CBC's Ghomeshi report fails to focus on personality disorders in the workplace
This week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a 52-page external-investigation report of workplace issues relating to former Q host Jian Ghomeshi.
Lawyers Janice Rubin and Parisa Nifarjam discussed in detail in the report how Ghomeshi mistreated his colleagues. They claimed that there was evidence that Ghomeshi didn't attribute credit, yelled at colleagues, played cruel jokes, and was moody, difficult, and emotionally unpredictable.
Ghomeshi, who's facing criminal charges for sexual assault and choking, refused to speak to the investigators. He has pleaded not guilty in court.
The lawyers revealed that CBC managers enabled Ghomeshi's workplace behaviour, citing this as part of the "Host Culture" that exists at the public broadcaster.
The term host culture actually had the effect of smearing hosts at CBC, even those who've consistently been exceedingly gracious with staff. Rick Cluff, Ian Hanomansing, and the recently retired Mark Forsythe are three examples of CBC hosts in Vancouver who have never been infected by egomania.
One of the biggest concerns with the report is that it didn't deal with personality disorders in the workplace. Had Rubin and Nifarjam confronted this issue directly, it might have made their work more useful to managers in a multitude of industries across the country.
While it may be going too far to say that someone with a personality disorder is "unfixable", it's a daunting challenge for any manager to modify the behaviour of a workplace narcissist. As American Psychological Association notes on its website: "Personality disorders are notoriously hard to treat."
And the report by Rubin and Nifarjam doesn't offer any insights into how managers can identify personality disorders.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Heath, 14.8 percent of American adults meet diagnostic criteria for personality disorders listed in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. That adds up to a whole lot of trouble in workplaces across America.
The more recent DSM-V Personality Disorders Work Group tried to break down the boundaries of personality disorders by ranking traits by severity.
The group's proposal for six personality-disorder types—narcissistic, borderline, obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, schizotypal, and antisocial—did not get included in the DSM-V main manual, but it indicates how some researchers view this area.
Other experts, including UBC professor emeritus John Livesley, have claimed that this approach reflects "a truly stunning disregard for evidence".
What is apparent to most experts is that personality disorders are creating a tremendous economic burden on society. This was demonstrated in a paper published in 2008 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
In the meantime, there still isn't any blueprint for CBC managers to prevent hiring people with narcissistic or other personality disorders. And this is apart from all the havoc that can be caused by having a psychopath in the workplace.
Comments
4 Comments
Le Parti Canard/Duck Party
Apr 17, 2015 at 2:02pm
But what if the highest people in the organization are chosen to be the most narcissistic as Kurt Vonnegut suggested in one of his final piece:
"I was once asked if I had any ideas for a really scary reality TV show. I have one reality show that would really make your hair stand on end: "C-Students from Yale".
George W Bush has gathered around him upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka Christians, and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or PPs, the medical term for smart, personable people who have no consciences.
To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable diagnosis, like saying he or she has appendicitis or athlete's foot. The classic medical text on PPs is The Mask of Sanity by Dr Hervey Cleckley, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia, published in 1941. Read it!
Some people are born deaf, some are born blind or whatever, and this book is about congenitally defective human beings of a sort that is making this whole country and many other parts of the planet go completely haywire nowadays. These were people born without consciences, and suddenly they are taking charge of everything.
PPs are presentable, they know full well the suffering their actions may cause others, but they do not care. They cannot care because they are nuts. They have a screw loose!" http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13659.htm
ursa minor
Apr 17, 2015 at 3:42pm
As a person with a diagnosed Personality Disorder, I can state the the biggest obstacle to identifying and connecting people with treatment is stigma. Despite having two psychiatric assessments which did not identify me as violent, as well as outlining behavioral modification treatment, I was prohibited from returning to my workplace and my right to accommodation because a meeting was held (without me present) and some of my co-workers told management that they were "uncomfortable" with my presence in that workplace.
I spent three years on a forced medical leave which saw my benefits run out, and the resulting anxiety left me suicidal on a few occasions.
If people are being forced to choose between disclosing their disability and accepting treatment or keeping their jobs, people will choose their jobs every time, and everyone is left suffering as a result.
lain
Apr 17, 2015 at 5:12pm
Has he actually been diagnosed with a personality disorder, or are we just trying to make excuses for him??
Experienced
Apr 29, 2015 at 4:09pm
Bravo Charlie Smith! Finally someone is calling a spade a spade. Ghomeshi shows all the signs of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, whether he is diagnosed or not. Managers and HR departments should absolutely be given tools to deal with employees, applicants or new hires showing signs of personality disorders. Boundaries and consequences need to be laid down early, reinforced consistently and persons unwilling to adjust be summarily dismissed if necessary. Sorry to burst your egotistical bubble 'ursa minor' but your diagnosis is not a disability. You have a personality disorder. BIG DIFFERENCE! Your disorder is treatable and can be managed. You do not require accommodation at your workplace. You require respect for your colleagues and not to be an asshole. As Charlie Smith has alluded to, it is a 'daunting challenge' to treat persons diagnosed with personality disorders, mostly because they are convinced there is nothing wrong with the way they behave (and instead would like to be 'accommodated' sic!). They will blame, manipulate and lie to their therapist to avoid being accountable for their disordered behaviour. Vicious cycle. Your colleagues are right to be 'uncomfortable'. Bravo to your managers for trying their best to maintain a non-toxic workplace.