‘I felt like a dog’ — Employee feels disrespected after his boss snapped his fingers at him

SINGAPORE: An online user took to social media on Wednesday (March 5) to share his sentiments on an incident at work where he felt belittled and disrespected. According to the post, the employee’s boss snapped his fingers at him to get his attention, making him feel like a dog.

Despite a few weeks having passed, the writer shared that he has been unable to get over the incident with his boss. “A few weeks back, my boss partnered with me for the whole day to do our job. He was talking to someone else about something, and I was doing my own things; I so happened to have to walk out to hand over some documents. He snapped his fingers at me, telling me to listen in on the conversation as well.”

In a show of vulnerability, the writer said, “I felt like a dog. I find [it] rude to snap fingers at people to get their attention. Yes, you are my boss, but I’m a human being too.”

Quite ironically, the man claimed that the other day, his workplace sent him to a talk that covered etiquette, service, and the proper treatment of work colleagues. “The incident came back to me even more,” he admitted.

Later, he edited his post, sharing that he likes his job. “It’s just my boss that bothers me,” he said. “It’s not the first time I felt this person was rude. I usually [just] close one eye. But this snapping finger thing really… It’s like shaking hands over someone, having the ‘power’ over you that kind of signal.”

Many responded to the post in a show of support, siding with the writer. A handful encouraged him to train himself not to respond to such treatment as a way to stand up for himself and hold a boundary as to how he would like to be treated.  “You should start training yourself not to respond when he snaps his fingers unless he calls your name,” said one. “I think it’s a subconscious reaction for our minds to be drawn to sudden noises, especially when the person making the noise makes eye contact with us.”

Others called out his boss’s actions as proof of a power play. “It’s a manipulation thing,” said another. “Don’t respond to the snap. If you want to know if he meant it in a malicious way, try it on him. If he becomes angry, you know he is provoking you for fun.”

Still, while some commenters suggested the man report the incident to HR or employee relations, others encouraged him to consider leaving his job.

See also: Corporate woman struggles whether to stay or walk away from her toxic workplace

Featured image by Depositphotos/ bangkokclickstudio (for illustration purposes only)