It is not a new phenomenon. It is as old as humankind. Cain and Abel experienced this psychosis, although it did not have a name back then. The Joseph Syndrome takes its name from its most noted example, Joseph, the next-to-youngest of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob, who had 12 sons.
Jacob’s family was more than a little dysfunctional by today’s standards. Joseph, in fact, was so insensitive to his brothers that he told them that one day he, the next-to-youngest of the family, would rule over them all and that they would all bow before him. Today, such an expression of self-importance would earn one more than a little rejection in most families.
Joseph’s siblings were no better. So angry were they at their younger brother that they schemed to put him to death. In the end, they sold him to a passing caravan of Midianities for a life of slavery in Egypt.
A psychologist specializing in the Joseph Syndrome would point to symptoms such as lack of family solidarity, sibling rivalry, insensitivity, acting out anger, doing physical harm to others and indifference to the well-being of others as signs of the disease.
More importantly, a psychologist would point to the result of the disease — abuse. Joseph’s life as he knew it was destroyed by the mean and vindictive acts of his own family.
Today many people suffering from the Joseph Syndrome have experienced abuse of one type or another from their own family. Some have felt their lives destroyed. They consider themselves victims of their own dysfunctional families.
The Joseph Syndrome has other symptoms. One comes from the workplace.
Joseph was purchased by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. There the new slave’s abilities drew attention. Joseph was promoted, then promoted again and again. In the end, he advanced to the very top, in charge of all that Potiphar had. The writer of Genesis, in recounting these events, says Potiphar worried only about what he would eat each evening. Joseph was in charge of the rest.
Mrs. Potiphar had designs on Joseph, too, but the Hebrew slave rebuked her sexual advances. In the end, the scorned Egyptian wife made false accusations of improper conduct against Joseph.
The tragedy is that Potiphar believed the lies about Joseph. Potiphar did not confirm his wife’s story. He did not ask Joseph to explain. So overwhelming was the feeling of betrayal by his trusted servant that Potiphar had Joseph thrown in jail.
Joseph’s years of hard work counted for nothing. His faithful and successful service was unimportant. He was never given a chance to explain or to defend himself. He became the scapegoat, the victim of lies. The guilty got off free. The innocent suffered. All are workplace symptoms of the Joseph Syndrome.
Such symptoms can be seen today. A longtime, faithful employee is handed a pink slip. Without warning, without explanation, a livelihood is gone. A business sells for the owner’s profit, but the workers find themselves without a job. A hostile takeover, a consolidation, a “downsizing” — people are maneuvered out, voted out. Years of sacrificial service appear to count for nothing.
Lies still circulate in the workplace — lies about people, their abilities, their contributions. Co-workers can be as damaging to their fellow employees as anyone else.
The result? Mistreatment, misunderstanding, suffering.
The Joseph Syndrome shows up in personal relationships, too. In prison Joseph made friends with two of Pharaoh’s former employees. He even interpreted dreams for them. What Joseph said came to pass exactly as he predicted.
Joseph asked one of the two, Pharaoh’s cupbearer, to remember him when he got his job back. The man promised he would, but he did not. He forgot about Joseph and let him languish in prison. For how long, we do not know.
Joseph counted on his friends. He helped them. He expected they would help him when given the opportunity. They did not. His friends thought about themselves. If they ever thought about Joseph, they decided not to risk their own position by asking Pharaoh to help out a guy they knew back in prison.
The symptoms of the Joseph Syndrome are evident: broken promises, taking from friends but not giving, concern about self but not others, lack of appreciation. The results — fractured relationships.
The Joseph Syndrome still reveals itself in the family, in the workplace and in personal relationships just as it did for Joseph. Many people — maybe most people — seem to suffer from it from time to time.
The best medicine for those agonizing from this malady is outlined in Psalm 46 which reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.” God is the refuge.
This was Joseph’s medicine, and he overcame family abuse, mistreatment in the workplace and fractured relationships. So can we.
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