Karen Dawson blames menopause after being caught slagging gov dept boss on Microsoft Teams meeting

A trash-talking senior public servant has blamed “perimenopause” for allegedly making “inappropriate and unprofessional” remarks about her head of department and her colleagues online.

Karen Dawson Business Manager, Strategic Infrastructure Management. Picture: LinkedIn

A senior Queensland public servant has blamed stress and perimenopause after she was allegedly caught making inappropriate and unprofessional remarks about the new head of the department and others in Microsoft Teams messaging and phone calls.

Karen Dawson, an executive manager in the fisheries and forestry section of the Department of Primary Industries, is facing internal departmental disciplinary action and the prospect of a demotion after she allegedly remarked about director-general Graeme Bolton and others on the messaging system and in calls last year.

The alleged remarks about other colleagues, including one who reported to her as a manager, were described by DPI deputy director-general Justine Clark as inappropriate, improper, unprofessional and disrespectful and potentially distressing to staff she named.

Details of Ms Dawson’s alleged breach of the public service code of conduct in making the comments were revealed in a decision handed down by Industrial Commissioner Samantha Pidgeon in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission on June 27.

Ms Pidgeon removed the names of the staff from her decision, but threw out Ms Dawson’s bid to overturn the March 13 ruling by Ms Clark that four allegations of making unprofessional comments were substantiated.

Two of the four allegations related to actual workplace misconduct, the decision said.

Ms Pidgeon ruled it unlikely Ms Dawson would succeed in appealing the four disciplinary findings, so declined to allow her case to proceed.

Ms Dawson, whose role was classified as AO8.3, was alleged to have remarked about Mr Bolton – referred to in the decision by his initials GB and as the newly appointed director-general – on May 16 last year after his appointment to the DPI top job was announced that day.

She was also alleged to have repeatedly made disparaging and derogatory comments about other staff to a subordinate worker, and to have made many repeated inappropriate comments about her direct reports, colleagues and another unnamed senior employee in the office of the director-general.

She was also alleged to have trash-talked another employee’s performance, and whether they were suitable for a job they had applied for, in an open plan office close to other staff so they could hear.

Department of Primary Industries director-general Graeme Bolton was one of the targets of the alleged comments.

In a disciplinary letter to Ms Dawson quoted in the decision, Ms Clark wrote: “The fact that you, as an executive manager, saw fit to make so many repeated inappropriate comments about your direct report/s, colleagues, another senior officer, and the incoming director-general reflects a significant failure in judgment.

“It is extremely concerning to me how poorly you think of your colleagues.

“You take little accountability and prefer to justify your behaviour.

“You have generally shown little remorse for your behaviour and the impact you had on others.

“You have displayed a distinct lack of awareness of your own behaviour.

“As an executive manager, ODDG, your work may at times become more stressful.

“As such I reasonably expect that you would have been able to respond on all of the alleged occasions in a professional manner, not in an emotive, inappropriate way.

“I have also considered your submissions you have been seeking treatment to manage your stress and perimenopause.”

Ms Pidgeon said the messages spoke for themselves, so she did not reproduce any or all the messages as she did not wish to cause unnecessary distress to those who were the subject of the discussions.

Ms Dawson denied her comments had been made broadly within the office, saying she and her subordinate staffer typically spoke privately or in Teams.

“Our workspace was just our team in a private space,” she said.

“If any remarks were overheard or misinterpreted, that was unintentional (and did not amount to) broad misconduct.”

Ms Dawson also questioned how the DPI obtained details of an overheard conversation, and said it appeared there had been a deliberate effort to obtain additional negative information about her.

The DPI submitted to the QIRC that Ms Dawson’s comments and workplace behaviour was a serious breach of professional boundaries and her comments showed she held unacceptable attitudes towards Fisheries and Forestry staff and stakeholders.

Ms Dawson claimed comments she made to her subordinate staffer on May 17 last year about another staffer were factual or in response to what her subordinate said.

Ms Pidgeon concluded that Ms Dawson’s comments about the other staffer on May 17 were completely inappropriate.

“I understand that Ms Dawson says she was involved in a ‘private debrief’, however the problem with this is not only the content of the communications but that the ‘debrief’ was being had with a person Ms Dawson was responsible for managing and the inappropriate remarks were being made about another person Ms Dawson was responsible for managing,” Ms Pidgeon found.

“Ms Dawson shares screenshots of conversations she was having with Employee B in the Teams chat she is having with Employee A. This undermines her submission that she thought that the chat she was having with Employee A was ‘private’.

“Additionally, in the Teams messages Ms Dawson makes remarks to the effect that if a complaint was made regarding any conversation overheard, that she will ‘say we weren’t talking about her. we were talking about GB becoming DG’, to which employee A says, ‘That’s it…we could have said that too.’

“This undermines her truthfulness and demonstrates an understanding that the remarks she had made may need to be defended.”

Ms Dawson has complained to the DPI that she has been mistreated and that she has withdrawn from the office due to stress.

She argued Ms Clark’s March 13 ruling came two days before her 50th birthday – a milestone she had planned to spend with family, which was instead overshadowed by shock and anxiety.

She argued her Microsoft Teams messages should not be allowed to be used against her in disciplinary action, and questioned how they were accessed and used in the disciplinary process.

Ms Dawson submits that Microsoft Teams had become a space where colleagues informally connected, debriefed and share support, particularly in high-pressure environments.

The DPI did not plan to sack Ms Dawson, the decision noted.

“Ms Dawson will retain the right to appeal any disciplinary action taken against her,” it said.

Ms Pidgeon said Ms Dawson could mention her commitment to improvement and dedication to the public service and mitigating circumstances at a future appeal.

Ms Dawson submitted that she wanted the opportunity to move forward in her career with fairness and dignity.

Originally published as Karen Dawson blames menopause after being caught slagging gov dept boss on Microsoft Teams meeting