ONE MAN'S ARREST IS ANOTHER (WO)MAN'S BROWNIE SUNDAE
I have to admit, I enjoyed it. I knew it was “hate liking”, and I did it anyway. I watched on Twitter and Facebook, just in case I missed anything.
It was schadenfreude and it was delicious.
Schadenfreude: noun [ shahd-n-froi-duh] satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune
Like many Americans, I was appalled and upset by the treason committed on January 6th, 2021.
Yes, I said treason.
Treason: noun [ tree-zuhn] the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
I was shocked, disappointed, and more than a little sad. As I sat with the many feelings that day, the sadness grew, because I had to acknowledge that “surprise” didn’t even make the list.
Of course, anger set in quickly. There we were.
America.
Misogyny, bigotry, white privilege, hatred, apathy, delusion, the power of the patriarchy… all laid bare for the world to see.
This is who we are.
(Enter Sadness with digging tools.)
Soon videos started to pop up as rioters were learning they are on the no-fly list. <grin>
Twitter jumped all over the trend, giving me different camera angles of events, multiple observers recording the drama at the same time. As privileged (white) people cried and whined and were stunned that they would, in any way, be held accountable for their treason.
For me, this Schadenfreude was like eating a warm, dark chocolate brownie, fresh from the oven. <sigh>
A few more days and I enjoyed reading about the arrests and the 200+ cases the FBI and DOJ opened connected to the capital riot. (Yes, this number is sadly small, but a warm brownie is a warm brownie and I needed a fix.)
The next day, I was treated to a warm, dark chocolate brownie with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream; as stories of arrests grew, mug shots were shared and people started losing their jobs!
Businesses released statements, distancing themselves from individuals and our national embarrassment.
Business, big and small was weighing in.
I immediately thought of my client's. (What can I say, I’m an entrepreneur, everything comes back to the business.) How many of them have handbooks? Do they know why the code of conduct is so important? Did I explain that section enough? Do they know it’s a vital tool to protect the business?
Employee handbooks have long been a regular rant for me.
If you own a business and don’t have one…. GET ONE!
If you have one, make sure it includes a section on “code of conduct” and that section includes, “your conduct off the job.”
On the surface, we would like to think our personal lives should not impact our professional lives, but that isn’t true. And when you think about it, you don’t want it to be true either.
For example; if you have kids in daycare, you would want the daycare center to fire anyone for say…. being caught (by officials) having kiddy porn on their computer.
Someone with a drug conviction should not be working at a pharmacy…. It’s just not a good idea.
Of course, federal and state law prohibits businesses from making hiring, firing, and promotional decisions based on some aspects of our personal life. These “protected classes” are fundamental things we cannot change. (Sex, race, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, etc.)
What we are talking about in our “code of conduct” are choices and actions. And trying to overthrow democracy certainly qualifies as a choice. As a business owner, you need to think about the perception of your business, and your brand.
What will your customer think? What will the community think? What will your team think?
Your employee handbook isn’t just a signed document that gathers dust after onboarding a new team member. It is an active tool of accountability and clarity for both you and your employees. USE IT!
And if you happen to have an employee who attended the capitol riot, and you would like to fire that person…. Reach out, I would be happy to help.
I would love to take my brownie sundae to the next level… how about chopped pecans, some whipped cream, and a cherry… perhaps some hot fudge.
**Note: If you disagree with my opinions of the capitol rioters, please know, I don’t care. I wouldn’t want to do business with you either.