Wilmette reader Christopher Janus recently wrote to praise Mike Royko for ”clearly stating what needed to be said” concerning some commotion over Channel 11`s ”treatment” of Studs Terkel.
I can`t agree that anything needed saying in the matter, least of all that Studs Terkel needed defending. Terkel is a public figure who seemingly chose to get himself more than a little involved with his management over their conflicting views on how best to manage the affairs of Channel 11`s WFMT radio station. Terkel has been around as a usually outspoken observer of the scene long enough to have learned that those who use a public forum provided by their management to malign it do so at their peril.
If there is a story in this vein that needed telling, it is not that Studs Terkel got what he bargained for. Rather it is that ”making an employee`s life so miserable that he`ll quit” (Royko`s words in pleading for public sympathy for Terkel) has become an indispensable art, approaching science, and an integral part of the basic repertoire for today`s professional manager. In our litigious age, the ”humiliate-him-into-quitting strategy”
(Royko`s words again) pays handsome dividends daily to any management whose sole, overriding dedication is either to the bottom line or ridding itself of an irritant.
Employees who quit, unlike those who are ”separated,” not only walk away from costly severance and benefits packages but are less likely to find themselves with grounds to pursue the lawsuits which a welter of civil rights legislation seems designed to encourage.
