Bad bosses can make your work life pretty miserable, making you hate a job you once loved and taking away your motivation to do a good work. But what makes these bad bosses so bad? The Harvard Business Review did 360 qualitative interviews to find out which characteristics of bosses people find most unpleasant.
- Body language and tone: Even when some bosses try to hide it, their distaste still manages to come across in their body language and tone of voice. Without even meaning to, they can come off rude and condescending with simple facial expressions like furrowed brows and scowls.
- Interrupting the creative process: A good boss allows people to feel secure about their jobs and shows them encouragement while they are in the midst of their own creative process. On the other hand, a bad boss interrupts the process by making employees feel nervous by not listening to ideas, interrogating and having unfair expectations.
- Inconsistency: An inconsistent boss makes everyone nervous. A bad boss treats the management team differently than other employees and often has outrageous reactions to situations that don’t warrant it. This forces employees to walk on eggshells and creates an environment of nervousness and tension. A good boss is one who treats everyone with the same respect and manages to stay cool, calm and collected.
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