Wednesday, October 18, 2017

'Burnout culture' and sexism

Arianna Huffington, the well-known co-founder of the Huffington Post has courageously articulated an open secret. She has blamed the inappropriately high importance attached to performance excellence as the cause of sexism we find in many organisations.

A member of the Board of Uber, the company recently buffetted by allegations of sexism in the work place, she has undertaken to end the 'cult of the top performer' at Uber. She says that Harvey Weinstein could carry on his sexual misdemeanour uninterruptedly for a long time at Hollywood because of the 'cult of someone who delivers results' that is prevalent also in the Silicon Valley.  She advocates a pause in the practice of worship at the altar of hyper-growth.

She pleads for the need to find bonding activities other than boozing. Very strong statements, indeed. An assault on hedonism that is the hallmark of contemporary companies?

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