Ego and Self-Respect

There is a thin line that divides ego and self-respect. 

Those who are egoistic by nature, do not think twice before trampling on the self-esteem of others. Conversely, those individuals with high-levels of self-esteem always uphold the self-esteem of others. Therefore egoistic people in their actions and words are completely oblivious of the damage that they inflict on the self-esteem of the people that they deal with, talk with or work with.

In the event of a boss-subordinate relationship this equations worsens because now the ego is massaged by power-differential factor. An egoistic boss is the worst thing that can happen to any employee. The result is battered self-esteem of employees who report to him/her and severely dented engagement.

Recently, some Intel workers secretly taped a "KickMe" sign to the back of a co-worker as a prank, then kicked the confused man a number of times as employees at the Rio Rancho Intel plant laughed hysterically at the episode. The workers who engaged in such act included a senior staffer.

The employee who was target of this act reportedly wept on his way back to home and was so embarrassed that he could not share the incident with his wife.

Intel commendably swung into action promptly and showed the erring employee the door. However the psychological damage that they would have inflicted on the affected individual would be far greater. After all being kicked by co-workers that includes a senior staffer and being subjected to public jeering would be confidence-destroying.

The Intel employees, who engaged in this act, may have done this as an act of vengeance or as a stray act of playing a practical joke, but for sure their egos blinded them in upholding the self-esteem of their co-worker.

I have said this before – there is nothing that prevents anyone to treat an employee decently enough so as not to step-on his/her self-esteem. While this may be one extreme incident, in many other workplaces, many such egoistic peers and senior-workers continue to inflict wounds on the self-esteem of their co-workers by their words and their actions. The dosages may be smaller and less visible than the Intel incident, and hence may go unreported or unnoticed. However repeat acts cumulatively inflict similar damage.

Societies and families are not free from similar egoistic individuals. 

Engagement takes a big blow always!