He probably has the ability to be a good worker -- there's too little to go on here. But I'm seeing a lack of seeing both sides that is crippling for a career. It just doesn't appeal to me. In fact, if anything it's sad to see a waste of time and energy.
Sorry. I don't see any catharsis. All I see is a lack of evolution in attitudes. There are a lot more bosses and jobs like this one. At the end of all of that, I'd really hope he made some decisions/grew so not to end up there again.
By calling it out in a harsh light, I _am_ trying to give him a break.
You just made my brain reboot. How does that make any sense?
I guess why I'm harsher than usual on this article is that consulting is basically being somebody's smart friend for money. They pay you, and you're supposed to put their interests above your own for a period of time (within reason, of course). Friends don't keep running lists of grievances against each other -- it's counterproductive and it makes interpersonal progress damn near impossible.
I have a good friend who I went to school with. He is a card-carrying conservative evangelical holy-roller. Even became a minister. He also does network and server administration. His current gig? Working as network admin inside the beltway for one of the most liberal, anti-religious organizations on the planet (You'd instantly recognize the name)
Does he keep a list of how offensive these people are to him? Not at all. His job is to put their interests first and to take care of them as a friend. They like him so much he's been there over ten years and moved up a couple of spots.
You learn to deal with adverse conditions without holding grudges, keeping logs, or keeping it all inside. That's not an easy lesson to learn, but it's critical. I was trying to cut the guy some slack by pointing out that facing your problems and growing from them is the better way long-term. You don't want to get into a pattern where you're the smart genius and all the gigs you've worked were full of barely functional morons. That's Dilbert, not real life.
Sorry about running on so long. It just got under my skin as a professional skills thing. Everybody has war stories, but you tell them knowing that from the other side, you were the moron. I didn't see that.
EDIT: "Giving somebody a break"= doing the harder thing for you to do which results in the easier path for the person involved.
An IT guy who has nothing better to do because they won't let him go online. Somebody who's working in hell and has one place to truly vent. Someone with self-restraint? This guy's unbelievably patient; I might've been out of there in a week. Looks like the catharsis paid off...give him a break.