The movie Horrible Bosses won’t hit movie theatres until the weekend but it has already created some buzz. Some critics don’t like the movie, in which three men hatch a plan to kill their unbearable bosses. For example, Ian Buckwalter of National Public Radio said “the talented cast and colorful vulgarities work overtime to cover for a lack of coherence, but they can only distract for so long.”
Most critics, however, have given the film a thumbs-up. Roger Ebert describes it as “funny and dirty in about that order.” A.O. Scott of The New York Times said “the laughter is mean but also oddly pure: it expels shame and leaves you feeling dizzy, a little embarrassed and also exhilarated, kind of like the cocaine that two of the main characters consume by accident.”
The movie points to a problem that has plagued workers as long as colleagues with bad breath.
According a 2010 survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute, a nonprofit research and training organization based in Washington state, about half of workers in the United States have been bullied by someone at work or witnessed someone being mistreated. The organization’s research also indicates about three-quarters of bullies are bosses.
Also south of the border, bills dealing with workplace bullying have been introduced in more than 15 states legislatures though no state or federal law has been enacted.
Seven years ago, Quebec enacted the continent’s first statutory law against bullying at work. In 2007, Saskatchewan added an anti-bullying provision to its Occupational Health and Safety Code.
A year later, the Canada Labour Code was revised to mandate anti-bullying policies and education in all federal ministries.
Bad bosses are such a big factor in the workplace, many web sites are devoted to the topic. Here are a few:
* The site www.reallybadboss.com includes stories about horrible bosses and a forum for employees to share their stories. It features an item called "Ten of the stupidest things our bad bosses have ever done.”
* The site www.badbossology.com provides news on bad bosses along with resources to help beleaguered employees develop an action plan to protect themselves, reduce their boss’s power over them and achieve success despite their boss.
* The site www.bigbadboss.com provides people with advice, tips and resources to deal with bosses from hell.
* The site www.HorribleBoss.com includes stories about horrible bosses and, according to the site, "how they are the worst people in the world, somehow put in charge of our daily lives."
If you’re in danger of going postal, you might want to visit one of these sites and contribute to one of the forums.
If you do, heed the advice of one blogger who says, "don’t ever use real names, make sure your horrible boss doesn’t see you submitting anything" to the site and remember … "Bosses suck!"
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