Adopting the Taoist attitude in the workplace | Sunday Observer

Adopting the Taoist attitude in the workplace

31 October, 2021

There are difficult people everywhere. They are rude and they rub others the wrong way and they are bullies. For the first time in your life you will find them in schools and then universities followed by various workplaces. You may be an innocent well-behaved person, but you cannot expect others to be polite in their behaviour. In most schools teachers spend more time in disciplining their students than in imparting knowledge. This is a sad situation but we have to cope with it.

In big schools there are teachers especially trained to handle students’ discipline. When a new student joins a school, some students begin to bully him. In universities they do it in a more organized way called ‘ragging.’ Ragging is prevalent in state universities but unheard of in private universities. Some students have already left universities because of ragging. There have also been a few deaths due to ragging.

However, bullying or ragging pursues you even when you start working. Most young people who start their career in their 20s or 30s will have to work with rude and utterly moody people. In the private sector, the unruly elements are closely watched, but in the state sector bullies abound. Therefore, wherever you work you have to know how to handle such people.

Daisy, a young girl, was employed in a jam-producing factory. She always tried to do an honest job, but her supervisor yelled at her all the time. Daisy found herself in a difficult situation as she had to take instructions and directions from him on many occasions.

Sometimes she found that the supervisor’s instructions were not clear and she had to ask for clarifications. Like many other bosses, the supervisor ignored and shouted at her in the presence of her colleagues. She agonized for many months and finally approached the company’s human resource manager. Both the complainant and the supervisor were called into a private meeting to work out what could be done about it.

Daisy said she was willing to work provided she gets clear instructions and directions. At the same time, she also did not want to be humiliated in the presence of her colleagues. The supervisor meekly agreed to her requests and they worked together for a long time.

Be patient

Another way to handle a difficult boss is to keep quiet and tolerate him as far as possible. You should be able to ignore his shouting. If you are not at fault, let anybody shout at you. Face such a situation with patience and you are sure to emerge a winner in the long run.

The undeniable fact is that difficult bosses and co-workers are found everywhere. Dr. Mahfooz A. Ansari, a professor at Malaysia’s School of Management in Penang says, “Encountering difficult people in the workplace is inevitable and dealing with them is no easy task.”

In Western countries workers exercise their rights to protect themselves from bullies, but the situation in Asia is quite different. Most workers in Asian countries prefer to suffer in silence. They are unaware of certain strategies they can use to cope with such problems.

If a manager treats his workers unfairly or ignores directives from the management, workers can get together and represent matters. This can be done more effectively through trade unions. When a complaint comes from a trade union, the management cannot ignore it. The management is bound to resolve even personal conflicts in the organization.

Josa D. Puno-Landayan, the Philippine’s representative of the UK-based Human Resources and Organizations Development Consultancy, says, “You can get a lot of support by sticking together and sharing ideas on how to deal with the person.”

Although workers in Western countries are confrontational, their Asian counterparts are non-confrontational. Sometimes they are reluctant to complain to the management for fear of reprisals. According to Dr Ricardo A. Lim, a professor at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, humour is a great tool in such situations.

Discussing family problems

You may have heard of some of your co-workers speaking loudly on the phone and discussing family problems for everybody to hear. In such a situation you can tell such a person in a subtle way that everybody in the workplace now knows about his family problems. When you do so, he is sure to tone down his voice on the phone.

Very often you will see a group of co-workers having a heated argument over a certain issue. You should talk to one of them and ask him not to shout in the workplace. If that does not work, you should report the matter to the management. Prevention is better than cure. Any workplace should have fever power plays. They may be between co-workers or between co-workers and the bosses. In such a workplace, people cannot do their job in harmony.

There can be occasions when others try to take the credit for something you have done. This often happens when the management calls for new proposals for the improvement of the business. If someone tries to swipe your idea at a meeting, point it out straight away. If you can meet him privately, tell him not to do such activities again.

Interruptions

At meetings there are people who keep on interrupting you constantly. Even in Parliament, when a minister tries to talk, the opposition members keep on interrupting him. On such occasions, tell them firmly, “Please wait till I finish my speech.”

There is much office gossip. Some co-workers spread malicious rumours as if they have nothing else to do. One day a female co-worker accused me of spreading rumours about her husband. I politely asked her to come with the person who had given that information to her. She never expected such a reply and kept quiet.

In the workplace most of us fear humiliation. Sometimes others will try to throw you out of balance. But there is no reason for you to get excited. If you find that the other person is right, be humble enough to accept it. On the other hand, you will find that you are correct and others are wrong.

Then they become ridiculous. If you are humble, nobody can humiliate you. A humble person stands in the last row and he has no intention of becoming the first. Accept the Taoist attitude to life even in the workplace. Be humble and egoless. Then you can enjoy what you do without any hassle. [email protected]

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