The number of US business people injured taking the bull by the horns has risen by over 30 percent in the past year, from just under 13,000 in 2019 to over 17,000 in 2020.
“We anticipated that more people working from home would actually have caused a decline,” says Sidney Pollinger, a noted expert on horn taking and author of the 2008 best-seller The Matador Mystique. “The only thing we can figure is that with fewer people able to impress their bosses in person, they’re turning to more attention-grabbing methods.”
Melanie Ennerton, a CPA with Billings/Post in Butte, Montana, says that theory makes sense to her.
“When you’re face to face with the boss, just getting out of the gate or building a consensus is usually sufficient,” she says. She received minor lacerations in November, when back surgery forced her into taking the bull by the horns over her first choice, raising the bar. “The two involve completely different muscles,” she says.
While most injuries are minor, like Ennerton’s, some have been serious enough to require hospitalization and extended work absences.
“It’s unfortunate when an attempt to get noticed by the boss results in one having no interaction at all,” says Pollinger, who also wrote What’s Your Crunchness Factor? (2003) and Don’t Smell My Butt (2012).
His advice: “Go with something less dangerous – like jumping through a hoop or even holding your own feet to the fire.”
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