ANSWERS: 17
  • I can't say i have but its something that unfortunately happens really often. good question by the way.
  • Interesting reaction. Apparently the question hit someone a little too close to home and he/she whacked it with a -3.
  • Oh yes....I live it Monday thru Friday 8-4:30.
  • Yes. The company I used to work for seemed to make that particular trait a management or promotable requirement.
  • Yes...they lost a lot respect when they did (if they had any to begin with).
  • Yup...i know someone....PRESIDENT BUSH.....for real
  • When a Supervisor is on vacation where I work another employee who is thought deserving is "upgraded" to that position in his place. The upgraded person is just supposed to keep things going smoothly, handle what comes along, etc. There was a guy who had been with the company about 20 years and never been upgraded during a supervisors absence. He complained vehemently, so he was given the opportunity. During his supervisors 2 week vacation the guy changed all of that groups works schedules, then attempted to change several of the working policies and tried to "write-up" another employee he did not like for some minor thing. The Manager for the region finally had to step in and put a stop to it. It seems there had been a very good reason the a-hole had never been upgraded. He transferred to New Mexico shortly thereafter, I really don't know what happened to the guy after that, I just know we were glad to be rid of him.
  • I've seen it in the workplace, but not as you may think. I used to work for the Inland Revenue (will this reduce my time in purgatory?), and saw numerous instances of power being exercised inappropriately towards members of the public. One particular event springs to mind. Eager to increase the shininess of their stats, Revenue management at a high level decided the tax collectors on the front line needed private debt collection advice and training to help increase 'production'. Teaching granny to suck eggs springs to mind. Before long 'time to pay' was refused, people were told to get a bank loan to pay their taxes, and the queue of (unnecessary) cases at the local court grew longer and longer. This gave some of my colleagues a green light to be complete bastards. One morning around 11am I heard one taxpayer being told to find £7000 'by 2pm this afternoon or we're going to court'. Even within the new, harsher rules being applied there was no reason to go this far, but this person obviously got a kick out of doing this. Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes, and unfortunately the biggest offender is sometimes government. I could go on - there are dozens of similar examples I remember, but just one is enough. I promised myself last year I would never work for the Civil Service again, and I'm so glad I'm free of the stupidity, the waste, the bullying (of staff by management and the public by the staff) and the hopelessness.
  • yes i see it everyday
  • Sure. People have to learn how to handle responsibility. Sometimes there is hope for people who start off abusing power. Some folks like that get a wake up call when they realize that it is influence and not power that moves people and accomplishes goals in leadership.
  • I think that is the very definition of "Middle Management." A small fish in a medium sized pond feeling like they deserve a fridge in their office and a human footstool.
  • ya, George W. Bush
  • Yes - me - at least initially. That was many moons & kicks in the head ago and today I realize that real power is given to you voluntarily by others.
  • I am sitting within 5 feet of one.
  • Yes a lot of people get what they perceive as a little power and it goes to their heads.
  • Yes I have, she always bossed others around and made herself feel good by criticizing others work.
  • Yes, actually it was a young man who became the town mayor. I think he was only 30 or something. Although he was a bright young man who brought in a lot of new business, it turned out in a police investigation that he had been misusing his expense account, and wracked up thousands of dollars in expensive restaurant meals that had nothing to do with city business.

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