Do you have an idea of what a good manager looks like or what you should expect from your manager? Ideally, a manager should motivate their employees, have the ability to overcome adversity and resistance, create a culture of clear accountability, build relationships that create trust and make decisions based on productivity, not politics. You should want a manager who is a leader and who will inspire you.
Unfortunately, not many meet these requirements and they end up being a poor manager. Bad managers will leave a lasting impression even after they are gone. Almost everyone can relate to the sense of dread about coming to work when you have a manager that makes an otherwise good job feel pointless.
Harish Saras recently wrote about what a bad manager looks like and what effects they can have on workplaces. Here are 11 behaviors of a bad manager according to Saras.
- Not setting expectations clearly
- No clear direction and vision
- Creating fear and suppressing culture
- No trust on employee’s micromanagement
- Not understanding an employee’s strengths
- No reward or recognition
- No openness or transparency
- No guidance only delegation
- Not listening to employee’s opinions
- Discrimination
- Commenting or shouting
“Having a bad manager is often a one-two punch: Employees feel miserable while at work, and that misery follows them home, compounding their stress and putting their well-being in peril,” says Gallop.
A toxic work environment can lead to more serious health problems for an employee. Bad managers can cause stress on an employee which can affect their physical and mental health. Here is a list of signs of employee stress from Psychcentral.com:
- sleep disturbance (insomnia, sleeping fitfully)
- clenched jaw
- grinding teeth
- digestive upsets
- lump in your throat
- difficulty swallowing
- agitated behavior, like twiddling your fingers
- playing with your hair
- increased heart rate
- general restlessness
- sense of muscle tension in your body, or actual muscle twitching
- noncardiac chest pains
- dizziness, lightheartedness
- hyperventilating
- sweaty palms
- nervousness
- stumbling over words
- high blood pressure
- lack of energy
- fatigue
The stress created from a bad manager is harmful not only to the employee but to the employer. Physical and emotional symptoms can make it difficult for an employee to perform well. Feeling overwhelmed at work can cause employees to lose confidence, affecting their productivity. The resulting high turnover will also cost an employer money. These are all things to consider when you begin the hiring process of a boss.
