Bad boss behaviors employees hate the most
August 19, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Training
Want to know the easiest ways for managers to create a disgruntled workforce?
A recent survey by Lake Research Partners lists the most common complaints employees have. According to the poll:
- 33% don’t get enough recognition from their supervisors
- 25% say bosses don’t provide the guidance or opportunities needed to get promoted
- 21% have supervisors who take credit for their work, and
- 13% think their bosses are lazy.
That behavior can lead to all kinds of problems, ranging from lost productivity to expensive lawsuits (happy employees don’t sue).
What can managers do about it? Increased recognition would be a start. It doesn’t need to be expensive or complex — a verbal compliment or a thank-you for staying late or working hard to meet a tight deadline will mean a lot to an employee.
Tags: bad boss, disgruntled employees, Lake Research Partners
August 20th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
My former boss would come in late, leave early and turn off his cell phone. I was new at the time to the company so I had questions and was not familiar with all the little stuff in the HR dept.
He basically hires me so he can have “HR Coverage” while he was out of the office.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
My ex-boss (13 years ago) could not make up his mind. He would praise me one minute, chew me out the next, and praise me again. He would make changes to my staff when I was out sick. He would tell me to go see my dying father in the hospital and he would “take care of things” and then chew me out with a list on his whiteboard about things not done because I was not there. I quit soon after that.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I can relate to Angel, I had a manager about two years ago who would leave work to go to department stores when her boss was out; and even went as far as leaving work one day to test drive a new car she was thinking about purchasing. It baffled me as I thought about what exactly she was getting compensated for.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I really hate bosses who give you a job description and as they think of new jobs they keep piling it on. I am at a point at my current position that I do HR, AP, AR, Payroll, Phones, and assists sales and service. I feel like I am drowning and even after being told of my dilema, they keep adding stuff. This is very frustrating. Any ideas?
August 20th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Well, hate to hear you are all going through this treatment. I manage a team of six and although I definitely have my shortcomings, my staff would say I set a good example. Always the first one here, always the last to leave.
I don’t praise enough, but I try to give respect and roll up my sleeves along with them. thanks for the honest feedback. We all need to hear it.
Not lazy in Texas!
August 21st, 2008 at 9:02 am
Candi, put everything you do in writing for example: AP, everystep you have to do in AP and how often. Make the Accounts Payable title and under it using a. b. c….. etc. listing every single step you do to get AP accomplished, then do everything else the same. Don’t miss a single thing. I did mine so my boss could see all that I was doing in black and white, at the end I had 3 full pages and the font was not large! This really did help him to actually see all that I was doing.
I hope this helps.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:40 am
I would add one cautionary warning to Lucy’s suggestion. One of my co-workers once tried that and she added so much minutiae that it was immediately rejected as being padded and she as being a complainer. Don’t add things like “I then put it into an envelope, seal the envelope, stamp it, and place it in the basket for mailing.”
August 21st, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Thank you Karen you are absolutely correct in adding all of the minutiae information… sorry Candi I should have specified that.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I am the only woman in an office of 5 guys. I was hired in 1999 to answer phones and do some A/P and A/R, then learn to do payroll plus do all the shipping and invoicing. Since then I am the sole person who does the AP, AR, payroll, HR, Insurance for two companies. I am the lowest paid person in the company and I am compensated $1000. a month for the second company which is owned by the stock holders of the company I originally started at. I also do all the shipping for a on line company and keep the books here in my office, but send a check to another (person) for HIS commission on products sold. Oh and did I mention that I do all of the quarterly taxes?! Yes that is right.
I am very frustrated with the whole situation but can’t do anything about finding another job “in Michigan”. I am right there with you Candi.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 am
In response to Judy’s dilemma…my sister and I are both long standing HR professionals. She had your exact problem at work with the same variables. She would call me with her concerns of the unfairness between the gender bias where she worked. My question to her was “what did she sign on to do for the company?” If it is a true gender bias, there are laws which may support your case. You have the choice to find another job or challenge the standard. Candi’s gripe was about workload and being overwhelmed and less of being discrimminated against due to her gender.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Sounds like a lot of people feel like they are SENTENCED to their jobs. If you are that unhappy, give a proper notice and MOVE ON. Find a place where you are a better fit and learn from your mistakes. It is all any of us can do. Bad bosses aren’t everywhere — and maybe if people didn’t just accept the cards dealt by these bad apples there wouldn’t be so many of them.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
What do you do about a boss who makes an extraordinary salary and is hardly ever at work and when he is here it is only in body. He spends the time in the office checking his e-mails and even forwarding joke emails to all the employees! He has been going through a messy divorce for two years and at one point he had me re-type the terms of his divorce (he’s a cheapskate and didn’t want to pay his attorney). I spent five hours of company paid time doing his personal business. Because of the divorce, he has been in and out, blaming his absence on “meetings”. He runs around so much he has put more than 20,000 miles on his company vehicle is six months. Employee morale is way down because of him. However, the only people he answers to are the Board Members who are not stockholders and get no compensation. None of the employees want to “tell on him” for fear of losing their job(s). I am the next person in management after him - I do all the work - he takes the credit and makes twice as much as I do.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
