🔦 Spotlight on Workplace Complicity

The Bystanders in Power

Welcome to The Reckoning Room - a space where silence is broken, complicity is confronted, and the stories that power tries to bury are given voice.

This edition turns the spotlight on the bystanders in positions of power - those who saw, heard, or knew something was wrong and chose the safety of silence over the risk of accountability.

Their inaction isn’t neutral. It’s complicity.

The Bystanders in Power

There are two kinds of bystanders in a workplace crisis: those without power who feel helpless, and those with power who choose not to act. The second group - the ones in boardrooms, HR offices, union leadership, or behind closed doors - are often the invisible architects of harm.

They don’t need to raise their voice. Their silence is the message.

They don’t need to endorse the abuser. Their indifference is endorsement enough.

What happens when those entrusted to protect the vulnerable turn a blind eye instead?

What do we call those who shield abusers, gaslight whistleblowers, or “wait it out” for damage control?

We call them what they are: complicit.

✍️ Excerpt from the Memoir

“It’s deeply disheartening when colleagues make excuses for unethical behaviour, especially when it’s a coordinated effort by bosses to discredit you. Their complicity doesn’t just sting. It cuts deep.”

— from Silent Saboteurs, Chapter 18

🛠 Reckoning Room Recommends

📖 Book: Blind Spots: Why We Fail To Do What's Right And What To Do About It

This book examines how individuals often act unethically without realising it, and offers strategies to align actions with moral intentions.

📄 Article: Toxic Leadership: Impact and Solutions for a Healthy Workplace

This article explores the undercurrents of Toxic leadership - marked by control, micromanagement, and poor communication that creates a culture of fear, distrust, and high turnover. The article recommends leadership development, culture change, anonymous feedback, and strategic HR support as key solutions to rebuild trust and foster a healthier workplace.

💻Website: Institutional Betrayal - The Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying Resources

“Institutional betrayal represents a profound breach of trust that can have lasting effects on individuals and communities. Addressing it requires a comprehensive approach involving policy changes, cultural transformation, and unwavering support for targets. By taking proactive measures, institutions can rebuild trust and foster safe, inclusive, and just environments.”

🗣 Voices from the Reckoning Room

“It wasn’t just the person who targeted me. It was everyone who pretended it wasn’t happening.”

- Subscriber Comment

Do you have a story of bystander betrayal? Hit reply or comment. Your voice matters here.

📢 Call to Action

If you’ve been let down by those in power, you’re not alone. This edition is for the ones who were failed, forgotten, or silenced.

💬 Share your experience.

📢 Forward this edition to someone who needs to understand what complicity looks like.

🧾 Upgrade to paid for early access to I’m No Angel - the next powerful excerpt from Silent Saboteurs.