I’ve not been posting updates to this petition, but I thought it worthwhile posting one today.
The London School of Economics (hardly an organisation given to wild ill-considered rants) has posted a blog article asking the public whether they feel their workplaces are becoming cults. The reason for this update is do you think as citizens you are now living in inter-connected cults?
The LSE offers 5 signs (there is explanation and background to accompany each question):
- Does your leader exhibit superhuman traits or a grandiose vision that attract devout followers?
- “Cultish” organisations often enforce a homogeneous culture, requiring conformity and stifling dissent. Look around. How much room is there for individual expression? Is stating a different opinion welcomed or discouraged?
- If you must prove your unquestioning loyalty, even if it means compromising your own beliefs or ethical boundaries, the organisational culture is too “cultish.” In such environments, people are less likely to voice concerns or speak up against others, particularly leaders. Do you feel that you have to prove unquestioning loyalty?
- In toxic workplaces…with an overt emphasis on loyalty, corporate Stockholm syndrome can thrive. You might be experiencing it if you identify with or remain loyal to hostile supervisors or an organisation, despite knowing it is a toxic place.
- Corporate cults create a bubble of believers who, as they become indoctrinated, are more and more isolated from outside influences. Ask yourself: Have you become detached from ‘non-believing’ friends and family? Does your organisation have complicated and long initiation rituals or sharing sessions? Does the internal language and symbols reinforce the culture or leader?
Do you feel the above applies to Goole, East Riding, and say, the past Johnson and Truss Governments?
Are we present in traditional and social media with personalities who tell us they have the right answers and want our unquestioning loyalty? What happens to those who question or disagree? Are their opinions welcomed and respected even if different, or are they sidelined and maligned? Is the local paper genuinely independent, or supportive of the cult with a few token gestures towards independence? What do you think about elected representatives paid out of the public purse describing people who disagree as “moaners” in the local press? How about, say, FB groups focussed on local issues? Are different opinions or disagreement with the powers that be welcomed and respected, or are people instructed by councillors and their supporters to “be positive” and “stop running Goole down”? Do they get blocked for disagreeing?
What do you think? How do you feel?
You can read the LSE article through the link below. Thank you to everyone who has signed. Keep talking, keep sharing, keep “moaning”!
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2024/06/05/five-signs-you-might-be-in-a-corporate-cult/