WEBVTT - When do I escalate a problem at work and whistle blow?

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, welcome back to our Ask Me Anything segment where

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<v Speaker 1>we take on a question that you have sent us.

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<v Speaker 1>Our listener who I'll call Lucy sent us this one.

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<v Speaker 1>Lucy is in a small team of about 8 people.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone is working in a high pressured environment with long

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<v Speaker 1>working hours. It's a specialist job and they have been

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<v Speaker 1>asking for more manpower because they're afraid to make mistakes.

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<v Speaker 1>Several mistakes have already been made because people are overworked.

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<v Speaker 1>As a result, the team has been subjected to a

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<v Speaker 1>few internal audits and they're just told to do better.

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<v Speaker 1>Now when they highlighted that they need help, management shuts

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<v Speaker 1>them down according to Lucy, and calls a few of

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<v Speaker 1>them troublemakers. Lucy is asking if middle management is not

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<v Speaker 1>listening to them and there are problems caused by a

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<v Speaker 1>manpower shortage.

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<v Speaker 1>How can they escalate this and to whom?

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<v Speaker 2>I think the situation here is that they have escalated it,

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<v Speaker 2>but the middle management is not listening. So when I

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<v Speaker 2>read this question, right, I just thought to myself like, wow,

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<v Speaker 2>I feel for Lucy and the team because it sounds

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<v Speaker 2>like they are really trying their best.

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<v Speaker 2>But they're not getting the support from the management. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>then do I whistle blow? Do I go higher up?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I think a lot of people do wonder whether

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<v Speaker 1>the higher ups know that there is an issue and

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<v Speaker 1>they are also trying to cover up, then it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be even worse.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think at this point,

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<v Speaker 2>It really depends on how much faith Lucy has in

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<v Speaker 2>her management, the highest one, because there are sometimes management

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<v Speaker 2>they know, but they don't want to respond or they're

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<v Speaker 2>not responding appropriately. So the issue is not with not knowing,

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<v Speaker 2>but the issue is that management is not stepping up

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<v Speaker 2>to do what needs to be done. So if I'm Lucy, right?

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<v Speaker 2>I would say I would look at the management's responses.

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<v Speaker 2>Is it that the leaders that are there, are they

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<v Speaker 2>close to the ground? You know, if they're close to

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<v Speaker 2>the ground and if they are really caring about the

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<v Speaker 2>operations and the work that they do, right, then maybe

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<v Speaker 2>there's a chance that I can look for the right

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<v Speaker 2>leader to speak to. You also know that there are

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<v Speaker 2>leaders who are just on the ground for tokenism, just

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<v Speaker 2>to show face. They're not really caring about the workers.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think she needs to see other such people,

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<v Speaker 2>such managers in the office.

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<v Speaker 2>I think also in many companies they have got employee sentiment,

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<v Speaker 2>engagement surveys. Has there been certain things like they've done

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<v Speaker 2>before and

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<v Speaker 1>feedback loops as well. Yes, there been things that have

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<v Speaker 1>been mentioned a few times.

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<v Speaker 2>So usually like from my experiences, people do give feedback,

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<v Speaker 2>but they get very disappointed and discouraged when the feedback

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<v Speaker 2>is not acted on.

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<v Speaker 2>And year after year, the same thing happens. I'm guessing

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<v Speaker 2>here that Lucy's situation is not the first time. I

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<v Speaker 2>believe that this has been repeated for a particular amount

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<v Speaker 2>of time already and maybe it's getting like too much talk,

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<v Speaker 2>no action, and nobody seems to be bothered, and yet

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<v Speaker 2>they are the ones who have to face the consequences.

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<v Speaker 1>OK, I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I hear

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<v Speaker 1>that Lucy saying that they were subjected to a few

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<v Speaker 1>internal audits.

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<v Speaker 1>And these internal audits have shown that they could be

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<v Speaker 1>doing better. So from the management's point of view, there

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<v Speaker 1>is no problem in terms of a manpower shortage. So

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<v Speaker 1>what exactly is wrong in this

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<v Speaker 1>situation?

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<v Speaker 2>So when internal audits flag out things, right, then it's

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<v Speaker 2>supposed to send management into investigation and mitigation mode. They

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<v Speaker 2>start to look out for what's the issue, what's the

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<v Speaker 2>root cause? Is it manpower, is it?

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<v Speaker 2>Sources, is it a policy or process issue. And they

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<v Speaker 2>found

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<v Speaker 1>that there's nothing. It's just that the team has to

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<v Speaker 1>just do better, that's what they say.

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<v Speaker 2>So I'm just wondering why is there that the ground

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<v Speaker 2>feedback that it's not enough manpower and the lack of

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<v Speaker 2>manpower is causing all these mistakes to be made. So

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<v Speaker 2>somewhere along the line we can see that between the

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<v Speaker 2>management and the ground staff right there is this there's

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<v Speaker 2>a disconnect disconnect, there's a mistrust and

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<v Speaker 2>If this carries on, right, I think it's just going

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<v Speaker 2>to make work very unbearable. Yeah. So at this point

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<v Speaker 2>of time for Lucy's case, I think it's either you

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<v Speaker 2>stand your ground and you try to hope for the best,

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<v Speaker 2>look at the leaders that you have and try to

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<v Speaker 2>see whether you get to the right person or wait

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<v Speaker 2>for the right opportunity for things to change. That's one.

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<v Speaker 2>The other one is, of course, you leave. You find

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<v Speaker 2>another place where you can contribute meaningfully because I think

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<v Speaker 2>she loves her work. Yeah, so find a place where

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<v Speaker 2>you can perform, you can do your role without all

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<v Speaker 2>these situations and environmental factors.

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<v Speaker 2>Of course, there's also a third thing, right? Some people

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<v Speaker 2>would say, you should be the change. You should stay

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<v Speaker 2>on and you know the issues well, raise your hand

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<v Speaker 2>volunteer to try to solve it, but that's a long shot. Whistleblowing,

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<v Speaker 2>whistle blowing, if the policy is there and if the

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<v Speaker 2>management is indeed serious about it. My own gut feel

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<v Speaker 2>from this is that they know, but they're not doing

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<v Speaker 2>anything about it and they're just pushing the blame down

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<v Speaker 2>and letting the people on the ground shoulder it. So

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<v Speaker 2>if that's the kind of response from the management then.

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<v Speaker 2>No amount of blowing our feedback will help.

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<v Speaker 1>OK. Well, Lucy, I hope that your situation turns for

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<v Speaker 1>the better and I hope our conversation perhaps will even

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<v Speaker 1>give you the right tools to advocate for yourself or

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<v Speaker 1>your team. If like Lucy, you have a work related question,

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<v Speaker 1>do send it to us. We are at CNA podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>at Medcorp.com.sg. We are also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Meliten

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<v Speaker 1>and YouTube where a video version of this is at.

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<v Speaker 1>The team behind the Work It podcast is Kristina Robert,

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<v Speaker 1>Joanne Chan, Junai Johari and Sai Ye Win. Sound mixing

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<v Speaker 1>is by Carrie Lim, video by Hanida Amin. I'm Gerald

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm Tiffany. Have a smooth work week ahead.