I am reading the latest Ian Rankin book. One strand of the story concerns a police officer accused of,” domestic abuse” and repeated assault. The evidence is overwhelming but he comes up with an unusual defence. He is claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ) due to 10 years in the police force. It’s not so much the horrific traffic accidents, the suicides or murder scenes it’s the way he and his colleagues were brutalised and systematically corrupted by the culture. The claim would be easily dismissed if it was not common knowledge that the police station he was based at was notorious within the force.
This may be an extreme example but it got me thinking about the impact of how and where you earn your living on your life outside of work. We know it works the other way round problems at home can effect work performance all be it usually in the short term. We know the work place can stress people and depress people, we are increasingly aware it can seriously affect health and well-being so over time can it change someone’s personality?
There is increasing evidence that personality is not fixed and can change over time. Humans are adaptive we develop and change in response to our environment.
Being exposed to a bad environment whether that is unrelenting stress, insecure employment, constant criticism, bullying, racism , homophobia or misogyny is going to affect your personality. The formerly outward going, confident, positive individual may become depressed ,anxious , withdrawn , suspicious, resentful, angry and distrusting. Perfectly understandable in the circumstances. Family and friends will notice the difference even if they are not fully aware of the reasons
If this is the culture , all be it the unofficial culture , with in an organisation but you are not personally targeted for this abuse will the environment still change your personality? Will it influence your views and behaviour?
Whether or not we accord Ian Rankin’s character any sympathy or think it in anyway mitigates his abusive behaviour the implication is that a toxic environment is bad for everyone. The message then is that if work changes your personality, it should be for the better. It certainly shouldn’t diminish, corrupt or turn you into someone you don’t like.
