tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28080901.post4358661082692403748..comments2024-03-20T08:37:50.011+00:00Comments on Bullying of Academics in Higher Education: When Bosses Go Bad -- and Get RewardedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28080901.post-9915472142979991302012-03-31T15:43:15.576+00:002012-03-31T15:43:15.576+00:00Thank you for this wonderful article! A hard worki...Thank you for this wonderful article! A hard working bright and talented professional can become very <br /><br />discouraged while working in these environments.<br /><br />I've had the unfortunate displeasure of working for both a bullying boss and a completely incompetent <br /><br />boss with no people skills. I worked for both of these bosses back-to-back in two different positions <br /><br />in the same company. <br /><br />The bullying boss not only stole from the company, but broke every kind of harassment law under the <br /><br />corporate sun in daily one-on-one beating sessions with their subordinates that made many employees <br /><br />quit. Many employees came forward to out this managers evil ways to higher executives. A full <br /><br />investigation was conducted, and in the face of insurmountable evidence against this boss (including <br /><br />colossal mistakes that cost the company millions) NOTHING was done to correct the situation. This <br /><br />person still has their job, with an even higher salary and everything is proceeding in a "business is <br /><br />usual" format. <br /><br />My second boss was a very young, very overpaid, painfully shy introvert with absolutely no experience <br /><br />and no people skills. This person wanted to sit in front of a computer with their head in a <br /><br />spreadsheet all day just calculating numbers. They were scared to death of actually having to manage <br /><br />anyone. They did not know how to communicate, or teach, or make any decisions. As a result of this <br /><br />incompetence, their subordinates found themselves desperately flailing around trying to make some sort <br /><br />of business order in a sea of chaos caused by the managers obliviousness. Because of this, each person <br /><br />working under this manager was continuosly set up to fail, and fail they did. TWO THIRDS of the <br /><br />employees under this manager had poor performance reviews where everything was blamed on the employee. <br /><br />The manager was not accountable for any of it. As a result, these employees lost their jobs... and the <br /><br />manager.... got promoted.<br /><br />I am stunned at the outcome of both of these situations and I am trying to understand why this sort of <br /><br />thing happens in the workplace today. It is best said by this segment of the article:<br /><br />Top executives might be aware a manager is a bad boss, "but they might not know what to do about it," <br /><br />she says. "They might be worried that if they make a change, the results they want in other areas <br /><br />won't be delivered."<br /> <br />To this thought I would like to add one more observation: The top executives in this company all <br /><br />shared one commonality, none of them wanted to "get involved". They all just hoped that if they <br /><br />ignored it, it would go away. A despicable behavior of neglect when you consider these people are paid <br /><br />to shoulder the responsiblity of correcting such poisonous behaviors. Of course this company suffers <br /><br />from a high turnover rate because of this bad leadership. But as long as we are "making the numbers" <br /><br />people will always be considered disposable. <br /><br />What can we do to change this?????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28080901.post-19864780929026936772007-08-28T09:41:00.000+00:002007-08-28T09:41:00.000+00:00I disagree with one aspect of this - bullying is n...I disagree with one aspect of this - bullying is not rewarded in successful companies where "the metrics really are working". It is when resources are cut and managers are under pressure (as in higher education now) that bullying individuals become destructive and are rewarded for their hollow promises of output.<BR/>Time and time again, the exposed bully is discovered to have lied on CVs, misreported "the metrics", transferred new research income into under-performing programmes and forced out the most productive staff. But management still rally round such "tough managers" and "loyal staff" to protect them from the "disloyal" individuals who speak the truth about failing programmes, underfunding and missed targets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com