Hostility May Be the Best Policy When Dealing with a Bad Boss
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iStock/Thinkstock(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Are you just going to sit there and ignore it when the boss starts berating you about your work?
Actually, that might be the right way to deal with the problem of a nasty supervisor, according to Ohio State University researcher Bennett Tepper, who explains that a passive-aggressive approach can be an effective form of retaliation.
Tepper and his colleagues analyzed data from studies they conducted and discovered that there was high level of psychological distress and work dissatisfaction when employees did nothing to counter a boss’ accusations that their “thoughts and feelings are stupid.”
However, in another study, workers felt better about themselves and their jobs when they retaliated by ignoring the boss in a hostile manner or acting as if they didn’t know what the boss was talking about.
Tepper admits that returning hostility might hurt chances of advancement at work but those who used coping strategies to get back at their supervisor’s vitriolic comments didn’t believe it hurt their careers.
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