Employee’s Post on Humiliation by Manager Sparks Discussion on Workplace Etiquette

Bosses yelling unnecessarily at their subordinates is common in workplaces worldwide. This aggressive behavior can be to attain dominance, leadership, or get the work done. But on the other hand, it deeply affects the worker's morale as well as productivity. Recently, a user posted his experience in the Sub-Reddit r/developersIndia , which is now deleted by the user, but it instigated a whole debate. The user captioned the post, "Manager humiliated me in front of everyone. What are my options?". The user further mentioned that his boss yelled at him in front of all the employees just to assert dominance which is not just exasperating but also toxic.

The OP wrote, "There was a discussion that turned into an argument about some design pattern. I was arguing the wrong thing against 2-3 people. The thing is, it is not like they also know it exactly. It’s their hypothesis vs my hypothesis". Giving some more context the user added, “Suddenly the manager screamed at me to assert some random point related to the discussion and later when I researched, that point was wrong, but I didn’t say anything to anyone. That scream was just to assert dominance and shut me down". The post got a traction with 388 upvotes and 311 comments in just two days. Viewers on Reddit had diversified opinions on the situation. While some readily suggested the user some genuine and professional feedback. On the other hand, some suggestions came from the infuriated users who might have faced similar humiliation with their bosses .

@mrxplek commented, "Try to reconcile and give a clear indication of what you felt. Watch his reaction and how he acts. You will get a good read of his character. Take action after that. Don’t worry, everyone at some point in their life has gone through the same thing". @RailRoadRao commented, "Constructive criticism with redressal mechanism: Definetly speak with your manager. Tell him how you feel. Also ask him what triggered it and what can you improve to avoid it in the future". @0R_C0 commented, "Report your manager to HR and higher-ups. Ask them to send him for management training. Tell them he's demotivating to work under as he doesn't know how to give feedback".

@Comprehensive-Box677 commented, "Do impactful work in the organization so that people value you as a person. Then your manager will think twice before screaming at you". @ParthoKR commented, "Go and talk upfront with bold voice. Otherwise, you are gonna lose sleep over not doing anything". @socks-in-shoes commented, "Email to HR about workplace abuse, and upper management about him being wrong and assertive about it. All communication is to be in writing, so that tomorrow you can get to the company. The company will not choose a manager over a legal issue. Will set a precedent, too". @D_Special commented, "It is going to be a cold war. It would be better to address this issue in one-to-one call with your manager. Another way is to find a new job and surprise your manager with a resignation letter. In an exit interview, mention these point to HR".