Resolutely Self-Destructive

Let's face it, some people are argumentative and perpetually of the opinion that they have been overlooked for promotion, despite their superior qualities and outstanding work habits. And that might be true, to an extent. Managers are not necessarily fond of subordinates whose pugnacious attitude and propensity to complain and demand special treatment irritate the living hell out of them.

Superiors do not ordinarily reward subordinates who give them incessant headaches and complicate their working lives. It's human nature. On the other hand, it might make sense to do so if by rewarding such an employee with elevated status it would remove them from direct contact. Send them, for example, to another department entirely, so that they're someone else's problem.

But then, this is a circuitous route, solving nothing, since the now-elevated employee, given additional responsibilities and greater workplace prestige, continues to feel he is entitled to ongoing promotions, and in the process of carrying on his superior duties remains as prickly and demanding as ever, alienating his new superiors.

There are those people, who are competent enough in their field, and who do indeed perform outstandingly well, but who drive others to distraction by their grumbling and complaints and dissatisfactions. Who wants to reward such people? Who can be difficult to deal with, even with the best of intentions. And who claim that the quality of their work is under-appreciated, the underlying cause being racism.

In the federal government with its affirmative action programs, particularly for visible minorities and females, and its track record for recognizing and rewarding outstanding work in departments dealing with science and technology, it isn't really all that likely that racism plays a part in human relations. Since there are channels and avenues also that can be taken to seek redress if such is the case.

"You know, I have actually sacrificed my career for this. I was somebody. and I would have gone somewhere. I really believe I could have reached any top position in the federal public service in the science field. and that has been taken away from me as a result of this. I need some kind of vindication." Physicist Chander Grover

Mr. Grover, as a recent immigrant to Canada, was hired to work for the National Research Council. For several decades he has summoned assistance in his battle with the NRC and its supervisors, claiming that he was overlooked for advancement because of racism. The Canadian Human Rights Commission supported his claims, and he won a ruling that had the NRC re-hire Mr. Grover, appoint him to a senior position, and pay his court costs.

Mr. Grover has a doctorate in physics from the Universite de Paris, and always managed to receive excellent job reviews. But all that changed, he claimed, when a new director came into his division, and took a dislike to him. Since then he has filed a string of human rights complaints against the NRC, whenever they attempted to discipline him for insubordination.

He is now 68 years of age. He seemed incapable of settling into the positions he was granted, as a senior physicist. Even while he was working as a senior management at the NRC he continued to file suits against them claiming damages for infringements of his equality rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. His anger and bitterness and belief that he was being discriminated against made him physically ill, but didn't stop him.

"Every attempt to manage this employee has been interpreted as a discriminatory act of which threats of further human rights complaints or other litigation has been made", wrote an NRC lawyer in a 2005 legal filing.

In a review of the history of Mr. Chander's disagreements with the NRC the Public Service Labour Relations Board adjudicator assigned to his case said:

"It appears that for a period of years no effort was made to manage Dr. Grover's performance at all or to interfere in any way with how he operated his section ... In the same period, Dr. Grover was extremely vigilant about reminding the NRC of the Tribunal's findings, and the remedies that he had been granted. Any effort made by the NRC to manage Dr. Grover's performance or to provide the kind of direction senior management would be expected to provide was not only resisted by Dr. Grover but characterized by him in articulate but inflammatory language as further evidence of discrimination."

In the final analysis, 24 years spent in disgruntlement, resentment and anger. What a waste.