'7 Worst Bad Boss Behaviours' ~ by Brigette Hyacinth

A former manager of mine once told me, “If I am going down, you are going down with me.” That was in relation to having a bad sales quarter. From that point on, there was no need to pay attention to her. It becomes difficult to continue to feel passion for the job once you see a lapse in integrity in your boss. It only got worse from there, so I knew it was time to start planning my exit strategy.

Bad boss behaviors lead to poor employee engagement and high turnover. When you have a manager who treats you with respect and has your back, you are more likely to give your best and stay longer in a company, but when you have a bad boss, you're much more likely to be disengaged, suffer from anxiety and want to leave.

7 Worst Bad Boss Behaviors

These are complete deal breakers:

1.Micromanaging - This is the number 1 killer of creativity and innovation in the workplace. It fosters an environment of distrust as employees feel suffocated and confined. If you hired someone for a job, give them room to get it done.

2. Picking favorites - hiring and/or promoting the wrong people. They only recommend employees in their "inner circle" for assignments or growth opportunities. They surround themselves with sycophants or "yes" employees.

3. Taking the credit for employees' work or successes. - Bad bosses will do anything to look good including taking credit for the employees work or ideas. Self-promotion is their top priority. There is nothing more demotivating than working hard to earn something only to have it unfairly taken away. This causes employee engagement to plummet.

4. Ignoring feedback - Not listening - Some bosses don't admit mistakes. They take negative feedback personally and treat those poorly who give such. So onlooking employees learn not to say anything. Worst than asking for feedback is not doing anything about it.

5. Not standing up for employees - Throwing employees under the bus. It's demotivating working for a manager who does not stand up for their team. If someone makes a mistake they turn into judge, jury and executioner. They are quick to point fingers.

6. Overworking employees. It's demoralizing working for such a boss as this. They have unrealistic expectations about what is possible from employees. Their main focus is on the bottom line. They hesitate to authorize personal days or they question the need for sick days.

7. Overlooking or not recognizing employees' contributions. - Two of the most basic human desires are validation and appreciation. People want to feel appreciated, respected and included. Lots of managers think that they've fulfilled their duty by providing a paycheck, but that's not enough if you want engaged and productive employees.

A manager's job is to facilitate a good working environment for his/her employees. Bad bosses create toxic work environments. Toxic environments drain employees emotionally, mentally, and physically. I have seen many employees in these circumstances become so disengaged to the point, they are only there for the paycheck until they quit.

Good bosses are few and far in between, and employees long for such bosses who will support, inspire and help them to grow. A recent study found that 65% of employees would rather have a better boss than a salary increase. There is nothing like having a boss who has your back. It's time that companies realize that all the money or perks, will not retain good staff if they have a bad boss. A good boss is without a doubt, one of the best incentives to keeping staff, happy and engaged.

~ Brigette Hyacinth

Disclosure: Smita Nair Jain has nothing to disclose. She doesn’t own stock in any publicly traded companies and does not hold investments in the technology companies. She has equivalent of the American 401(k) plan in India that is automatically managed. (Updated: July 27, 2020)

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