In response to Sandy C.. It is all so nice and tidey to just say, give notice and walk away. What job market are you in that there is another opening out there just waiting to fall into your lap. I enjoy what I do, but would like to be compensated for my work and treated with respect. I should not have to “move on”. As long as I am respectful I should be respected. Trust me this was not my mistake. I understand that everywhere you go, there are people who don’t pull their weight. You sound like one of the people I am talking about.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Wow. Just making a comment, Candi. I’m not suggesting you just up and walk out without having plans for your future, but life is too short to be unhappy in your workplace day in and day out. And I feel your final comment was both inappropriate and unprofessional.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Thank you Tom for your feedback. Yes you are right it does not have anything to do with Condi’s problem. I guess what I was trying to say is the company I work for has a lot of family members on the payroll and they have gotten away with a lot of things..coming and going as they please. I have a first cousin who is 76 years old and has been like a father to me, I lost both of my parents at a fairly young age. He is not married and lives alone he was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in January. I had to leave and go to Florida three different times to help take care of him. I ran out of vacation by the time they decided to do surgery and had to take the time with no pay to go and take care of him for a week and a half then have my daughter go and finish. But at the same time the men can just be gone for a week and not have to take vacation.. I couldn’t afford to do this but it had to be done. I probably sound like I am really complaining but in all actuality I am looking for some foresight. Unfairness in the work place is not right.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I am sorry, I meant Candi.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Well, at least we have one thing in common then. I believe a few of your comments were inappropriate as well. Sorry if I offended you, but I am a blunt person, I don’t beat around the bush and after reading your comments, you remind me an awfully lot like the people I have problems with. Same attitude, same condescending comments. You are right, life is too short and you get me wrong I like my job, but I would like to get some assistance to make it a little easier.
August 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Tina, it does sound like your best option is to check out the job market. You should never threaten to quit a job unless you’re absolutely prepared to do so. I would start looking and interviewing. If you get an job offer you like you can either take it and run, or then use the “it’s him or me” strategy and see if things change. As a general comment, I’ve been working for over 30 years (I’m in my mid-50s now) and I’ve had good bosses, and not so good. My strategy has always been to learn as much as I could possibly learn at each job. That has always left me in a good position when job-hunting. I have never left a job where they were happy to see me go. I have never left on unpleasant terms (no matter how I actually felt). I have never gotten fired. And I know that, despite the work environment, I have always done the absolute best job I could do. I never let being disgruntled affect my job performance (and believe me, I have worked with many who did and they usually got fired). There is not one job I’ve had where I couldn’t ask for and receive a good recommendation. So look less at your bosses and more at what you can take away from each job. All experience is good experience. As in all forms of life, don’t accept abusive behavior. Be proud of yourself and be the best you can and prospective employees will see that in you. Sorry if this is too preachy but it really is the way I’ve approached my working life.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Thank you, Karen — you said it much better than I.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Thank you, Karen. Very nicely said.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
What if you’re told that you will get no raise unless you get a real estate license? I was hired to do simple non licensed work at a rate of $10/hour. This was raised to $12/hr at my 9o day review. I am not licensed but doing everything as if I was licensed. My workload increased by at least 15x. I am often the first here and the last to leave. I typically work a 9 to 9.5 hour day. I feel that since they expect me to do this work instead of hiring someone else to do it then they should pay me what the last person in my postion was being paid, which was considerable, or lax my workload to what it ws before which was only things that a license was not required. When I was hired I was NOT told that a license was a requirement but now I will not get a sig. raise unless I get one. I believe raises should be based on merit and nothing else. What is everyone else’s thoughts on this. To wrap up..I get paid $12/hr vs approx. $17/hr that last person was gettting paid.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I really am mortified to see that this stretches out further than here in Bedford, Tx! I am extremely disappointed to find out that while we are burning the proverbial midnight oil, and not getting enough time in with family and most importantly our children, that the companies or bosses that we work for are continuously ALLOWED to behave in this manner. I totally feel you guys on this, as I have 9 years in the hospitality industry, and am “under” a 20 year old who does not know a lick about the hotel industry that he hasn’t learned from me.
However, when he makes “mistakes”, like taking business from another hotel (knowingly) that costs them over a thousand dollars, it is my fault that we lose the airline…not to mention I lose my credibility…HELLO!!! How about some “accountability”…I see perfectly well what Candi is saying, and I agree.
It is ridiculous that in this day and age and depending upon what state we are in, whom HR or the government sides with. I am a firm believer that the employees MAKE a company, so why not treat them as stockholders? We all need more recognition, or at least some appreciation.
With the industry and economy being as “soft” as it is right now, a lot of us are making the same mistakes, staying where we are unhappy…but do the risks of leaving and having less seniority at another employer outweigh the damage that we endure on a daily basis? I myself am confused in this area…part of me screams yes, yes, take the new job…but my mind thinks…how long will your new job last? How many people have seniority over you? What if they decide to downsize in this economy…it is SCARY out there!
Keep your head up Candi, we are never given more than we can handle ( I am also a firm believer in this!)