You have recently joined a large bank, working as a communications advisor in the corporate affairs team.
The organisation is going through a transformation and there have been a number of redundancies which seem to be targeted at those who have been there for 10 to 15 years. The manager of your team has been there for 10 years and seems to set the tone for the culture of the team.
Although you’ve only been there a short amount of time, you’ve already noticed the culture of the team is not aligned with the bank’s culture or values, particularly around language. From a communications perspective, the language used in employee communications is professional but within the team your manager uses words such as:
- “Girls” when referring to women;
- Encouraging those who are less outspoken in meetings to “have the balls” to speak up and contribute;
- And to those who offer alternate ways of doing things in a discussion to “toe the line”.
It makes you feel uncomfortable but seems to be accepted within the team and when you raise it with a colleague who has also been there for a number of years, they don’t seem bothered.
What would you do?
We challenge you to create a healthy discussion with your colleagues and post a comment below. You could even encourage them to consider taking The Banking and Financial Services Oath!
Please share your ethical dilemmas with us - we can post them anonymously. You can email your dilemmas to dilemma@bfso.org
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash