WHEN THE BOSS IS A BULLY

One of the submissions in the latest Virtual Occoquan was an article by a non-blogger, D.G. Johnston, on dealing with bosses who bully their staff. This is an important and rarely-discussed topic and Johnston deals with it very powerfully, and suggests some solutions. Johnston argues that abusive behaviour at work is really no different from abusive behaviour in the home, and we all know how soul-destroying that can be..

Here is a teaser from the article for those that missed it, with a link to the full article. Please read it — it may open your eyes to why many employees dread the start of every working day, and the impact this can have on their, and their families’ whole lives. If you have comments, post them below or e-mail me and I’ll make sure they get to the author.

The problem is that most abused people donít know that they are abused. All they know is that they feel rotten, they donít like their workplaces (or home places), and they have a variety of coping behaviors that they may not like but that they are compelled to continue.

Sort of like one of the ìseven step programs,î one needs to recognize what is really going on in your life. And the first issue to examine is whether you have control over the most important things of all: your values, your feelings, your self-confidence, your sense of worth and your personal objectives and plans. If you conclude that you have less than total control of that, you may be under someoneís direct, or indirect control.

Step two is acknowledging the situation for what it is and working through whether you are going to continue with the status quo, or try to do something about it. This is change decision time. Are you going to rest comfortable ñ as uncomfortable as that might be ñ or are you going to take the plunge and reclaim your dignity?

If you say ìyesî to yourself, you have to do a very hard thing. You have to learn to say, ìno.î… [Read the Full Article]