Businesses have a moral and ethical duty to uphold the freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 33 of the Constitution. Unfortunately, businesses often infringe this right through their policies and practice.
I once dealt with a case where a woman faced intimidation, bullying and frustration from her bosses. The only reason this happened was because she had a different view from her boss and expressed her views openly yet respectfully.
She received a lot of backlash from her superiors, so much so that she opted to resign. The business had clearly curtailed her freedom of expression.
In yet another incident, a staff member received a termination letter from his employer after using his personal social media account to express his political views. The employer was a staunch supporter of a different political camp and did not tolerate divergent views.
The above examples demonstrate that while freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution, many businesses often breach this constitutional provision through policies and practice.
Upholding the freedom of expression is not only a moral and ethical obligation, it is also a smart business decision.
A business that nurtures a culture of freedom of expression will benefit in the long run. By entertaining divergent views and upholding inclusivity of divergent views, it stands to gain in many ways.
Staff morale is generally high as they are confident that their views will be taken into account. Staff in such businesses are also not insecure as they are assured that there will be no retaliation from their bosses even if they hold a different view.
Such environments are highly productive and provide a healthy workplace. Talent and skill acquisition in such businesses is very high and there is low staff turnover.
The business also stands to gain as a recipient of new ideas and divergent views from staff members. Experts’ advice that a business that embraces diversity in terms of skill set, experience, gender, age and even nationality gains more than a business that does not embrace diversity.
Here are some tips on how your business can uphold Article 33.
Foster collaboration and diversity
Encourage teamwork and inclusive participation. Accord the team members the freedom to speak up and give ideas without retaliation.
Grievance mechanism policy
Encourage staff to air out their grievances through a grievance mechanism policy and procedure. Staff ought to feel free to report their grievances and ought to feel assured that their grievances will be heard in a fair and accountable manner.
Whistleblower policy
The business should have a whistleblower policy and establish a mechanism where staff can report any misconduct freely without fear of reprisals. The whistleblower should be protected from backlash.
In fostering a culture of expression and freedom, the business also ought to create boundaries to avoid reckless expression from staff that could end up harming the business. The freedom to expression ought to be used within the confines of the law.
Therefore, a staff member should not insubordinate their boss in exercising the freedom of expression. A staff member should not harm the business in exercising the freedom of expression.
The provision grants persons the freedom to seek, receive or impart ideas. It also provides for the freedom of artistic creativity, academic freedom and the freedom of scientific research.
