Work Abuse: How to Recognize and Survive It

Submitted by WorkCreatively on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 07:12

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Title	Work Abuse: How to Recognize and Survive It
Publication Type	Book
Pub Year	1997
Authors	Wyatt, J., & Hare C.
Publisher	Schenkman Books Inc.
Keywords	abuse, false self, inner security, organizational ideal, scapegoating
Notes	abuse"There are five distinctions that will assist you to see the depth with which work abuse affects people... 1. The Abuse Itself... 2. The Inability to Protest the Abuse... 3. Being Blamed and Feeling Guilty for Reacting against Work Abuse... 4. Having to Deny the Ways that Abuse Affects You... 5. Feeling Guilty for Visible Symptoms that Develop..." false self"Those people with the most polished false selves, those adhering most closely to the imaged organizational ideal, are 'successful.' People who are unable to meet the false-self evaluations may feel worthless largely because their authentic (and more valuable) selves have not been developed sufficiently as fallback when they experience failure of their false (imaged) selves." (p. 59) "Aspiring managers begin early to adhere to managers' norms by developing a false self--a mask that hides their shame and their lack of knowledge of details for which they may be held responsible. The mask gives the external impression of an internal sense of authority that is most often nonexistent. Managers' meetings are usually stressful exhibitions of the enforcement of false-self norms--always a test for new managers. In these meetings, managers compete with each other in giving a believable false-self performance: each must discuss creditably what few present know anything about." (p. 103) inner security"Providing inner security for yourself begins by being your own best friend within the work setting. You have to protect the only friend you may ever have at work: yourself. You have to become aware of the many ways you may sabotage yourself by thinking poorly of yourself or talking callously to yourself. Providing inner safety assists your sense of solidity (wholeness, integrity) and reduces your anxiety feelings." (p. 210) scapegoating"Scapegoating at work or anywhere else is the unconscious and irrational abuse of power against one person or a group of people, sometimes to the point of symbolic or even actual murder. Acute scapegoating is the cause of stress so severe as to disable an employee to the point of breakdown; the effects are far more detrimental than the ordinary fallout of ongoing or neglectful abuse due to needs not being met." (p. 68)
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