The cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, and the socioeconomic impact of climate change being what it is, it is unfortunate that modern employers choose to incorporate the exploitation of young employees into their business models. Deliberate miscommunication and misinformation tactics are rampant in the workplace, not among employees, as is popularly portrayed in media, but as the result of deliberate machinations on the part of management teams. It is difficult to call these stratagems even a management tactic—and certainly does not make it into a management guidebook in any academy. It is important that employees—especially newcomers to the workforce—arm themselves with an awareness of these practices in order to face them unfazed.
Miscommunication
A key element—or a key characteristic—that should warn employees about the true nature of their employer from afar is the deliberate miscommunications that take place during the hiring process. Incomplete job descriptions, vague representations of the scope of an employee’s responsibilities, and the framework within which they should carry these out often result in employees finding themselves in job roles very different from the one represented to them initially. Other avenues where this kind of miscommunication abounds are communications on compensation, such as vague salary information, misleading benefit descriptions, the substitution of ‘perks’ into verbal or written discussions on such, and what employees are entitled to in the event of lay-offs or termination. Lack of communication about areas such as opportunities for career growth for example can even impair employees from reaching their full potential in the future.
Manipulation tactics
Miscommunication in itself can be broadly defined as a manipulation tactic, although both manipulation and miscommunication deserve proper descriptions of their own. This is because employers frequently find shelter behind ‘miscommunication’ as an honest mistake, rather than a deliberate action. Employers bank on the insecurity and inexperience of young employees to carry out their exploitative manipulation tactics successfully. Setting unrealistic expectations for work and rewards is the most basic among these, which are then enforced or conversely abandoned without forewarning through the abuse that employers hold over their employees. Unequal work distribution, and the withholding of deserved opportunities for advancement all help trap inexperienced employees into this cycle of abuse. Gaslighting, a culture of fear and dependency, and the deliberate tactics to ensure that employees are obstructed from communicating with each other and finding community in their experiences all further disenfranchise employees from advocating for their rights.
The impact of miscommunication and manipulation on employees
The impact of such debilitating tactics on the psyche of employees as well as their future potential can be devastating. This is initially expressed through their work-related stress, burnout, and dangerous misalignment in their work-life balance. In terms of more concrete effects (not that deteriorating mental health is in any way a dismissible effect). Economically at least, the resulting fallout can include anything from low wages, and exploitative employment contracts, to limited access to benefits and job security. In the longer term, this can result in a stunting in professional growth that lasts well into their career.
Preventing employer manipulation and self advocation
Workplace transparency is an essential component of facing employer exploitation head-on. Unfortunately, as can be expected, toxic employers generally have little incentive to promote such a culture. This transparency should include clear communication regarding job expectations, compensation and benefits policies, and an environment for clear and open dialogue between employers and their employees, among others. These then provide the foundation upon which legal protection can extend between employers and employees to prevent exploitation on both ends. The mechanisms for legal protection should also be further subject to continuous review and updating processes based on contemporary laws within the organisation. Employers have a responsibility to educate both employees and management teams on their rights in order to ensure that incidents are not escalated unnecessarily, especially in ways that may discourage employees from future, productive conversations with their superiors. This can be further supported through the encouragement of community and solidarity among employees. In the unfortunate event that these are not facilitated by employers, it is important that employees first look to each other for transparent communication and community. This may not be easy, and in fact difficult and intimidating for employees, especially in the face of possible action on the part of employers to prevent it. Collective and individual action and advocacy are crucial to ensure exploitation if not prevented entirely, is kept to a minimum until legal assistance can be obtained.
In the case of an unfavourable work environment, the key weapon with which employees can defend their rights becomes education. One way in which this education can be obtained is by looking for examples of similar cases in your area, region, and industry, including lawsuits, pieces of investigative journalism, criminal investigations, other media coverage, and online social media platforms and industry forums. Media coverage and social media especially can become powerful pools of resources and a powerful way of garnering support and public attention for a particular crisis or problem. Personal stories and anecdotal evidence from those who have experienced what employees are facing currently beforehand can provide focused guidance on how the challenges of deliberate miscommunication and manipulation can be faced head-on.
Understanding the various ways in which employers exploit their employees is crucial for newcomers to the workforce. This is especially true of the present day and age, where industrialisation and capitalism have progressed to a level that depends on the exploitation of the many to concentrate resources and wealth on an exploitative few. It is also important that the effect this exploitation has on employees is acknowledged on a societal level, which creates transparency on the social level, which would act as a deterrent to management tactics that depend on operating in the shadows to remain effective. It is after all, only through the creation of an appropriate social pressure on legislation pressures that stronger protection can be built into the law that protects employees, and creates an encouraging environment for them to become productive partners in lasting economic growth.
(Theruni M. Liyanage)