People with oppressive mentality who try to dominate and project supremacy over others can be found in every field from schools to workplaces. These kinds of individuals not only try to suppress others but also turn vindictive if not dealt with properly.
Here are the five ways which can help you deal with these bullies like a pro:
1. Be an observer: It is extremely important to judge and evaluate people around you. Since different people come from different backgrounds, circumstances, past experiences and lifestyles, their behaviour will also vary similarly. A bully is always a sadist, he/she gets pleasure by harassing others; therefore, always try to remain composed and study the behavioural pattern. And yes, not everyone is bad always, try to analyse the environment by yourself; don’t blindly believe in the other’s feedback.
2. Be humble: Humbleness is the mantra of achievement, always remember that “an eye for an eye will leave everyone blind”. Similarly don’t try to behave with the bully in the way he/she is behaving, it will not only further exaggerate the situation but also harm your professional image. The best way out is to deal with bullies by being peaceful and composed.
3. Have an open dialogue: It is always advisable to have an open dialogue with someone who is trying to suppress you. There can be various reasons behind his/her behaviour; it may be due to work pressure, personal problem or a habit of power projection. Be friendly and approachable, even after knowing what the other person is thinking about you. This will surely lead to self-introspection and rectifications.
4. Be professional: Being professional can solve many crises and reduce the chances of workplace bullying to a greater extent. Avoid loose talks, over-friendly behaviour or being extremely approachable. It is very important to know your limits as well and let others know their boundaries. Being extremely open and personally attached can increase the vulnerability of getting bullied or intimidated by bullies.
5. Confrontation: Well, it’s the trickiest part. Altercations and confrontations at the workplace can go against you professionally. But when the time demands, it becomes extremely important to deal with it in the old-school way. Don’t hesitate to approach higher authorities along with your complaint without any fear of getting judged. Always be firm and confident with your arguments and never lose your patience.
In March, 2020, hundreds of companies were forced to shut down their offices overnight and had to adopt work-from-home policy.
After 18 months, though there are many tech companies that have decided to continue remote work, some IT firms are reportedly planning to bring employees back to the office.
As per reports in national media (India Times), IT firms are taking this decision as Covid-19 cases are steadily declining and most employees are vaccinated. Leading IT firms such as TCS, Wipro and Apple are reportedly asking their employees to follow the hybrid style of working, where one is expected to work for 2-3 days from office and the next 2-3 days from home.
Earlier on September 13, senior leaders at Wipro returned to office after 18 months.
They will work from office, twice a week.
India's largest employer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is reportedly planning to call back over 80 per cent of its employees to office. However, Rajesh Gopinathan, the CEO of TCS said the decision would depend on the Covid-19 third wave.
Several other major companies such as Infosys, Apple, HCL Technologies, Nagarro, and Nasscom are reportedly planning to follow the hybrid model of work and call back employees to office.
Video Editor: Partha Narayan Das
Writer/Producer: Sanchita Mondal
According to sources, the incident occurred when the lawyers were staging a protest demanding fulfilment of their demands and tried to barge inside the collectorate.
"There are many issues over which the protest was staged. Road mishap led to the death of a lawyer and we want proper traffic management in the area. Moreover, we demand appointment of 56 doctors as promised by the collector," President of the District Bar Association, Sibasai Mohapatra said.
The agitating members withdrew their protests after the additional district magistrate Abanikant Patnaik assured to arrange a meeting with the Sambalpur Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) on August 30.
"A meeting has been scheduled between the RDC and the lawyers on August 30. The district collector has also assured to hold a meeting with the advocates where all the issues will be discussed," Patnaik said.
Mohanty, who is presently the acting Director General of Odisha Police (DGP) since Rajendra Sharma is out of state, will be taking charge as the Commissioner once the latter returns, said sources.
Mohanty was appointed the new Police Commissioner of the Commissionerate Police on July 28.
Mohanty, who is an IPS officer of 1988 batch, had won the Police medal in 2004 and the President's medal in 2012 for his distinguished service.
