There\u2019s a reason the Milgram experiment is still discussed decades later. It showed how far people can go when an authority figure pushes them to. If you\u2019ve never heard of this experiment, here\u2019s a quick summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Milgram experiment was a famous study from the 1960s that looked at how easily people will obey authority, even in situations where they shouldn\u2019t. Participants were told by a researcher to administer electric shocks to a person in another room whenever that person answered a question incorrectly. The shocks weren\u2019t real, and the person reacting to them was an actor, but the participants didn\u2019t know that. What shocked researchers\u2014pun totally intended\u2014was how many people continued administering what they believed were painful or even dangerous shocks simply because an authority figure told them to keep going. They could literally hear the person screaming\u2014fake, but still\u2014in the next room. They normalized<\/em> causing pain to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How is it even possible for toxic or unhealthy behaviors to be normalized? Because if it\u2019s done often enough and no one speaks up, eventually, people stop questioning it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s look at some workplace behaviors that have become normalized\u2014and really shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of us work through lunch so often it barely registers anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We eat at our desk. We answer emails between bites. We get crumbs on our keyboard. And we do it every day, without even realizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, working through lunch once in a while isn\u2019t the end of the world. Sometimes there\u2019s a deadline, sometimes there\u2019s an emergency, and sometimes you\u2019re in the middle of something and stopping would break your focus. However, when skipping lunch becomes routine, it\u2019s not dedication. It\u2019s an unhealthy habit that has become normalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It could mean the workload is unrealistic, the team is understaffed, or that people feel guilty taking breaks\u2014none of which are good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t believe I need to say this, but breaks are not a luxury. We need them to stay functional. It\u2019s not a sign of commitment; it\u2019s a sign that the system is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your team falls apart when someone goes on vacation, that\u2019s not the problem of the person who is sitting on the beach with an umbrella drink. They don\u2019t deserve to be interrupted with emails. They deserve to relax. And they deserve to be working for a company that has a backup plan, like training multiple people to do a task, or putting together how-to docs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s such an unpleasant feeling to be expected to respond outside work hours\u2014it\u2019s like your time is no longer yours. Managers may not intend to create that pressure, but if they regularly send after-hours messages and praise fast replies, employees will learn the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And once availability becomes a sign of commitment, boundaries start looking like a lack of dedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s such an odd thing to reward people who do their job well with even more work. They\u2019re they cleanup crew who fix other people\u2019s messes. So what happens to the person who makes the messes? Sometimes, they\u2019re retrained, sometimes they\u2019re fired. And sometimes, they\u2019re just given easier or less important tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the most normalized workplace habits, and it\u2019s also one of the most damaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When reliable employees are constantly asked to take on extra work, they eventually learn that being competent isn\u2019t an advantage. Being good at your job doesn\u2019t just mean being trusted. It means being used as backup for a failed hiring or training process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Managers need to be careful here. Giving someone more responsibility can be a good thing if it comes with recognition, support, authority, growth, or compensation. But dumping extra work on the same person because they\u2019re reliable is not just unfair, it\u2019s also lazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my biggest work pet peeves is managers who protect customers instead of their staff. It\u2019s something I encountered often in retail, where customers who made a fuss were given what they wanted in order to just get them out the door. Like the customer who tried to return a dress that was quite clearly worn for an event and then returned a week later. I did what I was trained to do\u2014I told her we couldn\u2019t accept it. She started yelling, the manager came over and approved the return, and the customer walked away with a smug look on her face. At the end of my shift, I asked management to take me off of the customer service rotation. Why should I have to be abused by customers for following the rules?<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Working through lunch.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Answering work messages after hours.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Making the reliable workers the cleaners.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Treating rude customers as something employees should just accept.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n