The Root of All Workplace Evil -- The JIG
Every reporter who interviews me about bad bosses asks the same question:
“Why do they do it?”
My answer?
“The JIG.”
“Huh?”
Jealousy
Insecurity
Greed
Yes, bosses can be jealous of the people who report to them because employees are better liked; better looking; more confident; more capable; etc. And bosses can be insecure because they didn’t earn their job; don’t have the skills for it; don’t do it; etc. And bosses can be greedy when they want more than they deserve; more than they earn; more than their brother/sister/neighbor/colleague has.
Eliminate these three frailties from humanity, and workplace evil will disappear. But how? Some have mocked me for suggesting that newly-promoted managers get sent to therapy, but that’s the only way to get a person to change her/his personality--maybe. But, in addition to being unreliable, that's costly.
So does this mean we have to accept workplace evil? No! Absolutely not! All we have to do is stop letting bad bosses get away with it--by holding them accountable for managing the managers who report to them. They do it when they want to fire an employee--careful documentation of an employee’s performance. So where’s the documentation on all the people who are not being fired? The documentation that indicates the boss in managing those people? The point of managing people is that one person can help 10 others achieve more than that one person can achieve alone. But managers don’t like to manage people--and no one’s holding them accountable for doing it.
And...employees aren’t going to sue employers for letting them keep their jobs.
