Have workplace employee networks gone too far

Staff networking used to take place outside work hours - that was fine. They've become a way to bully people who are not part of that particular network. Yes it's a failure of management and yes some ideally should be given work time - but when networks become a source of bullying it's time to say get back to doing that in your own time and just do your job.

How can the police's visible, branded participation in a political event not be political? How can they not be associated with the views and aims of Pride while participating in Pride? How can their participation not give the impression that they endorse those views and aims?

A couple of our female police officers subsequently asked to take the stand and materials to some events they were engaged with just for gay women, was that wrong too?

It depends on the nature of the events and whether they were political, or could be seen to be political.

The judge cited the Police Regulations 2003:

1) A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it may so interfere.

He also cited the College of Policing Code of Ethics:

"Our high expectations demand that we:

… are actively aware of, and identify when, associations with – or advocacy for – any groups or individuals create a conflict of interest or risk to our police work and responsibilities, consequently affecting our ability to discharge our policing duties effectively and impartially"

The judge only ruled on one specific police force's participation in one specific pride event but in light of this judgment all police forces should be considering very carefully their role and participation in all pride events.

Generally, I think they can be really useful for some people, providing a hook into workplace culture and, sometimes, great advice for people who haven't got an informal network of their own to coach them through the often bizarre ins and outs of how to succeed in the workplace other than by being good at your job.

But occasionally I see examples of networks that have an inappropriate impact on the rest of the work place or that seem like very poor value for money (like having an IT professional spend half their time running one).

I mean exactly that - our attendance was not political. We had a stand at a couple of Pride events, the identically branded stall and recruitment materials that we used at all of our other events at colleges, places of worship, careers events, armed forces days, you name it. No officers taking part in marches, parades, no rainbow police cars - just the same police-branded stand that we would take to any community event. A couple of our female police officers subsequently asked to take the stand and materials to some events they were engaged with just for gay women, was that wrong too?

But surely the wider picture is that all businesses have to make money and if they fail to do that they cease to exist. I think a lot of these networks take up so much time and energy that they really affect productivity and make it even more difficult for companies to realise their true profit potential, which ultimately benefits no one.

What do you mean 'exactly'?

The problem was the political nature of Pride. The police were participating in a political event.

@BlackCountryWench2
If you read the ruling, the breach of PSED
was because officers wore pride branded badges on their uniforms,
pride branded their vehicles
and marched in the parade rather than policing it

the equivalent of wearing the colours of one team when policing a football match.

BUT
This thread started with the National Library of Scotland staff network over ruling the leadership on what a display should be.
Not a cool move.

Exactly. The vast majority of the staff at these stands were from HR - the best to give practical advice on applying, requirements and the process. A couple of serving officers on hand to talk about what the job was really like; could be from a network, or not, but it did help give confidence to potential recruits if there was police officer like them to talk to - a woman, a Muslim, a Sikh, a gay woman or man, ex-military services - about what the job was really like.

None of those other examples are political though.

The judge ruled that Northumbria Police officers attending Northern Pride in uniform breached their fundamental duty to impartiality, as did their static display at the event and a police vehicle decorated with the trans flag.

The judgment is worth a read:

https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2025/1805.html

We would have a recruitment stand, the same as at any other event - county show, town fair, college and university careers fairs. If it was an event with good footfall, we were there. We wanted to recruit local people to work in policing their communities.

People who don’t experience microaggressions won’t get it. They won’t get how it wears you down and confirms your fear that you can only be seen as your disability.

I tried explaining the concept of death by a thousand cuts to my [then] manager - a cut on its own is barely noticeable and certainly not a problem. A thousand, and you bleed to death through the cumulative effect.

I'm just over-sensitive, though. (He's a middle-aged, middle-class white man, so, you know...)

Also getting it on the cheap.

Not necessarily. We got to organise a women's conference. Some professional speakers cost tens of thousands.

The ones at my work are exactly like this, open to "all genders and identities". So, actually, mixed sex. And no, I don't want to join a network to talk about menstrual flooding or issues with the menopause with men in the group. I wouldn't talk to my husband about that as how would he be able to advise or empathise when he has no experience of it?! Never mind strange male work colleagues. It's insane.

People who don't think there's any value in these kinds of networks are exactly the reason these networks still need to exist.

They may have value
but some of the louder ones are causing an existential risk to their hosts
and that is a bad thing

My colleagues are all nice liberal minded people. We aren’t bigoted in any way etc etc

Except your post reveals that you are nowhere near as liberal and non-bigoted as you think you are.

