There was a rather shocking story in the papers the other day about a Jewish trader in the City of London who was asked by his company to dress up as Adolf Hitler. Laurent Weinberger refused, turned down a demotion and pay cut, and finally resigned. Now he is suing the company for racial discrimination and constructive dismissal after leaving his £125,000 job.
The story has brought into focus the jolly sort of goings-up that have traditionally enlivened City life in London. According to the company, bond and currency brokers Tullet and Tokyo Liberty (TTL), they had a number of work practices which were part of a policy designed to relieve stress and create a more productive atmosphere on its trading floor. One of these was the placing of a skull cap on top of television sets whenever a Jew appeared on screen. And to be accepted into the company culture, employees had to endure insults and, as in the case of Mr Weinberger, don fancy dress.
The liberal press has of course already thrown up its collective hands in horror, especially since the furore over the body organ retention policies of certain hospitals already shows disturbing signs of calming down, and a new subject is urgently needed for the bleeding-heart feature writers who traditionally revel in such stories while simultaneously stoking the flames of public outrage.
From the media point of view, this particular new story has a lot going for it. It involves Jew-baiting, always good for a headline. It involves "feelings" - and even more fashionably, a man's feelings. It puts despised City traders (men in the very worse sense of the word, naturally) in a bad light once again. It reveals how absolutely horrible successful men can be to each other, and the abysmal taste some well-off people display. It upholds the importance of sensitivity. It reveals the Corrupting Nature of Wealth. It is a truly shocking cautionary tale for our times.
Actually, I haven't laughed as much in a long time. Were I to be offered a position with Tullet and Tokyo Liberty today, I think I would accept straight away, were it not that I have a complete aversion to wearing "fancy dress". They sound like a fun company.
How do they explain their costume policy, you might ask. Well, TTL sees it as a lighthearted way of punishing traders who are late for work on Fridays. The industrial tribunal considering the case was told that other offenders had, among other things, been forced to dress as fairies and pixies.
That's the kind of thing any reasonably creative company might dream up as a mild punishment - and a lot preferable, surely, to having your pay docked. But TTL showed real style - the chosen costumes focused on the religious or ethnic background of the offending trader. Thus, a Northern Ireland Protestant was on one occasion ordered to dress up as the Pope. And on another occasion, a Welshman was given a Bo Peep costume in recognition of his countrymen's supposed predilection for sheep.
The lawyers defending TTL therefore said that Mr Weinberger was not discriminated against because all his colleagues were liable to experience the same treatment. And they said that while outsiders may have regarded the banter, horseplay and extremely strong language pervading the TTL trading floor as in very poor taste, the brokers used it as a release from the very high pressures of the job.
To me, that makes complete sense. The notion of "work pressure" is now so over-used that it hardly means anything any longer, but no one can doubt that it certainly exists on a trading floor.
I confidently expect that Mr Weinberger will win his case, but hope he doesn't. (The hearing is adjourned until March). As an experienced City trader, he presumably knew the kind of "company culture" he might expect to find in TTL. He now works for a competitor, and I would very much like to know what measures they take to ease the high pressures of the job. Perhaps they sing lullabies before trading begins each morning? Hold hands, and whisper little messages of emotional support, when a big deal is coming up? Organise a mutual crying session when a contract slips through their fingers?
If Mr Weinberger does win, I look forward to the case in which the Northern Ireland Protestant sues for the surely incomparable trauma of having to dress up as the Pope. Perhaps the poor Welshman obliged to wear the Bo Peep costume may also sue - or maybe the sheep of Wales will take a class action of their own for libel. It would make just as much sense, and an even better story.
bglacken@irish-times.ie