23/10/2026
🐒 See no evil.
🐒 Hear no evil.
🐒 Speak no evil.
Earlier this month, while I was in Japan, I visited the Nikki Tosho-gu Shrine where I saw a carving of the three monkeys.
And, inevitably, it got me thinking about HR.
Because “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” can be a pretty dangerous philosophy in the workplace.
A manager sees behaviour that isn’t acceptable, but says nothing.
Someone hears comments that make them uncomfortable, but doesn’t want to get involved.
An employee knows something isn’t right, but decides it is easier to keep quiet.
Sometimes people genuinely don’t know what to do. Sometimes they are worried about making things worse. And sometimes they are simply hoping the problem will disappear.
It rarely does.
Poor behaviour becomes accepted behaviour.
A small performance issue becomes a much bigger one.
Resentment builds.
People lose confidence in their managers because “everyone knows” what is happening, but nobody is doing anything about it.
One of the things I say to employers regularly is:
"Doing nothing is still a decision".
You don’t have to jump straight into a formal process every time something happens. But you do need to notice what is going on, listen to what people are telling you and be prepared to have the conversation.
So perhaps the workplace version should be:
🐒 See what is happening.
🐒 Hear what your people are telling you.
🐒 Speak up when something needs dealing with.
