Employees Are Able To Relieve Stress With A Voodoo Doll Of Their Boss, Study Finds

Nov 18, 2019 by apost team

If you’ve ever had a job before, no matter if it was in an office, a service-related business like a restaurant or a salon, or anything else, you know that not everyone can get along. There are always different personalities, different types of work ethic, different approaches to similar tasks, and simply different types of people. Hopefully, everyone at the job can be professional and just get through the day without an explosion of any kind or ongoing gossip, but that isn’t always the case. However, what if the person that is driving you crazy or you can’t stand to work with isn’t a co-worker, but your boss?

If you are frustrated with your boss, you’re a bit out of luck. Not only do you have to work with them, but you also have to work under them and abide by their direction. This can lead to resentment, frustration, and stress building up and festering over time. You’ll feel that familiar cringe in your stomach every time you see their name pop up in your inbox or see them headed your way. So, what can you do?

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A new study has found that there may be a better, less traditional, way to release your stress and gain some calm when it comes to your boss. No, it isn’t hiring Jamie Foxx for his hitman services (cue the movie “Horrible Bosses”). It’s a voodoo doll.

The study referred to the use of a voodoo toll as participating in “symbolic retaliation” against the boss they can’t stand. The study tested over 400 employees in the United States and Canada and was led by Dr. Lindie Hanyu Liang from the Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. The study results showed that sticking pins into a voodoo doll that was meant to represent their boss brought down their level of feeling underappreciated or unjustified by a third.

Participants also burned the dolls with a candle or pinched it with pliers, naming their voodoo dolls after their boss. According to Dr. Liang, it doesn’t have to be a voodoo doll, it just has to be something that offers symbolic retaliation against their senior or boss.

These results are so interesting because symbolic retaliation is simple, harmless, and can provide a near-immediate psychological benefit to employees. Would you use a voodoo doll that represents your boss after an extremely rough day at work? Pass this interesting study along to anyone you know who has a boss they just can't stand.