A-Z of Workplace Cynicism Launched

A new guide shows it's ok for workers to have complete doubt over anything they’re asked to do

Which? readers’ worst railway company in the UK holds top ‘Investors in People’ status, European Foundation for Quality Management five-star rating and Lloyd’s Register quality certification…

A new A-Z has been launched to expose dysfunctional workplaces and the guilty parties and horrendous practices within them. The A-Z of Workplace Cynicism includes MBAs, applying for your own job, entrepreneurs, corporate social responsibility, ISO9000, marketing and ‘leveraging’ amongst the topics covered.

The A-Z also covers corporate ‘badge collecting’ and has been launched just after consumer organisation Which? found Southeastern Railways to be the worst in the UK, despite it holding Investors in People ‘Champion’ status and a host of other badges.

The author, David Eckhoff, has worked widely with a range of small and larger organisations as a PR consultant. During this time he came across a wide range of questionable practices and dubious ‘goings-on’. However, the workplace is full of talented people full of self-doubt because they feel unable to point out frauds, fakes and waste-of-time activities for fear of being seen as ‘negative’. Many of these have now shared their experiences and they have been included in the A-Z.

David said: “It was only when I went into PR consultancy that I realised the desperate nature of many working environments. Renaming a department ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the vain hope it might stop being utterly useless and ‘badge-collectors’, with some of the most disaffected workforces in Europe, who devote significant resource to gaining Investors in People and other accreditation are just two examples I’ve come across.

“I want to show those that have realised what’s going on, who truly want to achieve useful objectives for their businesses and customers, that they can speak up.”

The A-Z of Workplace Cynicism is designed to grow through twitter. Suggestions can be tweeted to @theroyalfactor and considered for inclusion in further updates. The first edition is available for Kindle at Amazon at £0.98.

Further details can be obtained from David Eckhoffdavid.eckhoff@btinternet.com.

David Eckhoff has also written The Royal Factor: what happens when a Prime Minister attempts to replace the royals through a tv talent show.