Is Your Bad Boss Killing You?

IS YOUR BAD BOSS Killing You? A recent survey found that U.S. employees spend an average of 13 hours during the workweek and 6.2 hours over the weekend worrying about what their boss says or does. Together, that adds up to 19.2 hours a week of lament over bad boss woes. Turns out, unreasonable or ineffective supervisors don't just affect employee work life, they can indirectly damage family life and psychological and physical health. The Many Faces of a Bad Bss The Bully Publicly or privately threatens and humiliates employees. The Micromanager Helicopters over employees' shoulders to make sure projects are completed exacly as told. The Poor Communicator Provides little direction and doesn't explain goals or deadlines clearly. The Saboteur Takes credit for ideas but rarely recognizes when jobs are done well; blames others when results are negative. The Fickle Boss Suffers from unpredictable mood swings, leading employees to confusion. Bosses and Toddlers: More Similar Than You Think A trait analysis asked 350 U.S. white-collar workers to compare toddler and supervisor behavior, and found that bad supervisors might not be that much different from demanding tots. Most commonly cited traits 60% Self-Oriented 49% Stubborn 43% Overly Demanding 41% Impulsive 39% Interruptive The Negative Impact of Mean Managers Stress When your supervisor treats you poorly, it's hard not to be stressed. According to a NIOSH study, job stress is more closely linked with health problems than financial or family problems. 77% experience physical symptoms from stress. And another 73% experience psychological symptoms. Stressed employees cost an additional 46%, or an average of $600 more per person than other employees due to health care costs. Heart Disease Feelings of incompetent management and heart disease are correlated according to a recent Swedish study that discovered the following: On the other end of the spectrum, employees whose managers showed positive leadership skills were roughly 40 percent less likely to suffer from heart-related emergencies. Workers who had inconsiderate or uncommunicative managers were 60 percent more likely to suffer some sort of heart trauma-either fatal or non-fatal. Marital Problems A Baylor University study concluded that stress caused by an abusive boss can also spill over into the home. When people reported having problems with a manager, their significant other was more likely to report increased tension and conflict at home. Fight or Flight: How Do Workers Respond to the Abuse? 46% of surveyed American employees admits to working under an unreasonable supervisor. Of those who admitted to having an unreasonable boss, most stay put and deal with the issue. Response to having an unreasonable boss 35% Stayed put but tried to deal with the issue 27% Quit job eventually once another was job lined up 24% Stayed put and suffered through the torment 11% Quit job immediately without having another job lined up 3% Don't know/no answer %23 Same-Gender Harassment At 68%, the majority of workplace bullying is perpetrated by men against other men, or women against other women. Three Ways to Deal With a Toxic Boss 1 Stand up for yourself, but discuss concerns in a diplomatic and respectful manner. ?| Seek clarification when necessary to avoid miscommunication. Try to separate your personal ego from your business persona. SOURCES: LIVESCIENCE.COM | BAYLOR.EDU | THEATLANTIC.COM| LYNN TAYLOR CONSULTING | PROACTIVECHANGE.COM | HEALTH.USNEWS.COM| FASTCOMPANY.COM| STRESS.ORG| HUFFINGTONPOST.COM| keas The Power of Play. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION Created By COLUMN FIVE