Modern Manipulative Behaviors in The Workplace in Nigeria. Does it Really Worth Dealing With? A Must-Read for Business Executives

Organizational Behavior is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management, but since it concerns the behavior of people within an organization. It is also one of the most central. It concerns individuals and groups. Patterns of behavior elements in dealing with the complex behavior issues thrown up in the modern business world. (Financial Times Mastering Management Series)

The behavior of people in an organization should be seen as part of their Key Performance Indicators. People would like to work in a place where they can find love and not hatred.

So many behaviors are going unnoticed in many organizations. This has a huge negative impact on the overall well-being of the organization.

We are living in a world where people fancy job titles and the greedy for pay.

It is becoming to work under a boss with an inferiority complex. No matter how much you try to please such people they would still find fault in the way you run your affairs. Even if you assist them in carrying their bag. Hatred is a very strong thing.

A Unit Head who sees his teammate as a threat would do everything possible to get his teammate out of the system.

Tactical games played by those in the Human Resources department can be so funny. They know how to call black a white. And they would still stand on it.

Of all functional areas of business, HR top the most cost. Cost in every ramification. They are also the cause of a bad hire. How do we calculate The Cost of a Bad Hire?

Bad Hire still thrives in our company. They breed Bad Boss or Bosses. They maneuver their way to get to the top or to get a particular position.

The master minder and game changer in every system is the man in the Human Resource Department.

“…We have given this genius a lower job title still he did not get out of our system. We have given him a pay cut and yet he still stays in our workspace. What should we do at this point? Let us transfer him to another branch …

“…we would transfer him to where he is going to find uncomfortable. We are doing this for the boss to have solid ground. When he gets to his branch or place of work…he would find the hospital manager or should we call him the lab guy who is going to hate him more…”

I keep wondering how hatred is flourishing these days during the post-COVID-19 pandemic. It is on the high side. People are leaving their jobs not just because of money but simply because of bad bosses, poor supervision, uninformed Human Resources, Poor systems, Heavy politics, and placing the wrong people in positions that they are not meant to be.

We are all working for survival. We need to pay bills and feed the family. But there would be a point you would need to quit for sanity purposes. It is better to quit a job. Please do not quit your family. Human lives matter. When you have a life, you will have a job. Please, leave politics for them to play.

Many are still working in a difficult environment just to survive. There is no guidance and counseling trait in our Human Resource Unit. Not even human feelings. Sometimes the person you are reporting issues to in the office might be your enemy. Which means you are confiding in the wrong person.

“…despite posting this genius to another environment. He is still strong to stay.” This is a place where you see someone in a managerial role that doesn’t greet you. Not would he even respond to your greetings.

I do tell people being a manager goes beyond putting on a suit, shirt, and trousers. It is not the attachment you have for your briefcase. Being a manager requires that you have scarce administrative skills. You have to be gifted. You must have an academic background in it. You cannot fake what you do not have. Buying a self-development book cannot make you a manager overnight.

We started having unresolved issues in the workplace when Personnel Management was phased out and replaced with Human Resource Management. So many folks start bagging certifications here and there. Many are from natural science. The number of HRs we have is getting close to the number of job applicants. One of the criteria you must have as an HR person in Nigeria is the ability to manipulate people. Which is very bad.

Behaviors need to be checked in every organization. Whose responsibility to do this? Why should power be in the hands of informal groups? This is Africa where black magic reigns. I do not know about white magic. People are desperate to have power. They need power in a rush. They are going for managerial or political positions not because of the power of love but because of the love of power. You had better run for your life when you sense things heavily in your workplace.

You gave a Unit to someone who does not understand the scope of the job being given to him. You think management and organization do entertain the English Language. It has a language called business language. How do you expect a genius to work under this kind of human? He would see people around him as a threat.

People work with tactics. Organizations work in a very mysterious way. The HR that is working in conjunction with a manager would have a controversial issue one day. It’s either the HR sacks the manager or the Manager sacks the HR. They have frustrated the lives of those who work in their organization. They failed to understand the principles that guide behavior in the workplace.

Human Resource Managers should visit or revisit the subject of Organizational Behaviors. It is the study and understanding of individual and group behavior and patterns of structure to help improve organizational performance and effectiveness. Organizational Behavior does not encompass the whole of management; it is more accurately described in the narrower interpretation of providing a behavioral approach to management.

How do we spot a caring organization? It is where you see people smile. I mean genuine smiling. Where people greet each other genuinely; greet and respond to greetings. From caring, there would be harmony. This would breed creativity.

We are getting tired of working in a team where one Unit Head would claim the achievement. “I did it” Using “I” to replace “We”

Your resignation from a toxic workplace is going to be a success story and the beginning of great deals. I am hoping to be the Managing Director, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of big corporations. It is by quitting that I can grow.

Many of us in Africa always find it hard to let go of a toxic workplace. The economy speaks volumes. You would see someone in a fixed position for years and getting underpaid. Some people have been sacked but they only exist on the payroll getting the same salary without promotion; this is part of the tactics of HR and whoever is saddled with the responsibility of managing such individuals.

Jack Welch of GE said “Work in a place where work is play. And never forget to have fun” How do you find this type of work? You have to keep searching. There are a few excellent companies here in Nigeria. They show love to both their internal and external customers. If you find them you better stick to them.

But still, you have to imagine less…

Bill Gate Accenture Security DELLOIX Harvard Business School Online

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.