14 Things You May be Doing To Make Your People Hate Mondays

By Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick 

We’ve probably all had that boss: Just thinking about him on Sunday night would cause sweat to form on your upper lip and a knot to tighten in your stomach that would last through the commute on Monday morning.

Once we tried to coach a CEO who was a micromanager to insane proportions. We were at a shareholder’s meeting once as he demanded one his direct reports sit down hard on every one of the 200 seats in case a stray nail was sticking up in the fabric—so as not to potentially damage the fragile posteriors of the stockholders. His employee’s tuckus was fair game it seemed. 

The result of all his micromanaging was a team that feared and avoided this man. (He really wasn’t evil, he was just miscast as a leader of people.) 

Many companies put up with such abusive behavior from their managers because of the results the person may produce, but savvy organizations are weeding these people out—seeing the long-term harm these destructive personalities are having on engagement, turnover and morale. HR calls the term “counseling out” of an organization.

The question for all of us is this: Could you be doing anything to cause your people to hate Mondays? 

As we counsel with leaders, we offer a few sure-fire ways leaders can make Mondays miserable. You can:

• Insist on always being right
• Nix any idea that isn’t yours
• Constantly redo others work
• Micromanage every detail
• Get angry with subordinates
• Demand unflinching loyalty
• Insist that others work as long hours as you do
• Play political games behind the scenes to get your way
• Pull power plays on lower-level employees
• Do not tolerate dissenting opinions
• Surround yourself with mediocre talent

A sobering list, no doubt. But what follows in a little more detail are 3 more of the most frequent complaints we hear on our surveys: 

“I don’t know what my boss wants.”

Few things frustrate an employee more than vague statements from a boss such as: “That’s not it, but I’ll know it when I see it.” Or, “Something is missing, give it another try.” Also clumped into this category are the Absentee Managers, those who never seem to be available to answer questions or make a decision in a timely manner. As for career growth discussions with these ghosts? Fuhgeddaboudit. In our research, however, we’ve found high-engagement managers provide clarity about goals and company direction, specificity about individual expectations and how an employee can make an impact, and are especially cognizant of their employee’s career aspirations—realizing that when they worry about their employees’ development their employees will in return worry more about the team. In short, these great leaders manage by walking around. We found in the highest performing companies, managers spend an average of 75 percent of their time coaching employees one-on-one and walking the floor to ensure that workers can navigate the demands of their jobs. 

“I don’t trust my boss.”

As a lighthearted example, you might recall Larry Tate from the television show Bewitched. Sure, Larry did annoying things like bringing uninvited clients over to Darren and Samantha’s house for dinner, but that wasn’t the real problem. No, what was unforgiveable was regularly taking credit for Darren’s creative ideas. Back to the real world: In our surveys we’ve found the most frequent qualitative reason employees give for distrusting their leaders is because, “he/she took credit for my work.” And most of these leaders are nowhere near as endearing as Larry was. We see great leaders stand behind their teams when things are good, allowing their people to shine. And when things are bad and the flack is flying, that’s when great leaders move to the front and take the heat. 

“My boss doesn’t understand what makes me tick.”

The truth is, very few managers know what’s really motivating to their people or, even if they do, they’re unsure how to apply that information to day-to-day work. The leaders with the highest employee engagement scores, however, have discovered that the surest way to help their employees lead happier and more successful work lives is: Help them understand their unique motivations, and then do some sculpting of the nature of their jobs or tasks to better match duties with passions. What we’ve found in all our research is this: If you want to increase employee engagement and decrease Monday frustration, get to know each of the people in your care as unique individuals. Are they driven most by creativity and autonomy, friendship and empathy, or maybe challenge and ownership: Knowing that will make a huge difference in your ability to lead and provide assignments that will engage. Engagement is a one-on-one skill.

Those are a few of our thoughts on bosses who make us crazy. We always love to read your thoughts. What makes you anxious about Monday morning?

Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick are the New York Times bestselling authors of The Carrot Principle, All In and What Motivates Me. They are also co-founders of The Culture Works, an innovator in employee engagement and leadership training solutions.

If you'd like to learn how to align the work you do every day with what truly engages you, consider taking the online Motivators Assessment that's included with the What Motivates Me book. Your test results will pinpoint which of the 23 motivators will increase your happiness at work, and the 60 strategies will help you address potential blind spots that are keeping you from achieving more.