Attention Deficit

Everyone in the world seems to be being diagnosed with ADHD, these days. The term itself is apparently a misnomer: Attention Deficit Disorder was first called that because school children were finding it difficult to pay attention in class. So they were judged to be ‘inattentive’, and ‘easily distracted’, in contrast to their more attentive peers, who focused on the teacher and the subject at hand and were able to deal more effectively with the school system. 

The ‘H’ stands for ‘Hyperactivity’. As we see, both the terms ‘Deficit’ and ‘Hyper’ frame the condition in a negative and judgmental way. We experience deficits in time, in money, in sleep, in nutrition, and in any area in which we need positive input for optimal health and happiness and a feeling of well-being and security, where not having these things can lead to a loss for us, and an increase in discomfort and suffering. And ironically, although we have generated great abundance in material ways, our society and lifestyle also creates deficits in the way we feel. 

There is a lot of information about ADHD available on the internet. And I find that appropriate, because in my opinion, it is the onset of technology that has caused this noticeable spike in the numbers of people who are being diagnosed with this condition. 

Look at the most common symptoms: 

• Impulsiveness 

• Problems with prioritizing tasks 

• Difficulty with time management 

• Trouble with multitasking 

• Paralyzing stress regarding meeting deadlines 

• Restlessness and hyper-activity 

• Difficulty planning in sequential ways and creating and sustaining a routine 

• Inability to tolerate frustration/delay 

• Volatile, easily-triggered temper 

• Emotional fluctuations

• Interrupting oneself or others while speaking so train of thought is lost 

• Difficulty in consistency, follow up and follow through 

• Intense difficulty with stress management 

• Chaotic actions described as spontaneity 

• Lack of forethought and preparation 

They all add up to give a picture of an overwhelmed person: someone whose capacity to take in and process the information that they are being expected to take in is being stretched too far. Someone who is under siege, and experiencing a high volume of incoming prompts and bids for their attention. 

Our nervous system is exactly like an electrical system that burns out because it is experiencing surges and extreme variations that it is not built to handle. This is why we use machine terms to explain it: burnout, surges, flare ups, breakdowns. 

Why do we feel subjected to this ongoing tsunami of information? Why is it called a super highway? Why are we being rushed and flooded and overtaxed? Why is our lifestyle crippling our health and our happiness? 

The volume of information, the cacophony of opinion, the tables of statistics and data, the words and numbers, are all part of living and working in a technologised world. The pressure to keep up, to stay tuned, to keep engaged, to remain in the loop, to respond in a timely way, to perform to expectations, is immense. 

The remedy for it is not only to take non digital access (‘detox’) holidays where you deliberately go off the grid and detach from all phones, tablets and electronic devices. That’s a ‘quick fix’. The lifelong remedy is to pace yourself, and decide when and where and how you want to engage with the electronic world. 

Think about it. Why is multi-tasking praised? And by whom? 

Why is faster, better? Why is productivity prized above quality? Where is the pleasure of engaging in any activity involving our minds, hearts and imaginations able to be present, in such a fast-paced world? 

The remedy for this is stillness. Slowness. The ability to pace oneself. Slow cooking. Taking time out. 

The single biggest symptom of ADHD - distractability, volatility, impulsiveness, forgetfulness, a mind that jumps from one idea to another, the inability to finish one activity before moving to another, interrupting others when they are speaking, or not finishing our own sentences, is greatly intensified by our giving our attention to rapacious ongoing instruments of technology. These technological instruments know no limits, so we must - for the sake of our own sanity - learn to impose them. 

Digital detoxes are called detoxes specifically because the toxicity around digital usage builds incrementally into unacceptable overwhelm. 

The machines alert us. They notify us. They prompt us. They demand our instant attention. We have to turn off our phones in order not to be disturbed. We therefore only give part of our attention to what we are doing, and the person with whom we are speaking. Some people have two or more phones. Different ring tones to alert them to who is calling. To protect ourselves from unwanted harassment, we have to lock our FB profiles, or strengthen our privacy settings, or make a blanket rule that we do not answer incoming calls from unknown numbers. 

