What Makes A Bad Boss – Bad?

Commentary, reviews and opinions on disappointing and objectively bad bosses that supervise you, your peers or any organization are considered an effective ice-breaking session among employees. Authority is always despised, and corporate systems are in place in almost all major job sectors. Employees always have a common ground on which they can build conversations- bad bosses.

It comes down to their behaviour.

Consensus is not the only factor that characterises a person of authority as bad, as it often comes down to their behaviour, how they treat their workers and overall ability. It is difficult, of course, to gauge if you actually have a bad boss as your idea of bad maybe another employee’s idea of an effective manager.

Many bosses fail to connect with their employees, do not show proper direction and adversely affect employee morale. These are however the bad boss archetype, as an employee would have come under one of these bosses in their tenure. There is another type of bad boss who populates the extreme end of the spectrum, overly critical, uncaring and in some cases resorting to harassment and public defamation.

Oppressive presence at the top of the hierarchy.

Bosses usually rise through the ranks in a company, often bearing the brunt of the worst phases of the company’s history and these bosses can hope to take two paths, empathise with the employees and try to do things better in their tenure, or create adversity, harsh deadlines and blame their employees. Bad bosses often take the latter route, being an oppressive presence at the top of the hierarchy, which in due time, precipitates into turning your work environment toxic.

Bad bosses thrive in blaming.

If your boss or manager thrives in blaming his mid-level employees, employs less than graceful methods of dealing with employees who do not meet their expectations and resorts to public humiliation and uncovering of mistakes of employees, they can be considered as a classic example of a bad boss.

They continue this despicable behaviour as they are often condoned by the organization, heaping rewards on them for taking advantage of freshers and overworking the employees. They learn this behaviour from their superiors in a vicious cycle of bad management that has ultimately been rewarded and encouraged by the company. These bosses are objectively bad and dealing with them successfully may be the difference between a promotion and being slowly phased out of the company.

As we have categorized and identified the different kinds of bad bosses, let us look into what makes a bad boss really bad in the modern workplace –

1. Bad bosses choose favourites very quickly and like to associate themselves with employees who tattle and flatter them.

They constantly make excuses to hide the mediocre work of these employees who work just to satiate the boss’s ego. They employ this favouritism in every aspect of work by giving them favourable schedules, raises, manageable work and other benefits. These bosses often overwork the other employees to pick up the slack left by their mismanagement.

2. A bad boss also fails to get their points across in a lucid and comprehensible manner, thus leading to gaps in the command and communication chain that could adversely affect the whole system.

They constantly change their expectations, work requirements and deadlines with no concern for the employee. They provide no clear timeline to accomplish goals hence leaving their employee off-centre and, oftentimes, lethargic. They also provide no stakes and no proper system of rewards which stagnates any development. Employees are constantly conflicted on where they stand in the hierarchy.

3. They never lead by example.

The common quality of an effective and efficient leader is that they are involved in any major decision and execute the plans they draw up with the team. A bad boss never gets involved in any of these creative or team building processes. These bosses are too self-involved and set in archaic methods to get their hands dirty in a work scenario. A boss who does not lead by example fails to command respect from their employees.

4. Some bosses, however, over-manage and over-delegate creating total disarray among the employees.

They tend to micro-manage, thus not giving individual inputs their due credit as they want tasks done precisely as they have envisioned it. Bad bosses never give their workers personal independence and always try to overload them with various tasks.

5. A poor manager or boss also lacks a key skill that aids in man-management – empathy.

Influential leaders know how to empathise and relate with their employees, and in the process, helps them manage their own emotions. If your boss lacks empathy, they fail to understand how important mental health is to workers and want their employees to live up to their unrealistic expectations constantly. A bad boss does not care about the needs and desires of their employees, thus affecting their morale.

Having a bad boss is the bane in your work life, and it is important to take the necessary steps to distance yourself from workplace toxicity, favouritism and an insensitive boss. If you think your boss will not change, a transfer to another department is advised as you must make a decision that favours your mental state and goals.

Also Read: