Life in the workplace can be hard, unfair, abusive, soul destroying, family busting, even deadly. In a military setting, pissing off the sergeant can get you killed if it leads to you always getting the really dangerous job. One testosterone driven Colonel proudly told all comers how he solved the problem of unruly or defiant subordinates in Vietnam.
I made them walk point, the officer would grin, adding for clarification that this meant the man would be a certain distance ahead of the main body of a foot patrol, effectively being part scout and part bait.
Life in the office, the factory or any other civilian workplace is not that dangerous but you have to be lucky to live through decades of work without some heartbreak.
When life at work turns ugly and you do not have a strong case for a lawsuit, you suck it up and move on.
In an ideal world, you would look forward, free of any thought of revenge or bitterness. If you belong to the vast group of people who do feel the urge to kick the ex boss or find yourself thinking of some kind of adverse event to wish on him or her, you may have one option if the company is a publicly traded company: buy some shares and tell yourself that your evil ex boss is now working for you!
In terms of real numbers, your share ownership is going to be negligible, in terms of psychological impact it can make all the difference.
You might decide to tell your former tormentor by email, although the blogster would not recommend it. Revenge is an awfully destructive emotion to the person who seeks revenge, and we should not let it have a hold over us.
If you are not absolutely sure that you can limit post employment contact to a single email, do not do it. Or maybe you have a wise and stable friend who is willing to send a thank you note to the former boss on your behalf.
That's right, a thank you note. Say something nice, such as you consider the job a valuable experience, something you can build on in the future -- you get the idea, some standard nice sounding boiler plate.
At the end, add that you believe in the company's products or services and that you even acquired a few shares.
Bad managers tend of over interpret things, either because some brain chemicals are out of whack or because their ineptitude creates an obsessive need to cover even the most ridiculous bases - only this time, it works for instead of against you.
Once all of this is over, move forward with your life because it is short enough anyway.
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