* This story is based on actual events, but professions, genders, and locations have been changed to protect privacy. Please refrain from identifying or probing the individuals involved.
Graduated from a vocational school. Unlike the rest of his family, who all graduated from National T University, he has a strong inferiority complex about his education. Despite his intense studies and obtaining many qualifications necessary for his job, earning respect from his peers, he still feels inadequate.
Graduated from National T University. Strives to grow by learning something new every day.
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Mr. Egawa's Background
My friend, Mr. Egawa, graduated from a vocational school and then joined a certain manufacturer. Through his own effort and innate intelligence, he has risen to become an elite in the industry.
His entire family graduated from National T University, and Mr. Egawa was the only one who went to a vocational school. Although he was not bullied as a teenager, he stopped attending school and gave up on studying.
As an adult, he studied hard and earned qualifications that exceeded a college degree, but he still harbored a strong inferiority complex about his education.
An academic inferiority complex is when you feel your academic achievements are inferior to others. Mr. Egawa graduated from a vocational school while his entire family went to prestigious universities, making him feel inferior whenever he met someone from a good university.
"Now that I'm an adult, I don't feel like going to university, nor have I considered graduate school. But when I see people from good universities, I think they're just coasting on their academic credentials without really being competent at their jobs," he said.
Mr. Egawa had such prejudices.
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The New Employee from a Prestigious University: Mr. A
One day, a new employee named Mr. A joined the team led by Mr. Egawa as a project manager.
Mr. A, who had graduated from the same National T University as Mr. Egawa's family, joined the company and was performing well during the first few weeks. However, he gradually began to suffer from Mr. Egawa's cold stares and harsh words.
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Harsh Words and Actions
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"Mr. A, your design is useless, completely unacceptable."
Mr. A was shocked by these words but managed to pull himself together and tackle the next project.
However, each time he made a mistake, Mr. Egawa would loudly point it out, aiming to crush his self-esteem.
"You're completely useless. How can you not handle something so simple?"
Furthermore, Mr. Egawa would mutter to himself in a way that Mr. A could hear, saying things like,
"Why does our company hire someone so incompetent?"
These words deeply hurt Mr. A.
Defense Mechanism: Projecting your own anxieties and weaknesses onto others and attacking them to soothe your own feelings. Mr. Egawa became aggressive towards Mr. A to hide his own inferiority complex.
Authoritarianism: Demonstrating one's status or power to dominate others. Mr. Egawa used his position as a project manager to assert his authority over Mr. A and treat him harshly.
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Mr. A's Realization and Actions
Mr. A gradually felt more and more cornered by Mr. Egawa's words and actions. He even started crying on his way home at night and began to doubt his own abilities.
However, one day, Mr. A realized that what he was experiencing was harassment. He decided to start recording his conversations with Mr. Egawa.
When Harassment Awareness Month came around, Mr. A gathered his courage and reported the situation to his manager.
"Manager, can I have a moment of your time?"
"What's up, Mr. A?"
"Actually, I've been suffering from severe harassment by Mr. Egawa, and every day has become unbearable."
The manager looked surprised.
"Mr. Egawa? He would never do such a thing. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Organizational Culture: The shared values and behaviors within a company or organization. In Mr. Egawa's workplace, the culture tolerated harassment, which further escalated his aggressive behavior.
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Mr. A, feeling disappointed, submitted the recording data and detailed notes while holding back his tears.
When the manager reviewed the evidence, it was clear that Mr. Egawa's behavior towards Mr. A was indeed harassment.
The manager immediately informed Mr. Egawa that an anonymous report had been made, and took measures to address and correct his behavior.
Initially, Mr. Egawa was shocked and didn't understand why he was being criticized.
However, after receiving feedback from his superiors and colleagues, he began to reflect on his actions.
When Mr. Egawa was warned about his harassment, Mr. A's face immediately came to mind.
This was because Mr. Egawa had specifically targeted Mr. A. He resented Mr. A's entry from National T University.
Additionally, Mr. Egawa was 170 cm tall, while Mr. A was about 180 cm and quite handsome, which also irritated him.
Apology and Subsequent Developments
One day, he called Mr. A and deeply bowed his head to apologize.
"I'm truly sorry for treating you like a servant all this time.
I started unconsciously adopting an attitude that I was superior in the workplace because you graduated from a prestigious university. Over time, it became normal for me.
I'm really sorry for making you feel bad."
Mr. A, with tears in his eyes, accepted his apology.
However, Mr. Egawa, unable to overcome the strength of his complex, decided to leave the company.
One of the reasons was that the rumor of his harassment had spread within the company, making the situation unbearable.
Afterwards, Mr. A steeled himself and focused on his work.
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