The recent tragic suicide of a man pained by his divorce proceedings and alimony demands has sparked widespread outrage on social media. People have gone beyond just posting their thoughts and prayers.
Social media users, who are at their polarized best these days, want justice for the man and believe the corporate world too must play their part in the ‘cancel culture’. The wife’s employer, a global IT giant, has been hounded by posts to terminate her employment and take action.
Now this puts the company in the eye of the storm. The crisis, which is clearly the personal matter of the employee, also does not relate to her time at work. However, today’s outrage-loving online audience expect companies to get involved and play their part in social and political issues.
They seek the enterprise’s help to ostracise the “culprits.” The wife’s employer has nothing to do with the crisis but noticing a large company’s name in the mix, they have now been put on a spot to take a stand.
When thrown in such spotlights, companies then get into a long drawn cycle of statement-making and answering media queries, which only to eat into their productivity. In some cases, increasingly so, we also find companies tempted to milk such outrage-oriented world, perhaps egged on by PR advisors.
But the reality is there is no winning. Corporations must keep in mind — they are not democracies and the public is not an electorate. There will always be a section of people unhappy with you. The need of the hour is a clear strategy to handle these situations as they arise, which they frequently will.
In the current crisis, the IT company’s strategy to put their heads down, block out the noise, and keep doing its job is perhaps the best way to wait for such things to blow over…at least until the next outrage.