Does your boss make you sick?

II. What is employee abuse (bullying)?
   Employers who mentally abuse employees use "mind control" or "brainwashing" techniques, but their mind games are probably more instinctive than planned. These are the most common methods abusers use to control their victims:

   Isolating the victim. Setting up an environment in which the employee is ignored, doesn't know who to trust, and is kept out of the loop of information, which can eventually make her feel as isolated as though she were locked in a windowless room.
   Exerting control; making the victim feel powerless. Whoever decides which employees get raises and bonuses, and who gets fired has control. In a healthy, fair work environment, an employee can influence those decisions by the way he works, so he is not powerless. In an abusive environment, the boss may vacillate at will between being fair and harsh, friendly and unreachable, complimentary and critical, and nothing the employee does makes any difference, so he is powerless.
   Destroying the victim's self-confidence and self-respect. Treating a person as though she is stupid and inept, searching for excuses to criticize her, ignoring her input and suggestions, and questioning all her decisions, very quickly makes her doubt her intelligence and abilities, and destroys her self-confidence and -respect. A person in that state of mind doesn't feel she deserves to be treated better and the abuser has her right where he wants her. 

   a) become confused, because they can't reconcile their so-called "stupidity and ineptness" with their previous job and life successes;
   b) isolate themselves, because they feel inferior to their co-workers;
   c) obsesses with being perfect to avoid criticism and please their impossible-to-please bosses;
   d) become paranoid, thinking people are talking about their "poor work" and "stupidity";
   e) become so insecure about their jobs that they expect to be fired at any time, but are confused about why;
   f) grow so weary of trying to prove their worth and failing  that they lose their "fight" and stop defending themselves or trying to convince anyone, including themselves, that they are doing good work; and, finally
   h) doubt that their work is worth defending.