Experience with a Supervisor
A couple of years ago, I had a supervisor who always liked yelling at us, the employees. Some of my colleagues became angry whenever it happened to them, and chose to yell back at her. One morning, just when I thought a good day at the organization was about to unfold, the supervisor suddenly began yelling at me in a staff meeting. This greatly embarrassed me in front of all my coworkers and made steam billow from my ears as I grind my teeth silently. I started wondering why I had to get out of bed to work that morning. It definitely was not to get shout at in the meeting. I thought that although it is normal for a supervisor to become upset and emotional at times, there have to be limits as to what is tolerable and what is not (Syed & Zia, 2013). Toxic supervisors who usually yell at the employees fall tightly under the “intolerable” group.
With the supervisor’s temper tantrums getting out of control, being in the organization each day felt like misery minefield. However, I learned that though I could not control the manner in which my supervisor behaved, I could manage my actions successfully. I decided to focus on the fact that the job was pretty good and not pay much consideration to the yelling. Shockingly, the supervisor appeared to want a reaction; hence she often did not turn her rage on me. Unlike my response, most of the employees used to yell back at her, but that only added fuel to the fire as some even ended up being sacked. Knowing what I know now, as that supervisor, I would respect the employees and seek to correct them privately when they erred (Volmer, 2015). I would make the employees feel treasured as a way of motivating them to realize greater success.
References
Syed, P. H., & Zia, Y. A. (2013). Conflict resolution in employee–supervisor relationship. Abasyn University Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 34-52. Retrieved from http://www.aupc.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Volume-6-Issue-2-3.pdf
Volmer, J. (2015). Followers’ daily reactions to social conflicts with supervisors: The moderating role of core self-evaluations and procedural justice perceptions. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(5), 719-731.