When Your Boss Humiliates You (5 Things To Do)

This article will delve into a sensitive topic at the workplace when your boss humiliates you by talking about a few areas that are relevant to the topic. It will address the number of ways your boss may humiliate you and describe them as well. Furthermore, the article will explain what factors determine if you should or should not leave your job. Lastly, in the case you cannot leave your job, the article will explain a number of ways to deal with the situation.

When Your Boss Humiliates You

When your boss humiliates you there are a number of things you should do to keep the situation in control such as:

• Not Responding Immediately
• Listening To What He Says
• Talk To Him In Person
• Disassociate Yourself From The Experience
• Talk To Your Co Workers – Figure Out What To Do

Before we look at how one should handle such a situation at work, let us look at what humiliation looks like and what determines whether or not you should leave the workplace.

What Does Humiliation Look Like – A Toxic Workplace

Humiliation is the shame and embarrassment you feel when someone makes you appear wrong, stupid or less in some way or ther other. It is a negative experience where you experience many feelings due to what the other person does or says.

Humiliation at the workplace is frequent; it can be experienced when someone pushes you so that your coffee spills, you might be made to look stupid because your work was not up to the ‘mark’ or your embarrassing story from last year may be retold repeatedly. It can also involve your boss screaming or shouting at you for a little mistake that did not deserve such apprehension. There are many forms of humiliation but it can be driven by various motives.

Someone may want to humiliate you because they have something in it for them. Your boss may actually want you out of the job so that someone can replace you. He may even feel insecure because of you and your accomplishments and may make you want to look stupid or feel miserabke in an attempt to make you leave the company. There could be other reasons. He may not like you and that is one reason enough for many people to embarrass or humiliate others. 

Nonetheless, even if someone faces such experiences at work they need to remain calm and understand the situation. Every situation has different factors and motives involved and one should act accordingly. Hence, in the next section of this article, we will look at what factors determine whether or not you leave the job!

Humiliation – Should I Leave My Job?

Here are a number of factors you should consider before you take the decision of whether or not to leave your job after being humiliated by your boss:

• Other Opportunities
• Your Financial Position
• The Reason Behind Humiliation
• Can Something Be Done

Other Opportunities

One important factor to consider before you actually decide to leave your job after numerous episodes of being humiliated by your boss is do you actually have another option! Many people are in tough spots either because they are just starting out or there are not enough jobs in the market. You could of course start your business but would the time and money allow it? After all, starting a business needs tons of planning, attention and commitment and the time and energy you have along with all those responsibilities on top of your head may not allow it.

So, if you have good opportunities in front of you then do not put up with the humiliation. No person, regardless of their gender, race, religion or ethnicity should be humiliated and expect to put up with it. Unfortunately, our laws and systems are not always strong enough to counter or punish it sufficiently.

However, if you do not have good opportunities do not let your emotions overwhelm you. Take a deep breath and learn how you can deal with humiliation and keep working till you can figure out a solution!

Your Financial Position

Finances are important! You need to be able to justify your financial position before you actually decide to leave your job so suddenly. Do you have enough savings? Do you have any investments that are giving you another source of income? Or do you have anything else in mind to keep you stable till you find a good job or start your own thing? These questions are important and will likely affect your decision!

The Reason Behind Humiliation

It is important to know why your boss is humiliating you. If it is because they don’t want you to get that upcoming promotion then wait! Don’t slip under the pressure and keep yourself firm. It is likely that once you get that promotion and show your boss nothing can stop you then he will eventually decrease if not stop the humiliating behavior.

Can Something Be Done

If you are being humiliated then take a stand but a wise one! Is there any department or higher managerial staff that can actually deal with the issue at hand? You need to look into this because if yes then your boss can be held accountable. There is no need to leave a job you are perfectly happy with if you can actually deal with the problem. Also, if you have your boss taken care of imagine how many other people won’t have to suffer his wrath!

When Your Boss Humiliates You – What To Do?

Here we will explain what steps you can take when your boss has humiliated you to prevent the situation from becoming even worse!

Not Responding Immediately

Sometimes staying quiet in a bad situation can save one from much worse. Your boss may be wrong when it comes to your work or behavior at the office but when he humiliates you about it, confronting him at that time may be a bad idea. It will not only create a fight in the office but one that has no good end!

If your boss is humiliating you for no good reason it is better to stay quiet instead of making a show in front of everyone. However, if your boss actually thinks you are in the wrong and he is mistaken then you should clarify things for him. It is possible he may actually think you are doing things on purpose to irritate him.

Listening To What He Says

It is important to ensure you actually listen to what the other person says. Sometimes our biases, beliefs, wants and feelings towards others prevents us from hearing what they are trying to say. It is indeed an interesting phenomena. Hence, if your boss is having a go at you then try and see what he is actually to say to you! You might as well figure out the problem he has with you and fix it!

Talk To Him In Person

Social media is a great example of how people are humiliated in front of thousands of others with very few evidence. With just the slightest of rumors, an entire trial will be carried out in front of the world not knowing how badly it could affect even a person later proved innocent. The stigma stays even if the guilty verdict doesn’t!

If you like the company you work at and definitely think your boss is not out to get you but has genuine issues with how you work, then talk to him in person rather than in front of everyone. It is possible you may prove your boss wrong in front of all your co-workers but it may not leave a good impression on your boss even if he realizes he was at fault. 

Talk to him alone and tell him how he makes you feel. He might realize his wrong doing and you may end up having a better relationship than before with smoother working.

Disassociate Yourself From The Experience

Regardless of what is going on for whatever reasons, you need to separate yourself from the experience and not let it get to your head! You need to understand that your personality or work does not have anything to do with how your boss humiliates you. If he really had an issue with your work then he would actually talk to you about it. The problem is with him and his attitude or his way of seeing things.

Talk To Your Co Workers – Figure Out What To Do

Before you think of doing anything, talk to your co-workers – the trusted ones of course! Sometimes we are not aware of the problems going on with other co workers and they might actually provide some insight from their own experiences which may help you make a better decision.

Conclusion

This article looked at what humiliation is and what could be the possible reasons behind it! It highlighted what factors determine whether or not you should leave your job after your boss has humiliated you in front of others. Most importantly, the article described in detail what you should do after experiencing humiliation at the hands of your boss to prevent the situation from worsening.

References

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00495/full