A recent online survey of over 1,100 employees in the United Kingdom asked “Would you take a bullet for your boss?” Over 70 percent of respondents answered “No.”
The survey was conducted for the website Bodyguard Services, and David Simmons, creator of the website, is not surprised that employees would not put themselves between a gun and their boss.
Simmons then asks employees to put themselves in the position of bodyguards, who he calls “close protection officers,” whose job is to put themselves between their bosses and harm’s way. “It’s an incredibly hard job and massive responsibility,” he states.
However, close protection officers see this scenario as a last resort. Rather, Simmons says, professional bodyguards use their conflict management and physical intervention skills first, with “bullet catching an absolute last resort.”
Simmons maintains that close protection officers should be given autonomy in their jobs, since they must make split-second decisions on assignments based on circumstances and do not have time to call back to a line manager.
He says by maintaining a close relationship to their clients, close protection officers will know instinctively how their clients/bosses, usually rich and powerful—and sometimes famous—would want them to respond.
I’m kind of surprised 30% would. I tend to think those answers stem from the respondents willingness to take a bullet for anyone, rather than the boss specifically.