What do you guys think of this article/issue?
The Stage / News / UK theatre is hotbed for bullying, study reveals
The Stage / News / UK theatre is hotbed for bullying, study reveals
“I think in some ways those of us working in the arts have ourselves to blame,” she said. “Often, there’s a passion attached to the kind of work we do, a commitment to it and great admiration for good art. So, I think we actually tolerate behaviour that wouldn’t be tolerated in other sectors, because we are committed to the end result being great. I do think, in some respects, we need to open our eyes a bit more and realise that, actually, it’s not necessary to tolerate any kind of harassment or bad behaviour on the part of certain members of a team. It’s perfectly possible to create high-quality work without inflicting pain or harm on people.
“Part of our issue in the arts is that we don’t like to think there is a problem,” she added. “We subscribe to this notion that we’re all really nice people and we embrace diversity and inclusiveness. So, the idea that we are actually able to behave in this way is not one that we would welcome, I suspect. That means it is difficult to have the right kind of mechanisms in place [to deal with bullying] and, indeed, the right kind of leadership.”
You spell another word wrong and I'll put an exclamation point up your semicolon...I hear they are brutal if you missplace a semicolon.
Help! Help ! I'm being Oppressed! Come See the violence inherent in the system !
< Derek is Such a bully ! Maybe that study was right...>
It's not bullying--it's educating via the time-honored traditions of intimidation and humiliation.
Well, I read it. I thought it was funny how the "person most susceptible to bullying" would be a white female box office employee... Funny, but untrue - I would think that the box office is furthest from whatever drama they are complaining about. The 'bullying' I was describing above was related to deep-rooted community theatre politics and resistance to change. Us theatre people can be very territorial, and since there are so many grey areas where creativity is concerned, it's easy for us to feel challenged, which can lead to bad blood (if you're immature/inexperienced).
Overall I feel like the study was flawed. The theatre has no more bullying than any other work place, in general. The one thing a [small] theatre sometimes lacks is an HR department and/or tightly-enforced harassment policies (no open-door policy).
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