Incest 0000i-xiv FM 1 - William L. White

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t h e i n c e st u o u s wo r k p lac e
Such loss of direct communication is most dramatic during the latter
stages of closure we described earlier as being characterized by loss of
faith, scapegoating, and rebellion. Many of us have witnessed the sudden
scapegoating (extrusion) of an organizational member and the accompanying
no-talk rules that ominously prohibited open discussion of
how and why the person was no longer part of the organization. And yet
such incidents are processed in excruciating detail in the social subgroups
outside the work setting. People who are part of more than one
social subgroup serve as vehicles to transfer information and misinformation
from one subgroup to another. This frantic level of activity and
information exchange in the work-dominated social network is paralleled
in the interactions inside the organization by silences and whispers
regarding the same event.
When no escape valves exist inside the organization, pent-up emotion
may spill out in some unpredictable and potentially uncontrollable
ways. Imagine the possibilities when we have such barely suppressed
conflict and discomfort, and we bring all of the organizational members
together for something like a Christmas party, and then add a drug such
as alcohol that will lower the inhibitions and impulse control of many of
those in attendance. One such event described to me occurred at an extremely
troubled stage in the life of a professionally and socially closed
organization. As the drinking altered judgment and loosened tongues
over the course of the evening, the discharge of pent-up anger and resentment
resulted in physical confrontations and serious destruction of
property. Under other circumstances, it would have been sufficiently
volatile to have warranted calling the police. In this case, however, those
attending the party were the police.
6.7 Social Relationships in Open and Closed Systems
Social relationships among people who work together in open systems
are established out of free choice and are based on common interests
and the desires of those involved to share time and activities. Such relationships
form out of individual preference and are not initiated or sustained
by the dynamics of the organization. Such relationships are
focused on personal interests rather than work issues. These workrelated
friendships serve to supplement our existing nonwork social
network. In open systems, members have easy access across the organizational
boundary and the freedom to develop and maintain social