A recent experience and discussion with a client, encouraged me to think about the word ‘success’ and the label of being considered ‘successful’. Many of us strive for success in our lives, some of us dedicate our time to it daily. However, when success is achieved and we are perceived to be the people who excel in life by those around us, what is the real experience? Is it always positive? When the final step to our vision has been reached – do accolades or enemies wait to greet us?
For those who don’t already know a little bit about me, I am from the UK. I have enjoyed a home in Australia for about 9 years and have lived in a few different neighbourhoods throughout Sydney. Currently I am living it up on the South Coast. A few month’s back I was having a candid chat post training with one of my inspirational NDIS clients about life experiences. We touched on career highlights and equally a few career lows and as the conversation unravelled it became apparent to me that sometimes success is at times unfortunately frowned upon. Even when the successful are humble and doing good in the world, out of the shadows jumps a person, or gang of people, ready to rain on and cancel a person’s “I made it!” parade. For no other reason than their own lack of aspirations to better themselves or the world around them. My client gave this phenomena a name, you have probably already heard of it. It’s coined, Tall Poppy Syndrome and is sadly branded with the Australian Made triangle.
To quote Rachel Renosa, “The point of cutting down a tall poppy – in the original Australian context – is to keep the flowers’ height uniform. Over time, the Aussie slang has come to mean ‘cutting down’ high achievers who stand out in a field of mediocre performers”.
This phenomena is killing productivity and workplace morale. Now, please don’t misinterpret this as me saying “I’m a high achiever who stands out in a field of mediocre performers”- CERTAINLY NOT! My ego wouldn’t allow it [especially the academic achievements]. But! The all too common link I have observed is the invisible threat by other poppies, created by misguided interpretation – “If a poppy stands above me … will it steal my sunshine?”.
If we were to break down Tall Poppy Syndrome to its rawest form, and let’s not beat around the bush here, the apple wouldn’t fall far from the Bully tree. TPS plain and simple looks and feels a lot like bullying.
In a presentation made by Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister and Beyond Blue Chair, to the CEDA’s State of the Nations summit, the financial implications on the Australian economy from poor mental health in the workplace were eye opening. As of 2019, the impact stood at eight (8) million lost work days, estimated to cost the economy approximately $60billion, each year. Ms Gillard went on to share a report by KPMG, “KPMG’s 2018 Investing to Save report found investing $50 million in the prevention and early intervention could achieve up to $442 million in long-term savings to the national economy”. Prevention as early intervention, could this be the cure?
Did anybody else just here a pile of papers scatter? Cue Anti-Bullying Policy here.
From my experience in personal and professional situations, most company’s boast a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and anti-discrimination. Sign on the dotted line at the commencement of your employment and by god you have taken an oath! Hallelujah! [I am literally standing and applauding]. Unfortunately the harsh reality is, it is just a piece of paper and some members are exempt from swearing an oath to it. Which can mean that when “bullying” occurs, it may be considered more financially viable [and a lot less dramatic] to dismiss, move and sweep the depressed, victimised and hurt under the carpet, as opposed to booting the oppressor/s.
I like the idea of an early intervention program and would be interested to hear what this entails and while I’m not looking at the financial pros and cons of such a program, I know money saved is a huge selling point for businesses.
My role and responsibility is that of a professional helping the vulnerable. That is what I care about. As a professional, I would ask businesses to consider ways in which they can lift their staff up, empower them and respond to issues as they arise – or better still, develop a customised early intervention program that safeguards your workplace against weeds like TPS and bullying. We all have enough common sense to know that a piece of paper is never enough. Wear your demand for respect like a company plaque, practise it daily and set an expectation of value from the top down.
SBS News. 2021. Australia loses eight million working days a year due to mental health issues | SBS News. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/mental-illness/australia-loses-eight-million-working-days-a-year-due-to-mental-health-issues#:~:text=%22Eight%20million%20working%20days%20are,told%20the%20conference%20in%20Canberra.. [Accessed 03 March 2021].
What is Tall Poppy Syndrome? | HRD Australia. 2021. What is Tall Poppy Syndrome? | HRD Australia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employee-engagement/what-is-tall-poppy-syndrome/190607. [Accessed 02 March 2021].
HEARTWORK 