ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the concepts that typically reflect the extreme distress or "suffering" of employees: the irrational boss; the irrational work group; the irrational organization. It presents suggestions about how the Axial-inspired employee can best "manage" and prevail over his ordeal. A narcissistic boss is very challenging to effectively manage, especially for a subordinate. Borrowing something from a narcissistic boss, or lending him something, is likely to put the subordinate in harm's way. Wilfred R. Bion defines his famous basic group assumptions as "the capacity of the individual for instantaneous combination with other individuals in an established pattern of behavior". High levels of self-efficacy indicate a person's confidence in his capacity to control his own motivation, behavior and social context. Irving Janis, the brilliant originator of the social psychological phenomenon known as "groupthink," began his investigation as part of the American Soldier Project. A group can also divide itself into smaller sub-groups to consider other options.
