Coercion In The Workplace
In today's workplace company managers sometimes go to extremes to fulfill demands placed upon them. Because a job represents different aspects from worker to management, it becomes a whip of obedience. Most jobs become bargaining platforms to coerce people into preforming to a given standard.
Coercion is defined as, "to restrain or constrain by force..." Legally it often implies the use of a Physical Force or physical or legal threat. This traditional concept of coercion while better understood, overshadows the more used technological concept of “coercive persuasion" which is effective restraining, impairing, or compelling through the gradual application of Psychological Forces.
Because of extreme competition from foreign companies, American labor is placed under high demands to perform. This pressure fosters the use of coercive persuasion programs to prompt change in workforce behavior. Psychological Forces are used for the use of teaching and adopting new behaviors or ideologies for elevating performance standards.
Ideologies of grandeur
These ideologies are different from other forms of gentle social learning or peaceful persuasion because of contrasting force conditions under which they are conducted. In the workplace, pressures are intentionally used on labor to gain profits for hungry stakeholders. Techniques using threat and interpersonal manipulation are employed to lower esteem in underling labors thus altering behavior to a more desirable output. The use of coercion in training personnel to elevate moral by using the spirit of a group to make the members want the group to succeed. Example: a Monday morning sales rally hypes the group collectively for better performance as they pit one group against another in a public display of success or failure. Those who win are rewarded and those who lose are publicly chastised. People will overextend themselves to avoid public humiliation.
The demand to succeed and comply to company standards has become common place. Given time, coercive persuasion becomes a psychological force much like our legal concepts of undue influence. This subtle force can be even more effective than the use of physical force and job loss or demotion threats. People, physically value the opinion of their peers and will go to extremes to maintain a value based image.
People Placed In Pain
The need to use physical pain or torture, to effect thought reform, is a misconception generally associated with the old concepts and models of brainwashing. In today's society, coercive persuasion programs are much more effective then directed physical pain, torture, or even a physically coercive threat. Mental progressive cohesive pressures led to an alteration of the physic when applied over a long time span. This alteration affects the ego, belief and value system as well as the personality of the bearer. What is a deviation of today becomes the norm of tomorrow through idolization or being told wrong is right over a period of time. As the wrong is accepted it becomes the norm.
Often you can make someone comply to demands which would normally be against their will, but it is temporarily in nature. You can even make them work under conditions they hate, despise or is contrary to their belief system. They will preform under duress, but their internal attitude is not altered without applying physical pressures.
Lead To Mental Breakdown
This action brings a much different and far less devastating result than that which you are able to achieve with the improvements of coercive persuasion. With coercive progression you can change people's attitudes without their knowledge and volition. You can create new "attitudes" where they will do things willingly which they formerly may have detested, things which previously physical pain, or threat of extremes would have coerced them to do. The advances in using extreme anxiety and emotional stress to produce are technologies found in coercive progression which supersede old style coercion that focuses on short term pain, torture, drugs, or threat
In these older systems a change in attitude was needed so people would follow orders willingly, like whipping slaves or underlings complied out of fear. Coercive progression is a progressive action which changes both attitude and behavior, not behavior alone. The subject becomes adapted to the new condition and preforms accordingly. Because today's workforce is placed under such high demand for performance, it is subjected to the highest forms of progressive persuasion. A person changes willingly given the right stimulus.
You and others who work in a sales, production or other environment of high demand to preform are unwilling being subjected to physiological pressures on a continuances bases. This continues exertion results in heart disease, ulcers, mental derangement, and prolonged depression as well as unnecessary pressures being brought to the home family. Relationships suffer as people become frustrated at the possibilities of losing a job, benefits, or positions.
Mental Freedom Is Still An Option
The workplace, without a doubt, is where most people spend most of their directed time influenced by someone of higher power. Eight out of ten people do not like their jobs, manager, supervisor, working conditions, or employer's work ethics, yet they continue to allow themselves to be targeted as production machines. All coercive actions are abusive to the mental state of a human being. No party should have to continue under duress. Psychiatrist have wrestled with the problem of mental breakdown for years with no clear solutions. As long as the pressure exist mental degradation exist. Don't be a victim, be a free.
Happy Trails
Donald Yates, Former Director of Business and Leadership Development for Imperial Research, is now retired but continues to assist young people in engaging life through self discovery, Life course planning, intuitiveness and fulfillment. Learn how you can build a powerful organization of your own. To learn more, visit
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