by Charles D. Goldman
(Editor’s Note: This article was originally printed in "Horizons," November 1998. We reprinted it with permission in the November 1998 issue of “The Braille Forum,” and are sharing it again now. Those of you who have been with ACB awhile will remember Chuck Goldman as the lawyer who leased space in the ACB national office. He has since retired, and has a new title: grandpa.)
Thanksgiving is the truly American holiday. In the tradition which flows from the Pilgrims, we take time out to appreciate family, friends, and a sumptuous turkey dinner.
Thanksgiving at the end of the 20th century means taking a few days off work and driving to visit our loved ones who are dispersed in different cities. Along the way we encounter monster traffic jams, which sadly have evolved to encompass the phenomenon of the angry driver, "road rage."
Let me suggest that "road rage" is not the only element of anger in our midst. There is growing evidence of similar feelings in the workplace, what I call "workplace rage."
Do you recall the horrific instances of disgruntled postal service workers literally shooting co-workers? The situation led to the expression "going postal," to mean a worker who freaked out and took violent, even lethal revenge on a supervisor and co-workers. "Going postal" is the most extreme example of workplace rage.
In the context of employer-employee relations, a new visceral anger is emerging. The new rage at work is not the Internet but anger.
Workplace rage manifests itself not only in the lack of warm, friendly jobs but also in cases where employees challenge discrimination.
The September 1998 cover of "Workforce" magazine, "Why Employees Are So Angry," with headlines reading "Griping, lawsuits and even violence are on the rise because there's a gap between expectations and reality." There are, according to author Gillian Flynn, "mountains of unmet expectations."
That is certainly true for people with disabilities. Nolan Crabb, editor of "The Braille Forum," unequivocally states that "the day of being grateful to just have a job is past."
He's right. It's been past for many years. Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act have promoted a sea change in attitudes and expectations.
Along with equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation should have come such basics as adaptive technology, such as a talking computer for a person with carpal tunnel syndrome or a vision impairment, and accessible communications, e.g. readers and interpreters, for people with communication-related disabilities. The expectation was that unemployment rates for people with disabilities would go down. For people who are legally blind or have other significant vision impairments it is still, conservatively, almost 75 percent! No disability advocacy group is hailing the ADA as a law which has led to full employment for its members who can and want to work.
The rising of expectations in the context of our litigious society is visible in the process of redressing employment discrimination. A recent study conducted by Barry Goldman (no relation, never met him) of the University of Maryland, "I'll See You In Court! Why Employees File Discrimination Claims," documented the anger expressed by people filing discrimination charges at offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC is the administrative agency at which to file charges of employment discrimination under the ADA and other federal civil rights laws.
Professor Goldman observes that 71 percent of the people who filed with EEOC felt "angry, mad, or vengeful." He observes, "When an employee perceives that he or she is treated unfairly, this may send a signal to the employee that the organization (or its agents) do not view him or her as 'just like them,' sending a signal of exclusion." He recalls for us the vivid scene in the movie "Network," in which the fired newsman screams out, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
Barbara Veldhuizen, deputy director of the EEOC Baltimore District Office, confirms much of what is in the study. EEOC gets calls from people in crisis, financial and/or emotional, to whom something bad has happened at work. That something bad can be a firing, not being promoted, or even not being able to take a planned vacation. The something may have happened just recently or may have been festering for some time. Often by the time the person calls or comes to EEOC, the person is anguished and frustrated at having been unsuccessful in trying to resolve the matter with their employer, as Professor Goldman observes.
But remember EEOC is not an omnipotent workplace ombudsperson. It can only address statutorily based discrimination, such as race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability, not plain unfairness or even gross mismanagement. Also, EEOC's trained staff have large
caseloads, commonly exceeding 90 cases, which does not bode well for the individual who wants and needs his/her one situation addressed NOW!
The anger which Professor Goldman notes in a person in crisis who gets no relief from his employer and then comes to EEOC but who gets no relief from EEOC will not be dissipated. In fact, it may become rage.
Before disability advocates run out to embrace this study, they should be aware of the statement by Goldman that says "... the ADA is unusually vague in several key areas including such key terms as what exactly constitutes a 'disability' and 'reasonable accommodation' ... These definitional vagaries may force employers to endure unusual amounts of uncertainty for years until the courts resolve many of these issues ..."
Here the professor is clearly wrong. When the ADA was enacted, it built on almost two decades of history and evolution under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act related to those key terms.
To reiterate such a biased criticism is totally inappropriate at best.
There is constant learning, constant evolution in the workplace, as managers and employees cope with new dynamics, including people with impairments who, especially as a result of laws enacted in the 1970s, namely the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as the ADA, are actively striving to be taxpaying members of society. The increasing service orientation and white collar/computer-based nature of the workplace does not make reasonable accommodation impossible to provide or disability incapable of definition.
As a society we need to take a good hard look at what these articles are highlighting. We dare not let Professor Goldman's error lead us to disregard his study or cause us not to discuss the issue. The worst thing we could do would be to continue to silently rage. Clearly, as "Workforce" notes, more must be done to bring reality — not illusions — to the workplace.
As we pause for Thanksgiving, let us take some time for introspection, to reflect at the holiday. We need to grasp what is truly happening, what we each bring to the work (as well as dining) table, what each of our responsibilities are, what is realistic to expect from ourselves, our co-workers, our employers. How can each of us, in the true Judeo-Christian ethic, make the workplace better?
Reality with humanism would be my motto as an employer. It is a creed which I think is consistent with the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Postscript, 2025
As we move forward in the 2lst century, the reality with humanism spirit of Thanksgiving is even more important. That spirit embodies good will toward friends, family and co-workers. The opportunity to cocoon around a table filled with good food and enjoy good conversation is a respite from the daily grind and attacks on the workplace. Those attacks have included job cuts, especially to Federal employees and those working under Federally funded (grants) programs. Working at home as a reasonable accommodation, a well-established concept under disability discrimination law, is also under serious siege.
As we celebrate and share the holiday, in addition to giving thanks, now more than ever remember, as Edmund Burke said years ago, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men [(sic) and women] to be silent." Let us all make the Thanksgiving holiday a catalyst to not be silent and to act to preserve and protect all that has been good (including in the workplace).
Grandpa Chuck