power deviant behaviors, the emphasis should be on the "power," not the "deviant." Many people who are careful about separating the personal and the public engage in behavior many would consider deviant. It is the blurring of the personal and the public, and especially the abuse of power for personal reasons, that turns deviant behavior into unethical behavior. Although sexting may be sexier, bullying, intimidating, and retaliating are stronger indications that an official is abusing his or her power in ways that are seriously harmful both to subordinates in the workplace and to the public interest.
Is it an accident that Rep. Weiner has a reputation for being very hard on his subordinates? This should be considered a more serious problem than his sexting. But holding an important government office seems to give individuals the right to abuse the people around them. Most people appear to believe that such an individual is driven rather than abusive, and that his work is so important, it trumps the feelings of subordinates.
The question is, does the abuse of subordinates reflect an equal propensity to abuse the public? If you put yourself first in one way, will you not put yourself first in other important ways, as well?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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- Robert Wechsler's blog
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