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If you dread going into work, have anxieties and fears about your workday, it’s probably because you’ve got a bad boss making your workday a living hell. Unfortunately you’re not alone—80 percent of employees leave their jobs because of their bosses. For many people the behaviors of bad bosses begin to affect the their mental and physical health, notwithstanding his/her ability to do the job well.
“Simply uttering the word, ’boss’ drives an emotional response,” says Andrew O’Keeffe, a human resources executive of 25 years and author of the book appropriately entitled, The Boss. “It’s gotten so bad that even the mention of our supervisors can tie our stomachs into knots.” O’Keeffe, who has been observing bosses for many years recognizes the symptoms of a frustrated subordinate— feeling trapped, helpless and being plagued by self-doubt are all consequences of cruel managers. The affected employee must choose to stay in the job and be demeaned, or complain and get fired: It’s constant struggle to maintain one’s self-esteem.
“It becomes an either-or situation. In a bad economy, it’s more difficult to find a new job so managers find that their power-base is increased,” O’Keeffe says.
If you’re an employee in this frustrating situation, first thing to do is to recognize the type of bad boss you’re dealing with. For some bosses, it’s possible to reason with them because some simply “don’t know what they don’t know,” as Dave Schoof, a LinkedIn professional points out. So providing that you approach sticky management issues with diplomacy and courtesy, it’s possible to turn a bad boss into a not so bad one. But be advised that there are some bosses who are just insane, impossible and incapable of changing.
Here are some common characteristics of a bad manager and if you recognize any of them in your boss, buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
This post speaks volumes to my current situation. Thank you for this info! I thought I was the only one!
Interesting and true, in my opinion. I was curious as to where you get your data: "80% of employees leave a job because of their bosses." Do you have a source? Thanks.
I think the "bad boss" dilemma (as you said) is common among many of my friends in their working situations. However, I also think that sometimes the boss doesn't have to make or break your entire working situation.
If you work at a fantastic company and love what you do, I think there are workarounds to your "bad boss." There are people that are really difficult to work with and often blame others for their unhappiness. I think inevitably we can create our own success and although some bosses thwart or stand in the way of this, it makes you stronger and helps you cope with these difficult situations. Chances are, you won't be at that job with the bad boss forever, so learn from it and then see if you can work with upper management, HR, etc. (depending on your company situation) to see if there's a happy medium.
Good thoughts. I too, would be interested in the source where 80% of people leave their jobs because of a bad boss.
Great post. We ALL deal with this to some degree or another.
The thing is bosses are not robots, they are people. I see the mistakes managers at my company make but I wonder if I were in their position, would I avoid these pit falls? I haven't really managed anyone besides the occasional leadership role with interns and coworkers, so I'm not sure what type of manager I would be. Obviously I hope that one day I'll be a great manager, however I think that it is EXTREMELY hard. There are a few managers that I know that really stand out as "excellent" and the qualities they hold in common are that they recognize talent,are honest almost to the point of being too forthcoming with their opinions, and are committed to the company.
I think Grace is right though, a lot of dealing with what you might consider a "bad boss" is finding the way around it and coping with the day-to-day. The older I get, the more I realize I cannot let other people's imperfections get to me. We are all human!
I recognize some of these quite well, mainly the micro-managing boss, and the two-faced boss. Extremely hard to deal with.
and Yes I agree, coping somehow is probably the best way. If you can't get anything out of the job, at least learn the lesson, file it, and move on when you can. It often will tell you about the kind of person you are, and that will make you a better employee in the future.
Great thoughts!
Great post and comments.
I liberated myself last week by leaving a company where I had bad boss. I must say, it feels terrific!
TOTALLY Love this post.
It's been almost a year, but I still remember my terrible last bad boss. Now he gets to terrorize other people, but I am free.
Mazarine, bad bosses can cause post traumatic stress disorder. Even 6 yrs later, I'm still terrified my boss at Forbes. She's the reason why I wrote the article.
Thank God, I'm outta there.
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