Bad Boss Blues

This is comical and sad at the same time. Did you hear this? The state of Connecticut wants to make it illegal to be a bad boss. That's right. If you are a boss that bullies, you would be breaking the law.

This is comical for obvious reasons. It is sad because lawmakers even need to consider this. This type of behavior is very prevalent. I can attest to it (you can read more about my experience in my book, Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders).

This is an excerpt from Hartford Business:

The Senate Democrats have reintroduced an “anti-bullying” bill this legislative session – SB 60 – that would make it illegal for bosses to bully their workers.

On the face of the proposal, it makes sense that bosses should not be allowed to abuse their workers, create a hostile and unpleasant work environment or one that causes physical or psychological harm to an employee.

There are bosses who scream and embarrass. There are bosses who e-mail subordinates at 2 a.m., sending angry communications with the letters all in caps and bolded in a scarlet red typeface.

There are bitter bosses who are angry at the world, unhappy with their own lives, and wrongfully take it out on their staff.

They denigrate their subordinates and inform them of all their faults – real or imagined – in front of an office filled with colleagues.

Bullies can ruin a day on the playground. They can ruin a day at work. That never changes. And of course, it shouldn’t be allowed.

Good places to work do not tolerate such behavior by staff or managers. It lowers morale, increases turnover and, consequently, hurts the bottom line.

However, to make bullying illegal in the workplace requires a definition that is not subject to perception.

Before laughing too hard at this, maybe we need to remove the plank from our own eyes (Matthew 7:3-5) and be the leaders God made us to be.