Cambodian Rule – Respect the Elder, the Boss? Even He is Wrong?

Should you respect the elder, your boss or not? In Cambodia there is a tradition or culture that if you are the boss, you can be unreasonable to your subordinates and expect them to still respect you. Also the subordinates or employees are supposed to respect the boss, do as told etc. This unspoken role or sometimes it’s spoken in organization when there is conflict, is being used in Cambodia in private companies as well as in state agencies.

Recently there is a video of a man yelling at his employee or subordinate being shared on Facebook. He man was being recorded by the man he was yelling at and he doesn’t seem to know. It seems quite obvious. The boss was telling the man what he should not do. It seems it was not the first time, he has warned the man. He was quite angry of his employee’s performance or action. He didn’t want it to happen again he warned. The employee tried to make excuse. He boss was not happy about that. He started yelling even harder. Maybe this is not the first time he yells at his employee. That is why the employee is recording.

I think both of them has issue.

The Boss: he is not professional. If he knows what he was doing as a boss he doesn’t need to yelling to have the employee listen or be afraid of him. He has temper issue probably. He can use his power to discipline the person without using rude words. If hie has cool temper most of the time and this is the first time, that means the mistake is too big that it gets him angry. Of course the boss can get angry at the employee for making mistake and can fire the person if need too. But he can also do it in a good manner.

The Employee: The work was not done well or was done wrong for many times, which make the boss angry. He also was not respecting the boss either. And the reason for that could be because of the boss temper or because the employee is a lazy one himself and not doing well with his job.

So what is the deal? what should we do to the role?

For the Boss:

• Stop thinking that being a boss can make you do anything you want without resistance from the employees.
• Respect the subordinate as a person, not just as someone you can through your problem on.
• Being a good boss, will attract good employees too. When you have good people working for you, your company can become very competitive in the marketplace and therefore more successful.
• Let the employees talk and express their opinion without being feared of judgment. If they have fear they will not be honest and you will not get the accurate information about your character, the company performance etc.

To the Employee:

• Respect the boss, but have to stand up for your opinion when you think that he is wrong.
• Don’t just follow what the boss want you to do because you want him or her to be happy or to like you.
• Be a good employee to the boss and the company you are working for. It’s your ticket to the next level, either in the same company or a different company. Your work quality is your reputation , your signature quality that people will use to evaluate you. You will have good recommendation for your next job or next business.