Are you a good boss or a bad boss?

Being a boss isn’t all about work experience and drive, make thoughtless demands, or set unreasonable deadlines. An effective leader needs to have good interpersonal skill, excellent communication and listening skill, forward planning and strategic thinking, and compassion amongst others. The best bosses never fail to carry a badge of empathy rather than flaunting their ego and power.

Good leaders motivate and inspire their team members to be more efficient and productive and that in turn will improve the company’s bottom line while reducing employee turnover rate.

Based on a nationwide survey conducted by Cilisos.my, surprisingly the number 1 reason why Malaysians want to quit their jobs is not because of money. The breakdown of the reasons for Malaysians quitting their jobs are as follows:

1. “This company culture sucks” – 44%
2. “My boss is driving me mad” – 40%
3. “I’m not getting paid enough to do what I’m doing” – 39%
4. “People don’t appreciate what I do” – 37%
5. “I’m not growing” – 31%

Notice that bad company culture or employer are the top 2 reasons for employees choosing to resign from their job. While monetary remuneration would certainly improve the retention rate of employees, it seems that it still won’t guarantee employees’ satisfaction with their workplace.

So, are you a good boss or a bad boss? Are you the kind of boss that will motivate your employees to stay and perform their best or the kind that will drive them away faster than you can blink? Check out our list of 5 descriptions of a bad boss and what you can do to turn things around.

1. You tend to overwork your best employees

Overworking your employees is certainly a recipe for disaster, but bosses often make the mistake of forcing the lion’s share of the work onto their best or more efficient team members. This makes your employees feel like they’re being punished for their hard work rather than being praised for it. They would feel like they are getting the short end of the stick. If they do more or finish faster, they get more work; whereas those who do not, they are given normal amount. Overworking will eventually cause your most talented team members to experience burnout.

How to Improve: If there is a necessity to give a particular team member a more significant workload or put in additional hours, it’s only fair to give compensation as well such as a raise in salary, promotion, title change, or all of them. Performing team members are usually willing to take on a more challenging workload as long as they feel they are well compensated and appreciated.

2. Micromanagement

Undoubtedly, all bosses want the best for their company. Having this excellent dedication may drive you as an employer to micromanage your employees to ensure perfection in every single aspect. However, it would be foolish for you to strive for that. Instead, ensuring that the objectives are met while the conditions are being observed would be the wise thing to do especially in the long run.

How to Improve: It is crucial to employ staff that you believe will be able to meet or exceed your expectations so that you will be able to trust them to complete the work. Encourage growth by allowing your employees to make small errors so that they can self-correct and learn from them.

3. Workplace favouritism

Playing favourites can cause unwanted animosity amongst employees. For example, you may tend to give lighter workload to a select few employees or easily excuse certain employees if they make a mistake but harshly punish others. This sort of behaviour will cause your employees to be demoralised and your office to become an open “battlefield” due to inequality.

How to Improve: It is important to remain impartial in your rewards and delegation of work and responsibilities to all of your team members. In order to be more effective in this matter, it would be best to include hard data as well in your decisions.

4. You expect your employees to be available 24/7

If you are someone that has zero boundaries between work and personal life, you should not expect your employees to be the same way. Being a workaholic is not a reason for you to not respect other people’s personal time and days off. Studies show that a lack of support for work-life balance by managers and bosses leads to lowered productivity, less profits and more on-the-job mistakes.

How to Improve: The ideal case would be for you to avoid contact off working hours. However, if you’re going to send messages to your team during off-hours, you should not have any expectation that they need to reply until their next working day. In order for anyone to carry out their best work, one needs to have ample time to rest and recharge during their time off.

5. Poor communication skills

A bad boss rarely communicates effectively, they do not give out clear instructions and reasonable deadlines on certain tasks, then expects you to finish it a day later. It would be best not to dismiss your employees when they come to you for more clarification.

Besides that, words and thoughts should be communicated politely. Many bosses tend to be discourteous or even rude especially when they are frustrated. This will create dissatisfaction in your team members. After all, words can be sharper than swords.

How to Improve: Explain your expectations clearly and be consistent with it. It is also important to manage your expectations when it comes to workloads and deadlines. They should not be based on ideal circumstances since humans are not perfect. Besides that, being considerate and giving praise and recognition when it is due are highly encouraged.

Conclusion

Researchers from Harvard Business School have found that the stress of having a bad boss can be as damaging as second-hand smoking. However, don’t be disheartened. Leadership is an ongoing process. The best leaders constantly learn, grow, and self-evaluate.

As an employer, you play a vital role in keeping your workplace running smoothly without unnecessary issues. Respecting your staff and treating them well will enhance their happiness and success, your effectiveness as a leader, and the overall success of your organization.