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!
