Workplace terrorism
By Varela
The Western cliché of a modern-day terrorist posits the image of an irate Irishman with religious traumas, or an Arab dying to get his ticket to the 7,000 virgins, both wrapped in explosives, rushing into a crowd.
These suicide-seekers do that because they expect that, with their sacrifice, their people or their ideas will be guaranteed the lead story in the noontime newscast.
Then there is what is called terrorism of state. The big and powerful country scares the little and weak country in a move to obtain territory and markets. That almost falls into the category of barrio bully.
But there is a terrorism that’s more subtle: the boss uses fear against the employee to perpetuate his job, his profits or his company. It’s the same equation. He takes advantage of the diarrhea triggered in the employee by the thought of being without a roof over his head or having no beans to feed his children. Terror is implicit. It’s the same old scheme of contempt for the lives of others.
In the cubicles of the offices in Miami’s skyscrapers, the plane-projectile commonly used is “for Christmas, they’re going to eliminate jobs.” At the clothing factories in Hialeah, the C-4 utilized is “they’re going to move the shop to Honduras because labor there is cheaper.” This modern bomb – workplace terrorism – has a diabolical fuse.
There is much human degradation in this type of boss-peon relationship. To command a working group, a boss has to control himself and respect others or pay the consequences. Paradoxically, the sad alternative to this format is given by the U.S. government when somebody knocks down two of its towers – it invades two countries. That says that no type of terrorism deserves peaceful discussion across a negotiating table.
That’s why the bosses in certain places should think about softening their employment terror. Saying “I have to let you go” is cynical. Nobody wants to go away from a place where he collects money and enjoys benefits. It’s not a martyrdom the boss should free you from.
The other variant – “as of Monday I’ll have to do without your services” – is worse, because it’s delivered on a Friday, which gives the employee the worst weekend of his life.
I know a man who, fired on a Friday, didn’t have the nerve to tell his wife, so, for a week afterward, he left his house every morning at 7, briefcase in hand, only to sit in a park to phone all the job listings in the newspaper. The following Friday he told his wife: “This week, there is no paycheck. Guess why.”
Another interesting case involved a friend of mine, a Cuban-American whose boss, an American who spoke no Spanish, told him: “Lamentably, the firm is going to eliminate one job, so the least productive worker will have to go.” My friend stood up, approached his boss, hugged him and said, eyes watering: “I’m going to miss you. When are you going to announce your resignation to the workers? Because at least I speak two languages and know how to pronounce the Ñ.”
To end this, I must be honest to the reader and disclose my case. I had a boss who, for personal reasons, took away from me – during a 10-minute conversation – 15 years of work, retirement, a 401k, life insurance, medical and dental coverage for me and my family, shares in the company, half a year’s salary, and steady employment. In 10 minutes, he turned me into a freelancer. Well, I dismissed him in nine.
This shows that imposing oneself as a boss is easy. What’s difficult is for the employees to accept it without feeling intimidated and without breaking any written law.
The truth is that most bosses around here keep their underlings terrorized thanks to unfair rules and the lack of protective labor unions.
Born in Cuba in 1955, José Varela worked as an editorial cartoonist in Miami for 15 years at the magazine Éxito (1991-97) and El Nuevo Herald (1993-2006). A publicist and television writer, he is a member of the Progreso Weekly/Semanal team.
