recognizing a bad boss - careers and worklife

7/26/2019 Recognizing a Bad Boss - Careers and Worklife

1/5

Subscribe to Times Union

Subscriber Services

Advertise With Us

Get TV Weekly Magazine

Home News Sports Business Opinion Entertainment Living Jobs Real Estate Cars Classifieds Index

Recognizing a bad bossPosted on October 12, 2012 | By Dr. Tom Denham

It is highly likely that as you change jobs and careers or as your organization changes, you will

have a boss you dislike. The #1 problem at work is dealing with different personalities to

achieve organizational goals. Employees oft en leave because of a personality clash with their

boss. You spend more time with your boss and co-workers than with anyone else including your

family. Ask yourself, Can I work and get along with this person on a regular basis? Without a

boss who is committed to helping you grow and succeed, you will experience job dissatisfaction.

If you work remotely from your boss, he or she may attempt to micromanage because they are

supervising from a distance and dont have control over whats going on. If a supervisor does

not have control of his or her own life, a controlling behavior may manifest itself in the

workplace. Their chaos gets taken out on you. A bad boss can have a toxic and dysfunctional

impact on the entire office. De-motivated employees become disengaged workers oft en resulting

in talented people quitting promising jobs. Most t imes during an exit interview the employee gives

other reasons for leaving for fear of burning any bridges.

The boss from hell has expectations are that are completely unreasonable. Some bosses are

down right manipulative and can cause real emotional damage. They bully you and crit icize

everything you do. It feels like you are walking on egg shells. A habitual flow of negative

feedback from your boss takes its toll on your self-esteem, and you may begin to believe you

really are not very good. This can make your life miserable, adding significant stress and

lowering the quality and productivity of your work. Each day can seem like it is a matter of

survival until the weekend comes and you can recover.

Lets be clear, no boss is perfec t. However, you need to decide what you can put up with and

what is not acceptable. If you answer the following questions, you will better understand the

warning signs that you may be working for a jerk.

1. Are you comfortable with his or her management style?1.

2. Is he or she committed to your success?2.

3. Do you have good chemistry with him or her?3.4. Do they have an authoritarian attitude of its my way or hit the highway?4.

5. Is your boss incompetent and should not be in this management position?5.

6. Do they tend to leave you out of key meetings or the decision-making process?6.

7. Do they have poor communication skills? Poor interpersonal skills? Poor problem-so lving

skills?

7.

8. Is your boss a real talker and a poor listener?8.

9. Do you sometimes get the silent treatment?9.

10. Does the boss blame others for mistakes he or she made?10.

11. Does your supervisor invade your privacy?11.

12. Does your boss make negative comments about you to other people?12.

13. Does your boss serve as a good mentor? A good leader?13.

14. Does your boss fail to make good on promises?14.

15. Does the boss demonstrate insecure behaviors such as acting like a child with tantrums and

yelling?

15.

Weather

Thursday, October 23, 2014

t imesunion.com Businesses

All Blogs

Careers and WorklifeNavigating happily through your professional life

About the Bloggers

PRINT

gnizing a bad boss - Careers and Worklife http://blog.timesunion.com/careers/recognizing-a-bad-b

10/23/2014


2/5

From Around the Web We Recommend

Your Turn 10 Best Questions to Ask in an

Interview Hey you shouldnt be the

only person in the hot seat

Mastering the Behavioral-Based Interview

Your Defi ning Mom ent: Heres your sign

50 tips on how to answer behavorial-based

interview questions

Career & Life 2.0: You Never Know Who

you are Talking with

Four Common Interview Questions But

what they really mean (and it is not what

you think the interviewer is asking) and

how to nail them

16. Do you feel disrespected, or ignored?16.

17. Do you feel that you dont have the support you need from your supervisor to get the job

done right?

17.

18. Do you feel you are overworked and underappreciated?18.

19. Do you feel disempowered?19.

20. Does he or she say one thing and then do the opposite?20.

21. When you ask a question do you often get an ambiguous answer?21.

22. Does your boss do things that you consider unethical?22.

23. Do you frequently leave at the end of the day angry or upset?23.

24. Does he or she take credit for work that you have done?24.

25. When you think that you really need to hanging in there does it feels like torture?25.

26. Does your boss have little or no time for you? Are they unapproachable?26.27. Have you ever been threatened with physical violence?27.

28. Is the quality of your work always under the microscope or regularly discounted?28.

29. Is your boss clueless about what you really do?29.

30. How long can you put up with this type of behavior? Should you?30.

When evaluating a job, the two most important criteria are the job duties and your relationship

with your boss. If you really want to be happy, you simply can not give up your heart and soul

to remain in a toxic relationship in exchange for a paycheck and benefits. Perhaps its time for a

reality check. Come up with a plan. Start looking. Start networking. Take incremental action

each day. You have to take charge of your own professional development. Dont leave it up to

anyone else. If your boss is belittling, intimidating, overly aggressive, impatient, close minded

and uncivilized the real question is, What is your response? Stay tuned.