These are all digital detox remedies, to help filter and control the incoming traffic and select what we respond to and when we respond to it. But when we talk of ‘processing’ things, we need to understand that we are human beings, not machines. 

For us, the incoming words and the tables of numbers used in statistical data-rich reports mean something. As they mass up, they leave emotional residue. Our bodies register this as it accumulates and warn us, as much as they can. And our work timetables and the demands of our schedules means that we ignore and dismiss the warnings until we break down. 

ADHD needs to be recognised as an inadequate term for a real and complex problem. People showing symptoms of this can often learn ways to manage their lives better, and reduce the stress they feel. This can be done in quite simple ways: Packing a school bag or work briefcase the night before; making a rule that no food is kept more than one day after its first cooked; keeping your keys and wallet and reading glasses in a designated drawer close to the door so you know exactly where they are; sorting out all important ID documents and sealing them and keeping them only on one place for security; sorting out your clothes seasonally so the warm weather clothes and cool weather clothes are in separate sections; getting extra items like batteries and superglue and soap and toothpaste, and storing them in one cupboard instead of all over the place. Looking for things in a hurry is a very stressful experience. So becoming more organised relieves stress. 

Dealing with the cards we are dealt in life is always a lifelong activity. It’s always emotional. But it’s also physical, because sorting out the contents of our room and our home is connected to sorting out the contents of our minds. Deciding what to keep and what to throw out or give away is a very human thing, and it needs to be done, when you break down. 

Keep in mind that everything has a use by date. Read that again, as we are constantly being told on social media. Every THING has a use by date. So, for example, perfumes and body lotions become toxic after a time, and should be thrown out, and not applied onto our bodies. Food has a ‘best used before’ date for a reason, or we will find that we are harming ourselves by ingesting it. 

Scanning and approving our intake is what celebrity supermodels and actors model for us. We are so rushed that we haven’t been discerning about what we shovel into our bodies. We call it fuel, but we don’t care about the quality. Our fast-paced lives don’t allow us time to care. Yet that care and attention is the source of everything: it is the absolute core activity which adds value to our lives. Food. Drink. Sleep. Activity. Shelter and support - both physical and emotional solace. 

Let that sink in. Let. That. Sink. In.

Changing Workplace Culture By Embracing Equity

Image Credit: https://www.ceo-review.com/embracing-equity-this-international-womens-day/

Two weeks ago, a complaint was made by Ms. Ishara Devendra, a journalist, about her workplace culture at ITN. Ms Devendra’s allegations, posted on her personal FB page, were that she had been subjected to continual harassment by a senior official at ITN, but that the organisation had taken no action to address the situation.

The day after she published her post on Facebook, a Press release was issued by the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions in support of Ms. Devendra’s claims. It was reported that the Chairman of ITN had undertaken to ensure that a full investigation into the matter be conducted.

This is not an isolated incident. Only about 7% of incidents of workplace harassment are officially reported, in Sri Lanka. This is probably because of the realities of the gender-biased hierarchical structure of most corporations and organizations in the country. Women have only recently been admitted into the higher realms of corporate and governance, and few reach the upper levels of senior management. The accused perpetrators are often senior members of the corporations and institutions in which both parties work, and have senior status, and privileged position in the hierarchical structure in comparison to the women they are accused of harassing.

According to Gayani Ranasinghe, Consultant in Human Resource Management and Specialist in Labour Law, and International Consultant for the Gender & Economic Inclusion Group at IFC, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated.”

The tolerance extended to such conduct is formed by company culture, which is set by the conduct of the leadership cohort. Women who seek professional success in the corporate world enter an environment in which they are a minority. One only has to view the proportional representation of men and women on company photographs to see how few women are visible at senior management level.

In this case, Ms Devendra is described as a senior journalist, with a professional record of 15 years of work as a journalist at ITN. So her claims cannot be easily dismissed. And in her public post she comments not only on the unacceptable conduct of the individual perpetrator of harassment against her, but on the culture created within the institution which enabled this conduct to take place, and be normalized. Her challenge therefore invites an inquiry into the cases of other women who have experienced similar treatment, but have not spoken publicly.

