Verified by Dissecting Dilbert
Deals with a study on how people relate to 'Dilbert', comic strip
that depicts absurdities in the workplace to people's cynicism in the
United States. How people tends to be cynical about work environment; Use
of Dilbert as management tool.
By Marian M. Jones published January 1, 1998 - last reviewed on June 9, 2016
DILBERT
The comic strip Dilbert, which depicts the absurdities of the 1990s
workplace, has escaped the funnies page ghetto and become a cultural
phenomenon. But not everyone relates to it equally, report psychologists
at Bowling Green State University. People who are generally cynical, as
well as those who've had negative job experiences, are especially likely
to believe that Dilbert reflects workplace reality.
The researchers showed various Dilbert strips to business and
psychology students who had work or managerial experience. The students
also completed standard measures of cynicism levels. Although most didn't
expect to face Dilbert-like situations at their jobs, those who did
tended to be cynical about their current work environment or reported low
satisfaction in previous positions.
"There's been a debate about whether Dilbert fuels workplace
cynicism or whether cynical people seek out Dilbert," says Bowling
Green's Steven G. Rogelberg, Ph.D. "This data suggests cynical people
anticipate that Dilbert-like situations will happen, which may become a
self-fulfilling prophecy." Fortunately, Dilbert can also be a useful
management tool: "If you created a training program based on doing the
opposite of what manager in Dilbert do, it would be a great
program."