Dr. Toms Career Tip: Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Smarter people learn from

the mistakes of others. Anonymous

Need Help or Need a Speaker? (518) 366-8451

www.CareersInTransitionLLC.com

[email protected]

www.Facebook.com/CareersInTransitionLLC

www.LinkedIn.com/in/DrTomDenham

www.Twitter.com/DrTomDenham

Categories: General

You Might Also Like

Recommended by

PRINT


10/23/2014


3/5

Keyword search across all the entries in this

blog.

SEARCH

TOP VIDEOS

5 ResponsesAnn says:

October 12, 2012 at 10:14 am

Been there! Glad Im no longer.

1.

Snapdragon says:

October 12, 2012 at 2:49 pm

Sure could have used that checklist a few times during my career with NYS.

One boss was a screamer who had no off button. He would rant for a half hour in a voice the

entire staff could hear, degrading, demeaning, and verbally abusing whoever was the target of the

day. What happened to him? He contributed a bunch of money to a politicians campaign fund and

so was moved up and out.

The second worst was a micro-manager who never repeat, never got his hands dirty. A realMonday morning quarterback.. Several of us resolved that problem by challenging him to join us

during off-hours work (i.e., all nighters) whereby he could provide direct supervision of our activities.

He tried it once and that shut him up for good. He had the ideas but not the skills and experience

to carry them out.

Never ask someone to do something that you cannot, or will not, do yourself.

2.

kg2377 says:

October 28, 2012 at 9:30 pm

I share the same thoughts as the author and believe that you should not sacrifice your happiness

for a bigger paycheck. A persons attitude about their job, their co-workers, and the organization as

a whole plays a big part in determining happiness and behaviors at work. There can be situations

and circumstances beyond our control, however, that make a person feel the need to move on to

greener pastures.

I have been in a situation where I accepted a job for all the right reasons; the job was in my field

of study, close to home, good pay, and interesting work. It was everything I was looking for. I went

in with a positive attitude, developed many positive relationships and enjoyed learning new things

and eagerly accepted new tasks. I was 100% committed to the job however within a few weeks, it

became evident that I had accepted a position where employees were micro-managed and belittled

on a daily basis by the managers. My enthusiasm for the job diminished, and I began to withdraw

from work relationships and dreaded going to work every morning. The final straw was when it

began to affect my health and after 6 years, I made the decision to resign from my dream job.

Sometimes when we realize there is no hope, we need to remove ourselves from a toxic situation

and move on in order to achieve personal happiness and keep our health and sanity.

The following link via Psychology Today describes some typical behaviors of toxic bosses and

shares some tips on how to handle this difficult situation.

http://w ww.psychologytoday.com/blog/behind-the-executive-door/201202/the-brilliant-toxic-boss

3.

Tom Denham says:

October 29, 2012 at 11:44 am

Thank you so much for sharing your personal story and adding to the discussion. Dr. Tom

4.

Dana says:

November 2, 2012 at 2:18 pm

Been there done that. The stress is not worth the rewards.

5.


10/23/2014


4/5

RECENT COMMENTSTrue Confessions: I am an Introvert but

can network with the best (2)

Dan Moran: Hey you never know! Great

ideas you need to make networking fun

and a win!

John Burger: Have you been spying on my

life, Dan? I once took one of those

personality assessments, and when the...

Long-Term Unemployed They may be the

best candidates yet but is this

understood? (2)

Dan Moran: Hi Holli: Thank you for your

comments and I could not agree more

we have lost our sense of...

Holli Murphy: I appreciate your awareness

and recognition of the long-term

unemployed. While unemployed, I...

In answer to the changing educational needs

of todays workers, Community College are

Morphing and Adapting. (3)

Dan Moran: Thx for your feedback. I did

the research myself and though other

sources. Dan

casino online: Hello, I enjoy your weblog. Is

there something I can do to receive

updates like a subscription or...Jango Davis: Energy efficiency courses

largely died out when NYSERDA tuition

reimbursements endedand Dan, do...

You Might Also Like

[?]

Events Financial General Health care

job-seekers Undergraduates

BOOKMARKSMacKaytimesunion.com/jobs

CATEGORIES

TIMES

UNIONNews

Local News

Your Town

Capitol

Confidential

NationWorld

Sports

High School

Sports

Opinion

Business

Technology

Living

Entertainment

Movies

Television

Restaurants

Events

Calendar

Comics

Games

Blogs

Weather

Obituaries

Births

Weddings/Celebrations

Photos and Video

Archives

518 Life

Women@Work

Explore/Travel

SERVICESHelp/Contact Us

Copyright/Reprint

Classroom

Enrichment

Privacy Policy

California Privacy

Rights

Terms of Service

Mobile site

E-Edition

Newsletters

HOME

DELIVERY

Newspaper

Subscription

Subscriber Services

Deliver the Paper

MARKETPLACECarsJobs

Homes

Classifieds

Hope Fund

Business Directory

Shopping/Coupons

Find&Save Local

Shopping

Purchase Photos

Today's Print Ads

Place an Ad

Info for Advertisers

Ad Choices

2014 The Hearst Corporation


10/23/2014


5/5


recognizing a bad boss - careers and worklife

Documents