Kandhamal: Block Development Officer (BDO) of Kotagarh, Hruda Ranjan Sahu has brought serious allegations against a representative of BJD Kandhamal MP of threatening and locking him in his own office.
As per sources, the representative of the MP is none other than Kotagarh BJD leader Manoj Kumar Sabat.
The incident occurred on July 18 when Sabat barged into the BDO office and allegedly switched off the CCTV camera installed in the office. Sabat then forced the BDO to clear his pending bills and hand him a cheque of Rs 6 lakh.
Speaking to OTV, the BDO said, "He barged inside my office and pressurised me to pass the bills amounting to Rs 6 lakh for two different works. I told him that I am observing the case record as there is some lacunae. I even assured to complete it in two days. He asked me to complete the billing process immediately. When I refused, he became furious and threatened me that I cannot move from here neither will he leave without the bills."
A few days after the incident, OTV could get an exclusive audio recording in which Sabat can be heard threatening the BDO and pressuring him to give him the Rs 6 lakh cheque. “You have to give me the cheque. I will see how you move from here. You people haven’t seen the real me. I need money. No hearing, no compromise,” Sabat was shouting.
Sabat is further heard asking his fellow men to lock the BDO in his office until he hands him over the cheque.
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However, Sabat refuted the allegations saying that he doesn’t know anything about the Rs 6 lakh cheque. “This is completely false. I don’t know anything about any cheque,” he said.
When District Collector D Brunda was approached, she too denied commenting on the incident though the BDO had apprised her about the matter.
Agriculture Production Commissioner Gagan Kumar Dhal, Principal Secretary Home Asit Tripathy, Principal Secretary, Energy, Rajesh Verma, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, GVV Sarma, Principal Secretary to Governor, CJ Venugopal, CMD GRIDCO & OPTCL Hemant Sharma, Secretary, ST & SC Development, secretary, Information & Public Relations, Surendra Kumar, Special Secretary General Administration and Finance, Ashok Kumar Meena and others were present at the oath taking ceremony.
Talking to media persons, Behera said electricity is is one of the major drivers of development. The per capita electric consumption is treated as a major indicator for development of any country or state.
“As chairman of Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), my priority would be the overall development of the electricity sector in the state. I shall try to create the environment in which the power generating companies, power transmission companies, distribution companies would function well. At the same time the interest of the consumers will have to be taken care of. I will ensure that the consumers should get power at the optimum rate so that the burden of power tariff is reduced and overall development of the power sector takes place,” he added.
The 1993 batch IAS officer, Behera was Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister. He was to retire from services in July this year. But he opted for voluntary retirement which was accepted by the state government.
He was appointed as the OERC Chairman on the recommendation of the members of the Selection Committee headed by Justice Justice Vinod Prasad of the Orissa High Court. Apart from this, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and the Chairman of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Gireesh B Pradhan had also recommended the names for selection of OERC Chairman and Member.
Accepting the recommendation, the Chief Minister had appointed Behera as Chairman and Souri Kanta Parhi, former Air Vice Marshal, as a member of the OERC on October 27 last year.
The post of OERC chairman was lying vacant since October 8 last year with the end of tenure of SP Nanda.
The statement issued by the CMO said that apart from the chief minister's grievance cell, the district grievance cells will also remain closed from April 30.
However, people can lodge their grievances through post or online during the period, it said.
The grievance cells will reopen after the summer season, it added.
Meanwhile, I just noticed that pretty much all office cubicles in the world have padded cell walls, just like lunatic asylums. Mine are a soothing beige-grey in color. There's a message there, right?
One of my office neighbours says that people who sit at boring desks all day are actually the most dangerous folks in the world because cramping the human spirit eventually leads to violent outbursts - which she says appears to be the theme of a new Hollywood blockbuster, called "The Accountant". I quickly added it to my list of Films Not To See.
