In 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson, a convict on parole, took four employees of Kreditbanken (one of the largest banks in Sweden at the time, based out of Stockholm) hostage during a failed bank robbery. Olsson was soon joined by a co-conspirator and so began a six-day ordeal for the captives. For much of this time, the hostages were held in one of the bank vaults under conditions that most of us can only imagine - cramped quarters, no comforts, negotiations for food and water, unsanitary conditions, and constant threat to life either from the hostage takers or police action. When the hostages were finally released, they not only choose NOT to testify against their captors, but they also actually went so far as to raise money for their legal defense!
In the time after these events, police and mental health experts tried to dissect and understand why the hostages would be supportive and even identify with their captors. Long story short, the hostages started to build a relationship with their captors. While the captors were certainly the immediate cause of the loss of freedom and risk to life that the hostages experienced, there was also growing appreciation for the power that the captors wielded over them. The hostages were, after all, kept alive by their captors for six days. They were provided with food and water and what limited amenities were possible. The captors and hostages developed a shared experience. And, as related by the hostages themselves, they increasingly saw outside forces (e.g., police) as being a greater risk to their health than their captors. The captors and the hostages came to believe they shared a similar threat from outside the bank.
What similarities do I see (or have experienced) in the workplace? I can neither begin to describe all of the instances of workplace harassment, abuse, and trauma I have experienced, nor those that I have seen or have had relayed to me by others over the past many years. In all of these cases, it is clear that the organization or "boss" controls all manner of punishment and rewards that can be provided to their staff (e.g., good/bad performance reviews, salary increases/bonuses or not, public praise or ridicule, private encouragements or disparagement).
While societal norms and values may be changing, with particular impetus to this trend being given by our COVID-19 pandemic experience, much of our self-worth is still tied to our work, our positions/titles, and the sense of belonging we crave in working within a team/organization. Humans are social beings and need connection and belonging. Most, if not all, of us are usually excited and hopeful when we begin a new job. We are anxious to prove ourselves to our new organization, our new colleagues, and even to ourselves. With few exceptions, we are probably somewhat vulnerable in these circumstances and assess any short-term "failures" as part of our learning curve. Over time, as each successive day passes and each paycheck is received, we become more enmeshed with an organization's culture. Most of our day-to-day relationships are those we experience at work.
I know from my own personal experience that as time goes on (months and years of working together), there is an increasing desire to hope for positive feedback and rewards while at the same time taking on a great degree of ownership (and even guilt) when performance is not recognized or even diminished. We have been trained to believe that the boss or organization might be infallible and that any punishment we might receive is warranted. We double down on our efforts to be worthy - accept negative feedback, work longer hours, sacrifice personal time for the good of the next big project, even lie to advance an organizational priority. Unaddressed or unchallenged, I have seen some of the most downtrodden staff members remain fiercely loyal to their boss/organization at the expense of themselves. At times, these abused staff can even become allies in the abuse and harassment of other colleagues.
An employee experiencing Stockholm Syndrome in their workplace becomes emotionally and psychologically attached to the organization/boss to the detriment of their own emotional health. And this is not just some mask worn in some form of perverse self-preservation. In many respects, the employee comes to BELIEVE that the environment being created is right/correct and is in the best interests of the organization as a whole. This spirt of self-sacrifice, doing everything that needs to be done, swallowing one's pride, can often be seen as the epitome of professionalism. We can become vigorous and passionate deniers of what seems obvious as unhealthy by any outside or objective perspective.
How do we know we are living in or seeing Stockholm Syndrome in our places of work? All too often a key casualty in these environments is a breakdown in real, honest, and authentic teamwork. Each individual becomes primarily focused on self. They work to be rewarded, actively look to avoid any form of punishment, and are grateful that others might be the focus of negative attention. Keep my head down, please the boss, put in my time. To the extent that rewards are still available to employees, these will be powerfully used to maintain control over staff behavior with loyalty being the expectation regardless of personal cost.
A rather bleak picture! Breaking this cycle is hard and usually requires a major (or many major) inflexion points within a team or organization. In rare instances, a particular leader overreaches their bounds and is found out. The "hostages" are released, but still experience long-term negative impact that takes significant time and effort to overcome. Some have to unlearn the coping mechanisms they developed and rebuild trust in the organization, their colleagues, and even themselves. For others, the journey forward means a departure to another organization and, depending on their personal resilience and strength of a broader support network, can either mean upward mobility or downward spiral.
As with everything within an organization, the type of culture created and maintained comes directly back to the quality of leadership provided, our view of what it means to be part of a team, and even to our confidence in ourselves. Professionalism is great, but not at the expense of ourselves and our values.
It's all about leadership for self which sometimes means we have to recognize that the emperor has no clothes, our hostage takers don't have our best interests at heart, and that as painful as it might seem in the moment, moving on can often be the best thing we can do for ourselves.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE(R), CEC, PCCExecutive Coach/Senior Consultant
gregh@breakpoint.solutions
www.breakpoint.solutions
780-918-0009
Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.
