Be a bad boss

I read a stat the other day that 70 Percent Of Your Employees Hate Their Jobs. This Gallup survey showed that 70% of employees are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” from their work.

Luckily, I am the minority in this statistic but I know friends of mine that definitely feel apathetic towards their jobs and are looking for their true passion.

I am going to go on a limb here and say that some of this frustration is caused by their bosses and the environment that they create for them. For those that are looking for some tips on being a bad boss and increasing the number of people who hate their jobs, here a few that should do the trick:

Micromanage

Have you ever been in a relationship where you are constantly being managed? They are constantly texting you, telling you what to do, how to do it, and when it needs to be done by. It sucks and bad bosses are great at that. Ultimately bad bosses have a lack of trust with the employee, the decisions they make, and their ability to get things done.

Bad boss bonus points for texting and emailing your employees on the weekends with absurd requests.

Break the “flow”

When given something to do, an employee needs time to get it done. The average person needs 25 minutes to get into a state of “flow”. Once in “flow”, an employee finds joy and can accomplish their work. Any interruption breaks that “flow” and takes another 25 minutes to get back into it. So for the bad bosses out there, all you need to do is interrupt your employees 8 times a day and you pretty much have cut away half of their productivity, yay!

Change direction and priority

Have you ever taken a flight and had a specific destination in mind, even packed a bag specific to said adventure, but then mid-flight you are told you are actually heading somewhere different? Bad bosses, this is a great way to annoy and frustrate your employees.

Don’t celebrate accomplishments

Often times your employees work towards a goal or deadline. As the team heads into the finish line, they work longer hours, work harder, and sacrifice outings with their significant other. However, once you deliver on said deadline, instead of celebrating and applauding each other’s efforts, you are told to gear up and run to another milestone. Bad bosses hate celebrations and taking time to pat people on the back for a job well done.

Choose deadlines without consideration on the level of work

A bad boss loves “arbitrary deadlines”. An “arbitrary deadline” takes no consideration of the level of work for a project, the resources needed, or how the project would affect the deliverability of other projects on the roadmap. It’s one of the most frustrating things a bad boss can do.

“Put baby in a corner”

There is a plethera of interests, jobs, and skills an employee can get exposure to. The best thing for a badboss to do is silo an employee without consideration of expanding their horizons and adding skills to their “toolbox”. Put them into a corner and tell them to do their job and stop bothering you. It’s a surefire way to kill employee morale and douse their flame of curiosity.

Hire people who don’t mix with the culture

A great way to ruin the team and the culture is to hire someone that doesn’t fit. Ever hear of the expression that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch? Bad bosses love bad apples.

For all the bad bosses that follow these tips, a word of caution, your people have options and are looking for a way out. The time it takes to ramp up a new employee vs keeping someone on can greatly hinder the speed and direction of your organization. You have the opportunity to turn things around by empowering your people, letting go of control, and making sure everyone is happy.

If you have any stories on bad bosses, I’d love to hear them. Together, we can turn bad bosses to good bosses!