A web search revealed that in this movie, Ben Affleck appears as an office worker who has a dull job during the day but kills people in his spare time. Clearly a clever blend of the average office worker's actual and imaginary lives, or at least mine.
My colleague said she would be happy to watch Ben Affleck sitting in an office as long as he had his shirt ripped off. This would need a bit of creative licence - shirt-ripping-off doesn't happen much in modern offices, except during end of year parties, when it becomes mandatory.
Actually, thinking about it, the central character in "The Shawshank Redemption" is an office worker who actually performs "live accountancy" during the movie. "Look Who's Talking", so I read, is about an auditor whose newborn baby delivers wisecracks in the voice of Bruce Willis. I have not seen "Look Who's Talking", as it is clearly a deeply disturbing horror film.
My colleague reminded me that the main character in "Moonstruck" is an accountant, played by Cher, an actress who gives me the creeps, as she does not have a single wrinkle despite being a succubus of well over 200 years of age.
But why do filmmakers feel they have to give modern office workers secret lives to make us interesting? Our lives are already filled with tension and high drama.
For example, consider the race against time when you have to shut down all your open internet windows in the few seconds before your boss reaches your desk. Clickclickclickclickclick - my fingers move so fast that time and space are warped over my keyboard.
And if they want a good movie dialogue, they could just use standard office banter. I once had a boss who thought he was funny, and we had the following exchange over the office intranet system. Boss: "I need a laugh, can you send me a joke?" Me: "I'm doing some work." Boss: "That's not bad. Can you send me another?"
And of course, there's drama. Last month, a guy at a cubicle three metres away from me had a screaming tantrum, swore at the boss and resigned, slamming the door.
Usually, if there's a commotion, our heads float up like those of prairie dogs, but this was a show of human emotion so we sank deep into our cubicles, some of us probably right down to floor level.
I was so shaken that I lost half a day's work. Fortunately I do not have revenge addiction. But I might just get it anyway.
According to the study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the researchers surveyed 589 airline pilots and 468 manufacturing technicians and found that employees' safety behaviour can get worse when they are treated in ways that detract from their bonds to a work group.
"Bosses' behaviour can strengthen or weaken employees' sense of belonging to the work group by supporting or undermining their status within the group. Poor treatment from a boss can make employees feel that they are not valued by the group," said Liu-Qin Yang, Associate Professor at Portland State University.
This makes them more self-centered, leading them to occasionally forget to comply with safety rules or overlook opportunities to promote a safer work environment.
According to the researchers, this was especially true among employees who were more uncertain about their social standing within the group.
"When people are less sure about their strengths, weaknesses and their status within the group, they become more sensitive. They are more likely to respond negatively to their boss' bullying behaviours," she said.
Workplace safety is a critical issue -- and more so in an environment where one employee's failure to behave safely can create circumstances where other people are likely to be injured, said the researchers.
The study recommends implementing training programmes that can improve leadership skills while interacting with their employees so as to provide feedback in a way that are neither offensive nor threatening.
The study also suggested promoting a more civil and engaged work environment that strengthens social bonds between employees and creates a buffer against the negative consequences of their boss' bad behaviours.
According to researchers, implementing transparent performance evaluation processes are required so that employees have less uncertainty about their social status in the workplace.
Both keyboards are up for pre-order and will start shipping from October 15.
The Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard is priced at $59.99, and includes a fabric palm rest and is wired to a PC via a USB port. Microsoft's smaller Bluetooth keyboard is priced at $49.99, and it has Bluetooth 5.0 support with up to three years of battery life, the Verge reported on Friday.
The Office key will replace the right-hand Windows key, and can also be used with various letters to directly open apps in Office. While the emoji key sits to the right of the Office key.
The Bluetooth keyboard has a wireless range of up to 33 feet and is compatible with Windows 8.1 and 10.
The Ergonomic keyboard is a split keyboard and houses and a range of shortcut keys including media controls.
It is compatible with Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, but the Office and emoji keys won't work without Windows 10.