When Truth Doesn't Matter

Imagine you are told not to continue attending the last day of a training course on social etiquette in business because your manager, who didn't attend, received a complaint from the lecturer that you fundamentally disagreed with a key part of the course content.

What? you exclaim. That's not what happened! I suggest we all meet to discuss the matter. And, you think to yourself, what's wrong with disagreeing with someone else's viewpoint?

I am sorry but your name has been removed from security clearance to enter the training course. If you would like to complete the course then I will give you a copy of the course material and I will go over it with you.

It is all you can do to stumble to your car and drive home without having an accident, your sight a blur as tears fall freely. You feel rejected and misunderstood and bullied. All you remember that might have created this mess is saying that integrity should always be maintained in business dealings, and your course lecturer disagreed with your statement, and you did voice some anger at the ethics of this but then kept quiet, and the lecturer was friendly towards you for the remainder of the day. Could that be why you are being excluded? What else could be the cause of your being barred? You feel like a child sent to her room for doing something wrong without being told beforehand what the rules were.

The next day you snap out of the spiral of woe and decide you must talk about the situation to find out what happened. You feel the situation is totally unjust. You decide to speak to your manager again, who you are sure will stick up for you. You ask your manager for a chance to have a frank discussion with the training course lecturer to clear the air. I don't want to know the details, she says coldly. You were sent to attend the training course to learn and not to give your own opinion. The lecturer has years of experience behind her and knows what she is talking about. But, you mumble, still not quite comprehending the gravity of the situation, and then you sigh softly as the meeting is adjourned. What hurts more than anything is that your manager is not even prepared to listen to your side of the story and you feel betrayed by someone you admired.

That night you talk about the situation using social media. You forget that a friend of your manager has access to all you say. The next morning your manager is livid, and she says, I saw what you said on social media. Drop the matter or you will be fired. You realise that putting truth out into the open has made your situation worse and you hastily apologise. A week later you accept a transfer to a new department.

This is a true story, details fundamentally changed to protect the identity of all concerned.