Scapegoating at Work Cartoon - When Blame Becomes Teamwork
- Ravi
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Scapegoating is one of the fastest ways to create unity at work — not through trust or collaboration, but through shared blame.
In many organisations, root cause analysis meetings quietly turn into blame alignment sessions. The real problem fades into the background while attention narrows onto one uncomfortable individual who suddenly represents everything that went wrong.
This Scapegoating at Work cartoon tries to captures that moment.
The Office Politics Behind Scapegoating
Look closely and the signals are familiar:
Leaders whispering before conclusions are drawn
One finger pointing while everyone else silently agrees
A visibly uncomfortable employee realising the outcome was decided before the discussion began
Scapegoating isn’t about facts. It’s about protecting hierarchy, managing perception, and preserving power.
And ironically, it works.
Nothing builds team harmony faster than a common scapegoat.
Why Scapegoating Persists in Corporate Culture
Scapegoating survives because it offers convenient benefits:
Problems appear “solved” without addressing root causes
Leadership avoids accountability
Teams bond — briefly — over shared blame
But the cost is long-term: broken trust, low morale, and a culture where speaking up feels unsafe.
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