Our youngest daughter binge-watched all nine seasons of the television series, The Office during quarantine. She enjoyed it so much that she started watching it again, this time pulling me in to watch it as well. I didn't really pay much attention to the television show when it was actually on, but I have to confess that I've enjoyed watching it (I just finished season 3). As my wife now claims, our daughter "has created a monster!"
One of the series' main characters is regional manager Michael Scott, played by the actor Steve Carell. He is not a very good boss. In fact, he is a terrible boss. It's not that he is mean or disrespectful, nor is he unsupportive. As a matter of fact, there are times when he actually shows that he cares about some of his employees and can actually be quite supportive. For example, episde 17 of season 3 is called "Business School" and has a great scene where the character Pam has her first art show. None of her co-workers show up, but Michael does and actually purchases one of her paintings as he tells her that he is very proud of her. No, Michael Scott is not mean, unsupportive, or disrespectful at all - he is just plain incompetent!
Benjamin Artz, Amanda Goodall, and Andrew Oswald conducted a survey of over 28,000 European workers, asking them to rate their managers on seven leadership categories - providing feedback, being respectful, offering recognition, getting the job done, encouraging employee development, facilitating teamwork, and supporting workers. The employees rated their bosses on a scale of 1 to 5, with lower scores being worse. The study was conducted in over 35 European countries and found that approximately 13% of workers have "bad bosses." As the investigators conclude, "bad bosses are rated least-bad on 'respect for workers' and worst on their ability to get the job done." In other words, "lack of competence, not lack of consideration, appears to be the key problem."
There's a well-known principle, known as the "Peter Principle" that states, "Everyone in an organization keeps on getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence." Apparently, Michael Scott was promoted one time too many! But what happens if the boss is a competent jerk, or even worse, an incompetent jerk? Apparently, that is an all too common scenario as well. One study found that 56% of American workers work for a boss who is mildly or highly toxic. Another study by the American Psychological Association reported that 75% of Americans say that their "boss is the most stressful part of their workday."
What do you do if you find yourself working for a terrible boss? The quick solution would be to just quick - a recent study by the Gallup organization found that one out of every two employees surveyed admitted that they had left a job at least once during their career with for the sole reason of getting away from a toxic manager. Surprisingly though, another study found that employees actually may end up working longer for a toxic manager (on average, two years longer) compared to a nontoxic one. Why would that be the case?
Mary Abbajay, writing for the Harvard Business Review (see "What to do when you have a bad boss") lists several reasons employees stay with toxic managers:
1. The employee just doesn't have the energy to look for a new job.
2. The employee really likes the job, colleagues, or the commute to work.
3. The employee needs the money and can't afford to take a pay cut.
4. The employee doesn't want to lose the benefits.
5. The employee feels that he or she doesn't have the skills to get a different job.
There's also the feeling that employees have invested too much time to start over in a new job in a different organization (this is a great example of the "sunk cost fallacy" by the way). Finally, there is always the hope that the job will eventually get better (maybe the boss will get fired or promoted to a different position in the company).
The problem here is that working for a bad boss (toxic or just incompetent) is not healthy. Working for a bad boss increases the risk of burn-out, depression, and anxiety, as well as contributing to poor physical health (a study conducted in Sweden suggested that employees who work for a bad boss increases the risk of heart attack or stroke by 60%).
Mary Abbajay provides some great advice for how to deal with a bad boss:
First, engage with a support network. Chances are that your fellow co-workers are also having issues dealing with the boss. It's good to look for support outside of work as well, and you may even need to get help from a professional coach, therapist, or psychologist. First and foremost - take care of yourself!
Second, make sure that you are getting plenty of exercise and sleep. As stated above, working for a bad boss can contribute to increased risk of physical health problems, so don't compound those risks by not getting enough sleep, exercise, or a healthy diet.
Third, try getting feedback from the boss. Maybe there's something going on that you can address. It's always a good idea to make requests in writing and to be specific about the resources and support you need from your boss.
Fourth, don't be afraid to explore other opportunities within the same organization, particularly if your reasons for staying (described above) have more to do with pay/benefits or the fact that your skills match well with the needs of the organization.
Fifth, remember that the Human Resources department is available to help! Even if you are not filing a formal complaint (and I would argue that if you are working for a boss who is a jerk, you should), the HR department may have some ideas to help you.
Finally, don't be afraid to explore opportunities outside of the organization. Occasionally, the best option is to move on and find a new boss in a new organization.
There's too much going on in the world right now to have to deal with a toxic boss too. If you do happen to be working for a toxic boss, please know that (1) you are not alone (see the statistics that were reported above) and (2) there is a path to making your work life better. Here's hoping that you work for a competent boss who will support you, mentor you, and provide what you need to grow and develop as a great employee!
No comments:
Post a Comment