Chairperson of Jetwing Travels, Shiromal Cooray, who shared Ms. Devendra’s post on her own FB Platform on April 23rd, stated when sharing it that it is up to men to upgrade their attitudes and conduct towards women. Her framework text for the post states: 

‘This is the story of many females who dream of being a working woman! Not all women are emotionally strong or have the family connections or the financial independence or a support group to call out these “pests”, have them removed from the system, and carry on.
Very often, as in this case it is the unfortunate victim who is forced to remove herself from the system, with permanent scars!

This is a universal issue, but in Sri Lanka, often women are not empowered to stand up for themselves as the fear lingers - if they do, they will be victimized and forced out!
My humble plea to all men who have mothers, sisters, wives and daughters: please respect women and treat them as an equal with dignity!’

Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted and unwelcome sexual attention. The problem is that what is seen as unproblematic by the perpetrator is not seen as such by the person who experiences it. The perpetrator either consciously or unconsciously minimizes the seriousness and offensiveness of their own behaviour. This is why the test to determine if an offence has been committed in the area of sexual harassment is a subjective test. The perpetrator’s intention is not considered as a defence for their conduct and its impact because their intention is often questionable. The effect on the injured party is the core of the matter, and is the determining factor, in cases of sexual harassment.

Gayani Ranasinghe comments that:
‘One important way to foster respectful workplaces is to take a survivor-centered approach when complaints are made... This seeks to encourage people experiencing sexual harassment to come forward and seek support because they know they can expect their company to take their experience seriously, and respond to it ethically and fairly... The three key principles in the survivor-vectored approach are: Respect, Confidentiality and Safety, all expressed in a context of Non-Discrimination, which ensures equal right for all to the best possible assistance, without unfair discrimination.’

Because of the sociocultural stigma imposed on women’s sexuality and the societal controls over their conduct, many women who are in situations where they should complain do not want to name the conduct for what it is. Professor Arosha Adikaram of the Department of Human Resources Management, Faculty of Management and Finance at the University of Colombo, commented on this ‘Non-labeling of sexual harassment by Sri Lankan working women’ in the Personnel Review, Vol. 45, Issue 5, pages 969-987: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arosha-Adikaram/publication/305736042_Unwanted_and_bad_but_not_sexual_Non-labelling_of_sexual_harassment_by_Sri_Lankan_working_women/links/6110ac800c2bfa282a2f809e/Unwanted-and-bad-but-not-sexual-Non-labelling-of-sexual-harassment-by-Sri-Lankan-working-women.pdf

Many Sri Lankan people do not actually understand what sexual harassment is. It is unwanted and unwelcome attention of a sexual kind. Many people believe all women secretly want admiration and attention from every quarter. And many perpetrators actually seem to believe that a woman who is being harassed should see it as a compliment - that the target of this offensive behaviour should feel flattered! Others assume the woman targeted must herself have behaved provocatively, to prompt such behaviour. Still others think women who speak out are trying to ‘get a pay day’ by making baseless accusations and ruining the reputation of a powerful man.

All these above assumptions and outcomes emerge from sociocultural attitudes of underlying disrespect towards women, which are unfortunately reflected in patriarchal society as a whole. And these assumptions are problematic because those in decision-making capacities, in situations like this one, make decisions informed by their underlying beliefs and assumptions, and act on them.

Any complaint which is made to challenge such thinking, and the actions which are prompted by them, takes place in a culture which has normalized inequality, and in which the complainant finds herself from the outset in an adversarial setting. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-03-2022-0201/full/html

The hostile work environment for the victim of harassment is often not even recognised, let alone challenged. The normal complaints process followed in corporate settings involves a Disciplinary Procedure: a Preliminary Investigation to determine the validity of the charges, and the provision of evidence by the target of the harassment. Then the accused is required to give reasons for their conduct, which - after investigation - are accepted or disputed.

