"Dear Smacked, My former rep and one of my current reps spent an awful lot of time talking smack about me. I get I'm the boss and I won't always be liked, but as I sat and read the conversation history, I could feel my face burning in humiliation and my stomach twisting in shame. It was like high school. He and she discussed my hair, my body, the sound of my voice, what I wear. I hate to admit it gutted me."
"My sister says that I should make an announcement in my team meeting that I have access to the former rep's emails and chat sessions in an offhand manner to let the remaining rep know I know. I can't come across as weak or sensitive, so my instinct is to suck it up and pretend I never read the poison. What do I do?"
"You have been subjected to the technological equivalent of being in the last bathroom stall when a couple of classmates come in and proceed to rip you. You have also experienced why "like high school" is such a common reference to people behaving badly: because people, no matter what their age, often behave badly. Your visceral reaction to this pile-on is perfectly reasonable."
A female sales manager accessed a departing rep's email and instant messages to preserve client contacts and found two reps had been harshly criticizing her. The messages contained personal attacks about her hair, body, voice, and clothing, causing humiliation and shame. She considered revealing her access during a team meeting to signal awareness but feared appearing weak. A careful assessment of the messages is advised to determine whether any constructive feedback exists. If the exchanges are personal and misogynistic, the behavior reflects poorly on the employees and warrants private confrontation, corrective action, or HR involvement depending on company policy.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]