Bad Boss Makes Workers Sick
Q: For eight years I loved my job. Then my supportive boss transferred to another area and I reported to his boss. This man was arrogant, insecure, rude, controlling and couldn’t work with women in leadership positions. Over the year and a half I worked for him, he once said I did a great job on the projects, but negated it by giving me a mediocre review, saying everything I did was wrong.
As life became unbearable at work, my stomach problems returned with a vengeance. I am on disability, along with two other managers who are also off due to stress. I don’t think this is an isolated instance; it’s an epidemic in this society and something needs to change.
A: Your experience is not unique. Dr. Robert Hogan, McFarlin Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa and president of Hogan Assessment Systems, says research shows that the principle cause of stress at work is bad management. One reason is that people “get hired on the basis of interviews and assessment center exercises, and there are lots of bad guys who interview well. The problems emerge after they come to work and let down their guards.”
Situations often change when management changes. When you are ready to begin a job search, make sure you interview all who interview you. You need to find out about the company’s work atmosphere, its turnover rate and what your potential boss expects from his or her employees. Also, ask to meet the people with whom you will be working.
Boss sees only the good side of two-faced manager
Q: Our working conditions are good and we have a good boss. But one of the management-level employees is immature and obnoxious to most of the staff. She gets a perverse kick out of pointing out our faults and seeks to embarrass us in front of everyone.
She has made herself a close and personal friend of the boss (they socialize at work and on the weekends) and pretends to get along with everyone in front of the boss. We all like our jobs, but dealing with her on a daily basis is taking its toll. Some of us hate coming in because of her. What can we do without looking for new jobs?
A: It sounds like the boss may be inexperienced and possibly naive about the problems that can result in having personal friendships with subordinates. You need to organize your group, get consensus from everyone and meet with the boss. Present the facts about this woman’s professional behavior without attacking her on a personal level. If your group can show that her behavior in front of the boss is the opposite of what the employees are really experiencing, the boss may be able to discuss the matter with her.
Job training was the beginning of the end
Q: I was hired as an account executive for a major company. I was to receive training and be reimbursed for my expenses during that week. During the training, they questioned by ability to perform. I immediately started a job search, knowing my future would be clouded there. During the third week of employment, I was fired because they found out that I was seeking new employment. They also never reimbursed me for the expenses of that first week of training.
A: You should insist on reimbursement, since that was one of the conditions of your training period. But be glad that they brought up foreseeable problems so soon in your employment. The less time you waste at a company where you have no future, the better. You will now have time to seek a job that’s better suited to your abilities. Do not put this job on your resume.