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Friday, November 28, 2003
Bosses from hell
By Rene Lizada
WHAT is your boss like?
I was reading an article in one of those American tabloids when I came across this item about strange last wills. I share this one particular story. It is the last request of one 55-year-old Hiro Kaneshiro.
"You will find below a list of my enemies and their addresses. Visit them and confront them, and tell them they brought pain into my life. When you encounter my old boss, Mr. Yajima, slap him in the face."
Mr. Yajima should consider himself lucky because Hiro just wanted him slapped. There are other people who wish far more than that for their bosses.
A friend of mine once told me that she hated her boss so much that she brought the boss' picture to someone who practices the black arts, kulam ba. She showed the picture and the man said something like "lain ning tawhana ni. Dau-tan kaayo ni." She was shocked because her boss was supposed to be a person of the cloth.
Another group of friends once told me that they disliked their boss so much that they wanted the boss na ipa-barang. They were about to do it when they heard the warning that if the curse would not work on the boss, then they would feel the effects. They backed out because they felt that their boss was protected by some sinister force because this boss could get away with anything. This boss had some kind of evil shield that protected him. Or her.
If you have a good and compassionate boss then consider yourself lucky because there are some bosses who do really come from hell. In an interview that was conducted by WebMd, they asked what are the traits of a bad boss. Here is an excerpt of that interview. Ask yourself if your boss is the one being described here.
Moderator: What factors make for a "bad boss"?
Edstrom: I'm so glad you asked. I'd like to preface it by saying that you may not even be aware of all the ways that your boss is inadequate. You may think it's you, or you just feel bad for no reason. Yes, let's define what a bad boss is, and it might help you separate your perceived inadequacies from reality. A bad boss instills a feeling of low self-worth. He/she also limits your freedom and input. A bad boss offers little support. A bad boss is consistently unpredictable. A bad boss sets win or lose work goals, a black and white approach to things with no in between. A bad boss also makes excessive physical demands and psychological demands. Specifically, one of the red flags that interests me is the loss of freedom within your job, or creative input. Studies show, in fact that if a boss increases the demands on a worker but limits his freedoms to make decisions, the worker often experiences raised blood pressure. Elevated cholesterol is another symptom. Insomnia, boredom, alcoholism, gastrointestinal problems, psychiatric or mental problems, depression, apathy, feelings of dread and even panic, smoking, poor performance, and many, many other symptoms.
Does this sound familiar? Let us go through some of them.
A bad boss instills a feeling of low self worth. - How does he do that? Simple, he just thinks you are just an employee, nothing else, nothing more. He manages to somehow make you feel bad because he thinks the worst of you. He does not appreciate you and when he says nice things they come out insincere. He does not treat you like a person. In outside social events, he does not find the time to greet you, he simply behaves like you do not exist. When he gets mad you suddenly feel so small because of the invectives that he hurls at you. He even scolds you in front of everyone else. No wonder a company, institution or school that has low morale has a really bad boss. Whenever the boss speaks there is an almost silent collective cursing because everyone knows what he or she is going to say again. The employees raise their eyebrows and say to themselves "hay yan na naman!" After awhile people will no longer care. They will just punch in, do what is expected, punch out and go home. No compassion, no love for the work. And when the boss starts talking about salaries, well, that is a sure sign of troubling times. When money is used as a weapon by the boss you know that there is something really wrong.
He limits your freedom and input. - You know you have a bad boss when you feel constricted, when you constantly feel that someone is watching your back. You know you have a bad boss also when he hires people to watch your back. Someone I know told me once that he no longer feels safe using the office phones for fear that they may be bugged.
A bad boss follows the truism "he who hires incompetent people will in return hire incompetent people." Bad bosses do not like you mingling with other employees because they are paranoid about what people might say of them.
The bad boss does not like your input or if he asks for it, it may be input that he wants to hear. And that is why in a badly run company the only ones remaining will be 1) those waiting to retire 2) those who are sipsip 3) those who have no choice and 4) those who are blind. Among the first victims of a really bad boss are the intelligent and the devoted. They are the ones first to go. Watch out for companies and schools that have an exodus of good employees. And teachers.
(November 28, 2003 issue)
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