The average middle manager does not have the reserves of cognitive dissonance required to be inundated with “once in a generation” headlines every day, kidnapping alerts pinging their phones, worrying about the safety of friends and relatives and themselves, AND continue to keep up the facade that the work they do on a daily basis is the most important thing in their lives.

AND: Corporate America should not be asking them to.

But when it really comes down to it, authenticity takes courage. It requires doing something because it’s the right thing to do, without knowing exactly what it might mean for quarterly profits or client retention. And Corporate America does not like risk - which is not new information, nor should we be surprised by this.

But they should do their employees a favor and stop pretending that their priorities extend beyond keeping their shareholders happy.