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Monday Movie Meme - The Worst Offenders in Upper Management
Monday, September 2, 2013 at 2:00PM
In honor of Labor Day, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is inspired by a Washington Post article I read about American workforce statistics. One of the various charts displayed in this article shows the rates of employee engagement among the U.S. working population over the last decade, highlighting a Gallup survey showing that only one in five workers describe themselves as “actively engaged” in their jobs.
Having worked in different retail and office environments myself, I believe that the level of care that employees have for their job performance is oftentimes (though not always) a reflection of the leadership available to them. As such, I wonder how many people among the disengaged labor force are less interested in their jobs because they are working with supervisors or bosses who cause staff to dread coming in, cain’t wait until quitting time and frequently considers calling out sick. That, my lovelies, brings us to the focus of this week’s Monday Movie Meme: People with Poor Upper Management Skills aka The Worst Bosses Ever.
Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring bad examples of upper management in the workplace. The job supervisors in these films cause poor morale among their employees and are long overdue for either an attitude adjustment, sensitivity training, jail time or a new position -- possibly in another field or at a different company. Here are my selections for this week’s The Worst Bosses Ever theme.
Horrible Bosses
A dentist sexually harasses her assistant and blackmails him, in this comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and some other amusing peeps. Talk about, an uncomfortable workplace! No wonder why the poor assistant isn’t exactly anxious to perform at his best.
The Firm
As if practicing law isn’t hard enough, try maintaining your composure at work after realizing the senior partners at the company that once wooed you with lavish perks are now trying to kill you.
Set It Off
Luther, the owner/manager of a janitorial company, constantly belittles, yells at and insults his employees in this crime drama starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Vivica Fox and Kimberly Elise.
If he’d stop addressing them as “you Bitches” and start calling them by their names and treating them like human beings, they just might put more effort into separating the recyclables from the garbage, after all.
Happy Labor Day, guys and gals!
What movies have YOU watched that feature the worst people to ever have a position in upper management?
Reader Comments (9)
Oh, hey! A topic near and dear to my heart! I had one of these bosses at my last job before I finally jumped ship for another company. It was a terrible situation, and only a change in jobs could fix it. But hey, it all worked out for the best!
As for movie bosses...how about:
Office Space: Bob Slydell (...and I'll need you to come in Sunday as well...)
Paths Of Glory (1957): General Mireau forces his troops into a suicide run, but they refuse (if you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it! One of my favorite Kirk Douglass roles, and it was directed by Stanley Kubrick)
Better Off Dead: Lane's boss at Pig Burgers. What a horrible human being.
Wanted: Wesley's boss Janice. She's the kind of person I make my life's work to avoid
Get Shorty: Chili Palmer's boss Ray Barboni. What a scuz...
Great topic! I had trouble picking our my favorites :-)
I definitely have to go with Herman about Office Space. :-)
And this made me think of Devil's Advocate as well. What exactly are your choices when you find out your boss is the devil? Just...yeah lol!
Herman,
Was this job switch back when you were excitedly waiting to see what came of the interview for the gig that you have now? If so, I remember those days of rooting for you to get with the other company, but I guess I never fully grasped the fact that having a boss who was very difficult to work with was one of the main reasons that you wanted to jump ship. I guess this week's Meme can be somewhat therapeutic activity. I'm glad you enjoyed this week's topic :)
You are a true movie lover, I tell ya! Your lists never cease to amaze me when realizing how extensive your movie-watching experience trumps lots of people. It's always fun to see selections on your list that I either never heard of or am familiar with by title but haven't watched for one reason or another. "Office Space" is one of those films...gotta put it on my rental queue for sure...I mean, since Clerks is already on there, I might as well make it a working-for-the-man weekend out of it, lol. Was Angelina Jolie in "WANTED?" The movie sounds familiar; Kirk Douglas and Kubrick...two legends....how have I not heard of "Paths of Glory?" I'm sooo gonna look them up! Awesome list, man!!!!
Angela,
Nice pick with "Devil's Advocate" and I'd say that's quite a brilliant selection because ironically, many people probably refer to their bosses from hell as the devil, but Keanu Reeves' actually had the real thing to report to. That's definitely not fun. I remember watching that movie many years ago and it freaked me out. Al Pacino played that role to the tee. Between your and Herman's recommendations, I'll have to check out "Office Space" for sure! Thanks for joining in on this week's Worst Bosses Ever meme :)
THE WORKING GIRL and DEVIL WEARS PRADA spring to my mind first :) But I loved Meryl as Miranda in PRADA....
Yes Ma'am. That was indeed during the time I was looking for a new job. So glad I finally found my way out of that hell hole. And if you can't find a rental copy of Paths Of Glory let me know and I'll pick you up a copy! It's a haunting movie, and Kubrick really follows the rules of thirds during his framing. This technique carries over into the rest of his work, and REALLY pops in his movie The Shining. Kubrick is most definitely one of my favorite directors. :-)
My first thought was Michael Scott of The Office, but that's a TV show, not a movie.
I agree with Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada, but she was amazing in that role.
The boss in Office Space is a total scumbag, so he gets my vote, too.
Great topic! Too bad so many workers are not fully engaged in their jobs...it's no wonder our country is falling apart...
Tina @ Life is Good
Working for the mob is the wort! I would vote for "Office Space" because he was so funny.
Working for the mob is the wort! I would vote for "Office Space" because he was so funny.
Dezzy,
I wondered if "Devil Wears Prada" would fit this week's meme but wasn't sure since I haven't watched that movie; I did, however, look up "The Working Girl" after reading your comment and the premise sounds so cut-throat that I'm interested in checking it out just to see how well a woman proves that she can swing with the big boys by trying to beat her boss at his own game.
Herman,
Any place where you can flourish and utilize your talents and skills is a place worth migrating to...good thing you got out of the hell hole when you did. I just got some new rentals in from Blockbuster, so I'll see what they're working with and what Netflix has before I get my next rental from them and we shall see what happens on the "Paths of Glory" front :)
Kubrick is the man, no one can deny that but you'll probably kick me if you knew that "The Shining" might still be sitting somewhere in my Netflix queue...as in, I still haven't seen that classic in all these years. Sham on me, I know, I know.
Tina,
I have the British version of The Office and totally agree with your pickings...for TV, lol. I'll have to get around to watching The Devil Wears Prada one of these days. I think it's in one of my rental queues but the Netflix list is so long, I don't even know where it would be on the list. Am I the only one who hasn't seen Office Space? I'm surely going to have to see what the boss in that movie is all about, since the consensus here among all of you guys' (and gals') comments is that he is the worst boss ever. I gotta check it out! Thanks for participating in this week's meme! I hope the country doesn't fall apart too soon....I still have a few things that I want to do, so the U.S. better get it together. Heh!
Maurice,
The mob, you say? You ain't kidding! There must be some sicko stuff going on in "Office Space" for it to be the top dog among selections for the worst boss ever. I dig funny, so that movie is officially on my rental radar, for sure!