In cases of sexual harassment, the conduct itself does not occur in public office areas in the presence of witnesses. The perpetrators often commit offenses such as engaging in suggestive speech, initiating intimate body contact, and forcing unwanted physical proximity in private settings and behind closed office doors. It is obviously difficult, therefore, to gather evidence of improper conduct in such contexts. However, a person who is subjected to ongoing harassment today can record both audio and video evidence of such speech and actions on a technologically-enabled smartphone. CCTV cameras are usually only fitted in the Lobby and Reception areas of corporate buildings. Sri Lankan women have shown in recent years that they are prepared to share such evidence in social media public forums. Why should the identities of the perpetrators be protected?

It would seem obvious, given the severe reputational damage that inquiry into such conduct brings with it to the victim, that the perpetrators of this behaviour need to be more strictly held to account. Many senior executives in corporate and governance roles believe themselves to be unassailable at the top of the organizational hierarchy, and thus above reproach and ‘untouchable’ by law or protocol enforcers.

Ironically, in line with the high prevalence of narcissistic traits in the profiles of CEOs, CFOs and MDs, such individuals clearly feel they are entitled to expect attention and admiration from the women who work with them, who they see as very ‘touchable’, and accessible, because they believe them to be defenseless. Indeed, the systemically enforced and reinforced subordinate status of the targeted women enhances their attractiveness in the eyes of such a perpetrator. It’s a grossly feudal, ‘droits de seigneur’ attitude that has flourished in patriarchal societies in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2023, in Sri Lanka, 75 years since Independence, it is time that attitude evolved.

There are two kinds of complaint in the sexual harassment area: ‘Quid Pro Quo’, where the targeted woman is coerced and threatened into exchanging sexual favors for professional advancement, or even for maintenance of her current employment status, and threatened with dismissal; and ‘Hostile Work Environment’, where she is openly bullied, belittled or otherwise punished in front of her work peers for refusing to comply with repeated violations to her personal dignity.

If a person is found to have committed the alleged offenses against her, a survivor of such conduct may find her rights to justice further subverted or diminished by the perpetrator not being held to account by the company. A perpetrator may often be deemed by the company or organisation to be highly valuable to them, and their work performance and the revenue they bring to the company would be judged as more important than their moral or ethical conduct. So the complainant would be transferred to another department or section of the company, as if her conduct was the cause of this incident, or otherwise incentivized to leave. The damage to her reputation and professional career path would be dismissed as relatively insignificant.

The sexual harassment offence - if resolved internally - would usually not be listed on the perpetrator’s employment record. The HR departments of many companies do not do due diligence into past work performance and history when hiring new personnel, so perpetrators are free to offend in successive positions until their conduct escalates to the point where it cannot be overlooked or rationalized. A perpetrator in such an instance may be suspended, required to engage in rehabilitation of some kind prior to being re-employed, and even dismissed - but whatever the cost to them, the cost of their behaviour to the victims of it and the morale and culture of the company is always significant. Only if this cost is clearly and openly recognised as such, and seen as severe, by decision-makers and implementers of policy in the organisation, can positive change be implemented.

The best remedy for the kind of situation outlined in the ITN matter is to raise awareness of the damage that sexual harassment causes. Not only to the victim, but to the reputation of the perpetrator. The damage incurred by such predatory and abusive behaviour must constitute a deterrent to the abuser, and make them aware that conduct such as this is not only unjust, but unacceptable, and will be seen to be, and punished as, a serious offence. Their own reputation will suffer, as a result of their conduct. Only then will they be motivated to change it.

Companies wishing to create respectful workplaces, not just for show on International Women’s Day, but throughout the year, every year, can invest in preventative and pre-emptive training, via facilitating workshops on professional conduct and best practices for all their staff, including the senior executives. This way, all personnel in the company would be aware of not only their rights but their responsibilities in relation to each other and the work context in which they interact.
Those higher up in the hierarchy would be made aware of their limits; and those lower down would be aware of their protections.

The aim in implementing best practice policies is to promote the greater productivity of the company, by creating a more equitable and effective workplace environment, and supporting all parties in any workplace setting to enable colleagues to work effectively without blurring personal and professional boundaries, and without abusing the closeness generated by the workplace settings in which they conduct themselves. This includes both on-site and off-site workplace contexts: telework or remote work interactions, conferences, trainings, company-provided accommodation and transport, and all work-related communications, both real and virtual.

