Bangalore Nokia engineer commits suicide over boss

An engineer, working for Nokia in Bangalore, has killed herself. In a suicide note, she said she was being harassed by her managers.

The question is not whether her accusation against her managers is well-founded. The problem with having unelected managers (ie, dictators) is perception - even if a boss is 'good', the sense of powerlessness experienced by a subordinate always translates into resentment, anxiety, fear or terror.

And in this awful and sad case, it's resulted in death.

"What do I do?"

Many people from around the world have emailed me with this question: "What do I do?" with my current bad boss/organization. Unfortunately, apart from the usual don't-bully-me tactics that you can learn about elsewhere, my suggestion is: don't take on your employer. Just find another job.

If you do take on your employer (ie, a dictatorship system), here are some of the things you stand to lose - your job, your peace of mind, money (if you decide to sue), and so on. What do you stand to win? Not much - you probably get to keep your job, but you've antagonised your employer, and boss and colleagues as well for "creating trouble."

The only way to change things is to aim for the long-term: raise awareness, so that the system changes.