Punishing long hours, shouted at by the boss, expected to take work calls on days off and being undermined – a few examples of toxic behaviour identified in a new white paper to support GCs in the push-back against workplace bullying.
The paper, entitled Agents of Change: The General Counsel’s role in creating culture and blueprints for leadership, is a collaboration between The Eagle Club, a network of senior female lawyers and C-suite, and City firm Mishcon de Reya.
The paper came about after The Eagle Club founder and CEO Lesley Wan, a prominent in-house figure, received ‘genuine cries for assistance’ from highly-experienced GCs.
Wan said: ‘When the legal team’s assessment of risk conflicts with the business’s goals, the GC is placed in an untenable position. Should they resign or resort to whistleblowing? There are multiple examples where bad culture ends up leading to wrongdoing or outcomes contrary to company policy or the public good.’
Anju Suneja, partner and EDI lead at Mishcon de Reya, said bullying potentially results in absences, poor staff retention, legal liabilities and, ultimately, reduced business performance.
One lawyer interviewed for the report was shouted at by her boss for failing to attend an online meeting scheduled at short notice outside of her working hours. ‘She was screaming down the phone so loudly that even though she wasn’t on speakerphone everyone in my apartment could hear,’ the lawyer said.
A new boss refused to let a lawyer continue working flexibly. One lawyer recalled unreasonable demands made by a senior partner that were not required, such as working on a project during the weekend even though the client had not asked for it.
The paper identifies root causes of toxic workplace cultures, such as lack of management training following promotion, lack of transparency over work allocation, and running a workplace on fear to justify the end result.
Bullying GCs out of the company for being ‘naysayers’ could prove costly down the line ‘when their departed lawyer’s advice proves to have been prescient’, the paper warns.
Recommendations to tackle toxic behaviour include keeping an electronic trail of correspondence that cumulatively show ‘gaslighting’ behaviour.
GCs are also advised to set clear boundaries, such as telling a boss not to call at weekends or warning them that they will hang up the phone if they shout – and keeping records if colleagues repeatedly overstep the line.
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