Have you ever had a job that you hated?
Was it the work itself? The hours? Your coworkers?
Or did you hate your job because of a terrible boss?
It turns out you're not alone.
The Telegraph reports that the Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada has released a study showing that stabbing voodoo dolls of an abusive manager could help morale in the workspace.
Dr. Lindy Liang, the professor at the head of the project states, "We found a simple and harmless symbolic act of retaliation can make people feel like they're getting even and restoring their sense of fairness".
She later went on to say that these acts of retaliation don't necessarily have to be against a voodoo doll. Other acts of retaliation such as "throwing darts at a picture of your boss" may also prove effective.
The study involved 229 workers. Using the online program Dumb.com, an online voodoo doll site, the subjects were told to visualize abuse from one of their managers. Some of them were then told to perform acts of retaliation against their simulated bosses including sticking pins in the dolls. These acts of retaliation helped bring perceived justice to the employee. This not only helps the employee's own psyche, but the organization as a whole because this perceived justice helps increase employee performance.
So if you see your coworker walking around with a voodoo doll, there may be a reason they're getting more work done than you.