Best practice in corporate conduct would benefit from each individual in any workplace interaction conducting themselves transparently. To use a symbolic analogy: corporate and leadership spheres have for many years spoken of ‘transparency’ - yet how many CEOs, MDs or senior executives would agree to have glass walls constructed in their office, so that anyone walking past their office during a working day could see what they were doing, at any time? How many of these awarded individuals hold themselves accountable, when the system in which they operate rewards them for conduct which they see as an entitlement that comes with their high status within their organisation?

Metaphorically speaking, an ideal workplace culture would have glass walls as well as glass ceilings. Privacy concerns could be addressed by stating that people’s private lives should be conducted off the premises, and not in the workplace. As companies work to meet deadlines on their assignments and projects, it is common for colleagues to work long hours together in close proximity. This is why clear boundaries and transparent conduct in the workplace are so important. Transparency brings with it mutual protection, clearly showing that the conduct of all concerned is beyond reproach.

Ms. Devendra in her FB post said that she had left the company that ignored her request for workplace justice, in order to protect her self respect. Self respect for a dedicated, competent and successful professional woman should be enhanced by her ambition and her ability to progress in her capacity, and such a woman should be able to be proud of the work she does in a workplace, not damaged by it. To do that, we must consciously create respectful workplaces in Sri Lanka  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BbjrnixB2hH2PGpoO0pB1WaRmzV_fDsS/view

On a global level, this year, the motto for IWD
International Women's Day 2023 is: #EmbraceEquity. The mission statement urges us to ‘Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.’ And to progress from that vision to action: ‘Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity.’

This ITN case is not a one off. The workplace injustices it highlights are a showcase of the harassment that women routinely experience in many companies in Sri Lanka, and it is therefore an opportunity to act positively: to admit, call out and change the underlying disrespect which many people in the professional sphere still feel towards women. The socio-cultural influences: the inherent assumptions of gender, race and caste superiority/inferiority, the normalized misogyny, the unchallenged apathy, the ignorance about what constitutes consent, the inability to understand the situations of our peers - are all aspects which can be re-evaluated. From our beliefs flow our actions.

If we start with a positive vision of how we wish to operate, we can create the infrastructure to enable it. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2322093720934580?journalCode=hrma

The kind of conduct which comes to our attention in sexual harassment cases cripples companies and limits and restricts their viability and effectiveness, as well as the personal happiness and productivity of their personnel. Time to upgrade across the board - across every Board - to a best practices-driven corporate and governance culture. #GrowSriLanka!

Unwanted Attention

On April 23rd, a Facebook post was shared by Shiromal Cooray which drew public attention to an incident of sexual harassment.

Ms Shiromal Cooray, Chairman and Managing Director of Jetwing Travels and Jetwing Hotels, used her substantial FB platform to raise public awareness of a complaint made by Ms. Ishara Devendra about her workplace at ITN. Ms Devendra’s allegations, posted on her personal FB page, were that she had been subjected to continual harassment by a senior official at ITN, but that the organisation had taken no action to address the situation.

The next day, a Press release was issued by the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions in support of Ms. Devendra’s claims. The DM reported that the Chairman of ITN had instructed that a full investigation be conducted. To do this, an External Inquiring Officer had to be selected, in order for the Inquiry to proceed objectively, justly, and without personal bias towards the parties involved.

The facts of the matter are not public, and will not be known beyond what the target of the harassment chose to share on her personal page, until the matter is resolved. But the support that Ms. Devendra has invoked from the public is likely to make this a landmark case in the area of sexual harassment claims in SL. Because - although the conduct this incident highlights is widespread - the claims made by those targeted by such behaviour in the workplace rarely reach public awareness.

This is probably because the accused perpetrators are often senior members of the corporations and institutions in which both parties work, and have senior status, and privileged position in the hierarchical structure in comparison to the women they are accused of harassing. The power differential alone makes it unlikely that anyone in HR or any internal complaints section of an organisation would act to question the authority or conduct of a senior official, if they were accused of questionable conduct.

