Reverting to type | Are you responsible for allowing 'horrible bosses' to ruin company culture?

The opening scene of the film Horrible Bosses shows Jason Bateman’s character Nick pulling into an empty parking lot, rushing into the lobby of the building and then to his desk in a darkened office, where he’s the only worker. Shortly after everyone else files into work about three hours later, his boss (one of the titular horrors, played by Kevin Spacey), informs him that he arrived at 6:02am and that that sort of behaviour isn’t one he expects from someone who wants a promotion.

The movie goes from bad to worse, with one boss inheriting his father’s business only to use it for his own monetary gain and running it into the ground – while another, played by Rachel-from-Friends (sometimes known as Jennifer Aniston) sexually harasses her direct report, putting his personal relationships on the line.

HR lessons from Hollywood? Hmm.

While the movie, released in 2011 and its successful sequel (the cleverly named Horrible Bosses 2) in 2014 uses overblown scenarios to portray the power struggle of the working person, many of us have been in those situations – and repeatedly.

But surely, post-pandemic, with the drastic changes and the ‘new way of working’, we’ve all learned our lessons? Let’s take stock.