A Response to Mark

Mark, you've raised a good point (For those who haven't read Mark's comment about the previous article, please do). It seems to be talking about perspective; to some they may see themselves as victors, while others may see themselves as victims. Whether we are looking at physical, mental and emotional abuse, there are some people who are empowered enough to get out of the situation, while there are others who feel they have no other choice. What diferentiates these two kinds of people?

Before you can even make a choice, you have to perceive that you have options. An employee who has a masters degree and a lot of experience under their belt may believe that they have other options than to succomb to abuse by an employer. On the other hand, a single mother who is not highly educated may feel like she has less of an option to move on. There is more of a dependency there.

I could be wrong, but I think some people have more options in life than others. If you think about a card game, some people are dealt a better hand than others, and for those individuals it's easier to win the game. Based on your hand, there are some times when you have to pass (can't play) while others can.

I'm thinking about what this means regarding how people are managed. In a given workplace you can have one person who is highly empowered and who has a high threshhold for pressure and even abuse. Certain comments may run right off their back. But you can have another employee in the same workplace who because of their circumstances feels less empowered and feels like they have no other choice but to stay in a bad situation. So, again, I'm asking how this affects how we manage people. Do we start considering someone's maturity and current station in life when hiring someone for a job? Can we use the same management style with different people, or do we have to tailor our management style to the individual?

I'm open to more comments on the original article, Mark's comment, or this current comment. Let's talk about the workplace.