Humane Resources mis-Management

Humane Resources miss-Management

 

Remember the boss who shouts and abuses people to get work done? He or she actually gets work done. These outbursts by the boss have seen many employees suffer physical, mental and even spiritual anguish. Many employees go home with swollen eyes from crying in the company washrooms (wasting company resources) with a damaged self-esteem. The pain is suffered in humiliating silence. The pain is suffered in silence because jobs are hard to get.

 

I have heard of managers who make it difficult for staff to work and others who sexually  harass their staff  both male and female. But I had not really considered the issue of "inflicting pain" on another because of divergent views or unaccomplished tasks. This is simply terrorism. Somehow, this aspect of mismanagement goes unnoticed. My guess is that three out of every five persons will have something to say about it, and maybe one in five may have a great deal to say about a bad personal experience.

 

But where is the root of this problem? The person in a privileged position has the opportunity to express (vent) their "personality" more freely than junior staff. In fact junior officers showing a tendency to "vent" are quickly reminded of their position or dismissed for showing a bad attitude at work and perhaps disrespect to seniors. In a senior position, this same attitude may be passed off as "getting things done". This is not to say that there are no rude junior staff. The secret of success lies in managing working relationships.

 

The solution lies in sensitivity and emotional intelligence. It is immature (if not illegal) to forget your official role and allow your vile self to abuse, vent your fury, deliberately inflict terror and injure other members of staff. There is a humane way to deal with the challenges of non-productivity, performance and unmet expectations. However, terrorist have one major weakness; they thrive so long as they are not exposed. Once exposed they become powerless.  Terrorists beware. 

 

Allan Bukusi

Revised from and article written 2001