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Atmosphere Communication Condescending Treatment Public Reprimands Corporate Culture

Management in this company is always saying they want to hear the employees' ideas. I was at a meeting with several top managers and made a suggestion. My manager instantly said it was a ridiculous idea and not to waste the group's time with these types of comments. None of the other managers seemed bothered by my comments. I felt humiliated and am unsure about what to do next.



In your meeting, only one idea came across: management is not interested in your ideas. Of course, managers can espouse all sorts of progressive philosophies to make their workplaces sound trendy, but managerial behavior trumps managerial pronouncements.

You have already made a very important decision as a result of this inappropriate treatment. The next time you have an idea, you are not going to mention it. You are probably going to tell your peers about what happened in this meeting, and their ideas are going to be withheld, too. There is no doubt that managerial misbehavior in your company is very costly in terms of motivation, morale, productivity, creativity, and satisfaction.

You can mention your concern to your manager, but the likelihood of any meaningful change resulting from your comments is minimal. All of the other managers just sat there while your manager berated you for presenting a suggestion, and their compliance indicates that such behaviors are simply part of the corporate culture. Employees are expected to go along with the established way of doing things. The real question is whether you want to go along or move along.



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