Bad Bosses - Simply Old School?

There has always been talk amongst staff about bad bosses. And there is no question that bad bosses exist. However, there may be merit in looking deeper at the culture of our corporations to see why this is persistent across organisations not just within single companies. The movie Horrible Bosses has struck a vein and caused quite a stir internationally. Do we seriously mean to blame "bosses"; is it that simple? With persistent global financial jitters, does it really matter?

It's interesting to see that the movie Horrible Bosses has resonated with workers across all professions, organisations and countries. The plain truth is that most of us have witnessed or been subjected to the behaviour of a bad boss and most often we tacitly accept that behaviour by turning a blind eye. Most employees feel they have little power to immediately do something about the situation, and many will eventually just leave. With the end in sight, older workers bide their time.

In New Zealand there seems to be a brain drain to Australia and one professor there blames bad bosses. Auckland University Business School economics associate professor Dr. Rhema Vaithianathan said Kiwi bosses are "strikingly bad" and better training among other things needs to happen. In May and June of this year some 6400 workers made an exodus to Australia, the highest exodus since the late 70's and early 80's. Apparently, a government survey of 152 companies found that the country's managers were amongst the worst in the world for their inability to recruit, promote and keep "high talent" staff. Good news for Australia but not so good for our closest neighbour. But how are we fairing in this country?

A manager-employee survey by CareerOne.com.au conducted to coincide with the release of the movie Horrible Bosses, was telling. Findings revealed that 36% of respondents rated their boss as "good", 31.6% as "average" and 32% described their boss as "horrible". While there is still some good news here, some of these findings are worrying.

When asked about their current manager 68% described them as someone who kept staff in the dark with secrets, 57% felt they deliberately caused dissension in the ranks and 56% said their boss "manages up" while throwing those below under the bus; 61% said they have been bullied, asked to do something unethical by their boss; 37.5% were asked to do something unethical or dishonest; and, 12% have experienced sexual harassment.

As a result of this survey, some tips to manage these kinds of situations included:

• Don’t mirror your manager's bad behaviour. Stay professional.
• Treat bullying and sexual harassment as a serious issue, not a personal one. Consider reporting the behaviour but get plenty of support.
• Try to work on projects outside your team so other managers see your talents.
• Keep an eye on the job market, network and do your research so you are ready to move before your bad boss situation robs you of confidence.
• Don't take your bad boss experience into job interviews. Find a tactful way of explaining why you are looking for a better work culture.

As good as this advice is - surely the issue goes deeper - and the solution is a two way street. If bad bosses are as rampant as all that, what does it say about corporate culture generally? It seems that if we're experiencing such a wide spread phenomenon, bad behaviour is symptomatic of something else. There could be some social or monetary benefit - or perhaps the behaviour is a vestige of the old corporate order. Certainly, these bosses were promoted, bonused and rewarded as they went up the ladder - and likely negative behaviours have been part of their corporate culture all along. Maybe there's a fear that kinder bosses won't get the job done.

In these challenging times, it's important to look at the more immediate human resource trends and audacious tactics being used in profitable, newer companies. Perhaps there is so much media and Hollywood attention on this issue because these behaviours are old school. Perhaps this publicly negative commentary on horrible bosses is aimed at employers who are not getting the message that retention and recruitment of talent are at risk, particularly in this period of uncertain economic times.

In one of our earlier articles we found that the competition for talent at home and internationally is getting fiercer. Work environments that promote bosses with "bad behaviour" lose on so many levels including the health and well-being of their employees' work places, creativity and innovation - and, at the end of the day - productivity and profitability. There is no secret or magic pill to change.

Tell a friend

From:

Your name
Your email address

To:

Subject	Thought you might be interested in this.
Friend email address
Friend email address
Friend email address
Friend email address
Friend email address
Friend message
Enter word verification: