Stop It, Managers!

One of the more frequent conversations that people have been having recently has been about management, and what it means to be in charge of a group of people. Regardless of how many books, articles, or other media, it has become clear that there is a certain sickness into what people think it means to run an organization. So many people have left jobs or feel trapped in jobs where the “bosses” cannot control their need to dominate their subordinates, but honestly, nothing good has ever come with such an attitude. In fact, if many of the managers would develop some emotional intelligence and stop making workplaces horrible, more people would be happy to work in jobs without real substance.

This should go without saying, but I find myself repeating it: everyone cannot be a boss or have their own business. Period. The mentality that everyone can just job-create their way out of poverty has been a fantasy that few people have been willing to release. Not every mailroom clerk and restaurant busser is a genius waiting to be discovered. However, what that means is that people should always treat those who are considered “below” them with respect, wanting the best for them and making it possible for people to remain in their positions without forced ambition. It should be okay not to make billions of dollars and live a perfectly reasonable life.

Furthermore, the decision to be in charge of others should be met with caution, not enthusiasm. Subordinates require everything that every functional adult requires to exist, including spare time and rest–which is why so many lunatics are trying to take away their jobs. If everyone needs a full life, then grinding people into the ground, throwing them away, and acquiring new ones should be seen as bad management. The sign of a great manager is whether everyone wants to stay at their jobs, regardless of the money, recognizing that certain things will be sacrificed but that others will be gained. Within the span of my adult life, I have had exactly four of these kinds of bosses, and I have worked a lot of different jobs with a lot of different people since the age of 17.

At no point in history has it ever been impossible to demand better from people who were in charge, and we are at a pivotal point when it has stopped being funny that there are so many people who revel in harming others. Making subordination bearable requires that the people at the top get over themselves, and act like they can do math and behave responsibly. No one asked to be a subordinate, but then again, no one asked for the responsibility of relentless ambition, either. Sometimes, it should just be okay to live a small life without a toxic personality breathing down one’s neck.