Is your current boss the worst you’ve ever had? One in four say “yes,” according to research from employee survey and analytics provider Perceptyx. If you’re not in this group, chances are one of your friends is.
So, are there more bad bosses or do people talk about them more? Emily Killham, Perceptyx’s director of research and insights, says it’s a bit of both.
“When I started in this field 25 years ago, people were just beginning to understand what it meant to be a true people manager, a developmental person who is career focused, helping employees move from A to point B,” she said. “Before that, we had clients. Now, employees have expectations, and it’s a challenge for a company to have people managers.
Bosses can fail if their businesses demand more. “They’re being asked to do a lot of things that they’ve never had to do before, things that their organizations haven’t qualified them to do,” Killham says. “It’s a nudge from the top to do more with less; manage employees and their well-being, while maintaining high productivity. »
Perceptyx surveyed 1,500 managers and 1,500 employees to determine what makes a bad boss. While one employee’s bad boss may be another’s great boss, the bosses considered the worst have a lot in common. Here are the three main features:
They are Incompetentyou
The worst bosses are incompetent, with 46% of survey participants choosing this trait.
“Employees expect bosses to know what their job is and what they’re up against,” says Killham. “They want them to have the ability to empathize. We have found that incompetent bosses do not understand their [employee’s] work, but they give them instructions on how to do it. They haven’t taken a minute to figure out what they’re really up against.
In the survey, incompetence goes hand in hand with lack of support, which occurs when the boss fails to protect the employee. “Are they interested in my development and what I need as an employee to thrive in the workplace?” Killham asks. “Are they standing up for me when it comes to company policies or when it comes to extra work? Do I know they’re lit My crew? This is what differentiates a good boss from a bad boss; someone who is part of your team.
They are Lack of respectfull
The second most popular trait of bad bosses is disrespect, selected by 28% of respondents.
“It’s a question of am I being responsive when an employee asks for something?” said Killham. “Is it respectful if I reach out and ask for advice, and get none? Is it respectful if I ask for instructions, and it takes three hours, but the manager expects me to have done some work in the meantime, but I can’t, because I don’t have the information I need I need ? »
The study also found that bosses with low response rates were 25 times more likely to be rated as bad bosses, while those with higher ratings were five times more likely to be named as good bosses.
Disrespect can also occur after sharing with your manager that you are having difficulty with an area of your job because of an interpersonal relationship or because a new policy is really challenging and stressing the team. When your manager doesn’t seem to care, it’s natural to feel slighted.
They are Unfair
Twenty-seven percent of respondents said the worst bosses were unfair. This problem has been compounded since the adoption of hybrid working arrangements due to proximity bias.
“We’ve talked about it as ‘bureauism’ which can fuel injustice,” Killham says. “If I look around and see other people getting certain opportunities that I may not be getting, is it because they’re nearby?”
Other examples of unfairness include emailing an employee after hours. “Am I supposed to answer? Killham asks. “Employees need to know the answer to this question. It seems pretty unfair when it’s not a time of day when I get paid to work.
How to be a good boss
The survey found that 64% of employees currently work for the best boss they’ve ever had. The three main descriptors used to describe them were “professional”, “trustworthy” and “caring”.
The key to being a good boss is personalizing relationships. “The best managers individualize their role,” says Killham. “It’s more important than ever when you’re not collocated. What looks like responsiveness and attention to me may not look like responsiveness and attention to my neighbor.
Individualism also preys on injustice, says Killham. “What we find, especially in relationships with humans, is that the fairness is not the same,” she says. “Being able to be treated fairly depends on what I bring to the table and my skills. Understanding what each employee on the team needs.
Bad bosses aren’t just a retention problem for companies; they can also feed the community. Killham says it’s important for organizations to identify and address them.
“Do we send people home at the end of a working day with more energy for their communities, for their families, for their friends, and to make our world a better place?” she asks. “If you’re stressed at work, you’re more likely to be mean to people in your personal life. There’s a big ripple effect in having bad bosses.