The employees upon whom bullying behavior in the workplace has the greatest effect are new hires, whether as line staff or entry-level managers. Bullying bosses create three general effects in their employees, two alternatives and one shared.
After initial efforts to respond to the bullying, on the assumption that there is something positive going on that they’re missing, most employees simply become detached and demoralized. Work is truly a chore for them, and their employment is an unproductive issue for the company.
Others respond by actively engaging in the dynamics that seem to be supported by the bullying company – these are a minority, but they are the ones who become bullies themselves.
Both groups suffer greatly elevated levels of anxiety that harm their health, dull their intellectual acuity, and provoke more incidents of poorly-considered, immature behavior.
This happens, by the way, in all sorts of organizations, from the unapologetically hard-nosed commercial business, to the most self-congratulatory high-minded, socially responsible companies. As odd as it may seem, bullying comes from personal shortcomings – not moral ones.
The reason people are affected by such behavior from their bosses is that they are typically young adults just entering the world of grown-up life and testing their wings at making their own way. They are disproportionately influenced by the first authoritative role-models they encounter on this journey.
It is something that managers – and companies – should bear in mind, an additional burden that the profession carries.
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2 Comments
Jim,
Your note on the impact of bad behavior on young people deserves a real-life underscore:
At a team-building session, I brought in a recent college grad who has unique musical talent. He came at noon time so he could have lunch with the group, meet the manager, and get a feel for the mood.
1. The manager left unannounced at noon and drove away to have lunch by himself.
2. The manager then elected not to participate in the activity.
The young man informed me that he really enjoyed “the group” but would think twice about employment in a corporation if that was what a boss was like.
Steve,
One of the things that sometimes irritates me about some approaches to work exhibited by some members of the younger generations also impresses me: their assertive particularness about certain things – ranging from work environment to, sometimes, work/life balance.
I think it’s healthy in that it forces managers to reconsider – and rediscover – the real nature of their duties.
Your example emphasizes this aspect of the issue, and good for that college grad!
We often wonder why our bosses are such jerks, but fail to consider that they probably complained to each other about their own bosses when they were on the way up. We need to be more reflective about that, and about what happened, and why.
I’ve seen young people’s lives seem to change course on the instant because of a chance, thoughtless, comment by a rude boss; I feel like I saw it flicker across their faces: if this is what it takes to survive, I’ll learn to dish it out, too.
We can neither breed, nor become, what we so detest, and what is so damaging to our lives and our work.
Thanks so much for your visit and observation – always making me think. This may be a topic that requires visiting now and then.
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