If you don't think staff networks are important, don't join them. But you've no business telling people from minority groups that their networks are a waste of time and money because you happen to think they don't face any discrimination.

People who don't think there's any value in these kinds of networks are exactly the reason these networks still need to exist.

They are really patronising/performative and cringey.
They had them at my old job and not joining a network designed for people like you (woohoo) was treated like the equivalent of shitting in the office bin.

Everybody has at least three protected characteristics.
Many people have more.
The PCs each of us have change over time.
PCs regularly conflict so have to be balanced

Far too many of the "employee networks" have been allowed to influence organisational policy
bringing it into direct conflict with the actual law.

Sorry l forget that l live in a bigot free land which has niw been taken over by Wokism, almost demented political correctness and where l live mandatory virtue signally.

The above are the Noveau Bigots and their views and opinions are always right. They wear their views like a safety blanket because they cant think fior themselves and are and too scared an scared to speak out.

They are like sheep and just adopt the latest trend. BAAHHH!!!

🐑🐑🐑🙈🙉🙊👎

I run our age network. We’ve forced our office to take age discrimination seriously and to provide statistics on protected characteristics that include age. And departments are now having to look at why they don’t employ many over 50s (these departments also score poorly on ethnic minorities and disabled employees). So yes, I feel we’ve done something useful.

I agree with this:

Rather, in a lot of workplaces these networks have overreached their original purpose of mutual support and have become a kind of parallel power - an alternate source of authority and decision making within an organisation.

I tick some of the “ inclusion” boxes..
I was finger wagged at by my manager last week for not being at all active in any of the endless networks and events. This is impeding my chances of promotion. I was advised to join the menopause one and share experiences of peri menopause. With my work colleagues ( including many men).
I said no thank you.
I don’t see middle aged men being asked to share about male pattern baldness or young men being asked to share about how they can’t get much work done for thinking about tits all day.
Come to that, the older men are equally forgetful and foggy- which happens in middle aged- but they know they are marvellous in other ways so they don’t sweat it..
In my public sector workplace it’s shocking how much time ( and therefore how much of our tax money) is wasted on these lip service box ticking vanities. And the young women and men who enthusiastically jump on board every d and I bandwagon are patted on the head by senior management and rise up the ranks v quickly ( to continue the grift).
I am so so over it.

People are people and often put on their best face at work However, they still have the same faults, jealousies, prejudices and shortcomings as they ever had.

But due to Societal Fascism. They are no longer allowed to speak up in case they offend anyone

Bigots being restricted in their bigotry is 'Societal Fascism', seriously?

I used to help run the Disabled staff network at work but I have been there a long time and frankly can no longer be bothered, my bad I know. However I am pissed off weekly at least by microaggressions.
I work for a large Local Authority, obviously many of our service users will be disabled people and people in receipt of benefits. When I get to the office I cannot access the staff entrance in my wheelchair so I have to use the front door, public entrance. There are lots of staff members in customer services and regularly new people sat on reception who do not know me by sight. Invariably I get greeted as a service user when I enter the office, despite wearing my ID badge on a lanyard around my neck.
People who don’t experience microaggressions won’t get it. They won’t get how it wears you down and confirms your fear that you can only be seen as your disability.

I know the receptionist is trying to be helpful, they probably don’t even realise that they see a wheelchair and instantly think ‘customer who needs to see adult social care team or benefits claim’ but if they are working reception they should probably know there are 2 employees who use wheelchairs and a bit of thought wouldn’t hurt.

Which bank do you for?

They have all seemed to have closed a good few years ago where l live.

I think your Management let you have all these si called diverse groups Si that they dont have to provide and pay for additional HR and other support staff.

If there are problems they can distance themselves

Also getting it on the cheap.

Are you neerings held on Zoom or similar?

You should also rethink your happy, clappy midern working environment

People are people and often put on their best face at work However, they still have the same faults, jealousies, prejudices and shortcomings as they ever had.

But due to Societal Fascism. They are no longer allowed to speak up in case they offend anyone

If there isn't a group that you want to join - make one up. That's what the civil service does. How about one for the professionally offended?

I agree with you. There are plenty of other places to find such groups and people tend to ‘find’ one another in workplaces anyway. Also what about diversity and learning to get along with others rather than just, ironically creating another clique?