Bad Bosses Aren't Bad People...

I have bad news for you. Three out of four employees say that their boss is the most stressful part of their job.

There are many facts that have been collected by the Gallup organization about what makes a bad boss. Seventy percent of the employees said they haven’t received recognition from their boss in the past week. Sixty percent of employees feel that their employers don’t really care about them. Seventy-five percent of employees don’t feel that they get meaningful feedback. And without meaningful feedback, how are they to grow and develop? Seventy-seven percent of employees don’t feel that the leadership in their organization communicates effectively.

These are all causes of major stress and what we know is that stress causes health problems. Stress is a silent killer. It creates heart problems. It can send your thyroid in crazy directions. You make trips to the doctor, the acupuncturists, the psychologists because you are so stressed at work.

Fifty percent of people have left their job to get away from their manager. What we know is good bosses give credit to their employees bad bosses take credit. Good bosses inspire the team and give them feedback. Bad bosses say they delegate but they really micromanage: “here’s a project you can work on”. “I know you can do it, but make sure you do this and make sure you do that; this one doesn’t work, and that one doesn’t work.” What a way to ruin someone’s self-esteem.

It’s a business issue as well as a people issue to do something about managers. But there is good news too. Bad managers aren’t bad people. They simply have not received feedback of their own. Supporting them will enable positive change in their behavior. Creating a better relationship with employees and alleviating that stress.

Healthy people make a healthy business. And that’s good news.

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