Many of the people employed in HR are women, but they are women who are granted authority by the patriarchal organisation which employs them, and they are far more likely to dismiss, downplay or negate the claims of harassment that are made to them than to seek to uphold and respect the dignity of the victim.

Added to this is company culture, which is set by the conduct of the leadership cohort. Women who seek professional success in the corporate world enter an environment in which they are a minority, and in which the prevailing odds are against them. They are judged by their physical appearance and their attractiveness, rather than the quality of their work, and they are expected to accept whatever form of attention is directed at them.

Ms Devendra is described as a senior journalist, with a professional record of 15 years of work as a journalist at ITN. So her claims cannot be easily dismissed. And they are not restricted to the individual himself, who is protected by anonymity at this stage of the Inquiry, but to the workplace culture of the whole organisation. In this sense, this case opens the unspoken and unheard cases of other women who have experienced similar treatment to public scrutiny.

The danger here is that ITN will be scapegoated, and this incident will be described as a ‘one off’ when in fact many organizations and institutions see this kind of power abuse going on routinely within their structures, and no action has been taken by them.

Chairperson Shiromal Cooray stated in her FB framing message when she shared Ms. Devendra’s post, that it is up to men to upgrade their attitudes and conduct towards women: ‘My humble plea to all men who have mothers, sisters, wives and daughters: please respect women and treat them as an equal with dignity!’

Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted and unwelcome sexual attention. The problem is that what is seen as ‘welcome’ and positive and affirming by the perpetrator is not seen as such by the person who experiences it. This could be because of their ignorance of what constitutes consent, and of the fact that breaching or acting without the clear consent of the other party is an offence in the eyes of the law. And as such, such conduct has serious consequences to the perpetrator.

Companies comply with professional standards and prevailing feminist policies by developing Protocols and Mission Statements. And by releasing videos showcasing their few successful female senior Executives on International Women’s Day. But when it comes to implementing these policies, those tasked with their implementation within an institution often fail to enforce the Policy in any meaningful way. This case could be the exception to that rule, and act as a deterrent to those engaging in such conduct in future.

Public perception of harassment shows ignorance of its seriousness. Many people actually believe that being harassed is a sign that the person targeted is being singled out because she is attractive or desirable - so she should be flattered! Others assume she must have behaved in an immodest or brazen way, to welcome such behaviour. Still others think she is trying to enrich herself by making baseless accusations against a rich and powerful man. Very rarely is the offender taken to account publicly. He is often a family man, with a lot of social capital, and a lot of social influence. If he is deemed to be an asset, performing well in his professional role in the company, the company or organisation will side with him, and the victim of his conduct will be incentivized to be silent, or leave the company herself: either negatively by threats and intimidation, or positively, with financial settlements which reduce reputational damage.

All these above assumptions and outcomes are rooted in disrespect towards women, which is unfortunately reflected in the society as a whole, and also globally. And these assumptions are problematic because those in decision-making capacities, in situations like this one, make decisions informed by their underlying beliefs and assumptions, and act on them.

The stigma which is imposed onto a woman who is the subject of unwanted attention in the workplace affects not only her personal reputation, but her standing with her own family and her friends and associates. She risks a great deal to speak out against her perpetrator, for an uncertain positive outcome.

As long as senior officials and those in positions of authority in Sri Lanka’s major companies are ignorant or uncaring of what constitutes harassment, its causes cannot be addressed, and its impact cannot be remedied. As long as such conduct is condoned by internalized misogyny on the part of both men and women in the corporate and governance spheres, the demoralization caused by this unacceptable behaviour continues.

Why should senior women in corporate and governance positions have to request that men conduct themselves properly in the workplace? Many women enter the workforce against the wishes of their traditional families, with determination to challenge themselves and engage in personal and professional development, thus bringing benefit to the country as a whole. Should they be discouraged from doing so, by the conduct of their senior management and those in authority over them?

Workplace Equity means respecting the dignity of all colleagues. It should not just be words on a placard in the Entrance Lobby where the CCTV cameras are. It should be practised across the Board in every department of every company.

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