By maureen nakatudde

ALL of us like going to office and doing our duties in an inviting atmosphere. But in most workplaces, this is only a wish. Many a worker has an intimidating boss and going to office is like to walking into a lion’s den or through hell.

You can never know when the ‘lion-man’ will roar about this or that, making everyone’s at work curse the day they were recruited.

Most will stay around because they have no option, but the company’s output will eventually hit rock-bottom.
This is because employees are working under ‘siege’ and will not have relaxed minds to be innovative or bring out the best in them to spur production or work in harmony, experts say.

“Since all the time you dread that he or she might charge at you like a wounded lion, you can never bring out your full potential. This hinders an employee to enjoying his or her work or maximising their abilities,” they explain.

So, if this be the case, why do the ‘big’ men and women make their juniors’ work life hell?

According to Stella Adikini, a human resource manager in Kampala, bosses intimidate their subordinates because sometimes they lack managerial skills.

“You find that the boss must have rose through the ranks suddenly and has no people-management skills. So, he or she resorts to intimidation as the ‘only’ way to handle them.”

Most times, it is an internal feeling of weakness or frustration that makes some bosses intimidate their juniors.

“A boss, who feels inadequate may transfer his or her anger and frustration to others. In cases where the boss is also answerable to others, he may transfer to those under him the pressure he receives from his superiors,” Adikini explains.

Other bosses feel threatened by some employees’ rapid progress, and so react by intimidating them to keep them down.

How is a boss supposed to conduct himself?
Robert Bake Tumuhaise, the World of Inspiration managing director, advises bosses to understand themselves and deal with their own internal struggles.
“Let the boss first seek peace and satisfaction in his or her heart. That will make him or her relate with others in the appropriate way.

“Without insecurity, he will be able to treat subordinates like colleagues. This won’t make him a lesser boss,” Tumuhaise urges.

He explains that by creating a good working relationship with workers, the subordinates feel elevated and empowered.

“This leads to better performance in an organisation because the working environment is conducive for any employee to unleash their full potential.”
Effects of fear on the company and employees
When a boss intimidates his or her staff, it leads to fear and uncertainty among the employees.

The immediate effect of this is that it kills morale, and hinders both the employers and employees from taking the right actions. In the end, the company and the workers miss opportunities they would have otherwise got had there been a cordial working relationship.

Fear also numbs inter-personal relationships and teamwork. Tumuhaise attests that once a person fears the other, they cannot freely plan and work together properly. “An employee may have a great idea that could turn around the company, but if he or she fears the boss may shoot it down, they will never bring it up,” he explains.

It should be noted that an intimidating boss is not only a threat to other workers and the company, but to himself too. He paralyses the whole process of work and slows down the firm’s productivity.

However, workers, who intimidate other, can also be a menance.