If there's one thing I hate more than snakes (my one and only big phobia) it's an absolutely horrible boss.
On some occasions a person is not ready to take the reins of a leadership positions, or may just lack the skills to hold some form of managerial position, but when it comes to bad bosses, these people are the ones that just genuinely make you dislike going to work.
Bad bosses cost companies millions per year, and the worst part, like snakes (yuck), they're able to slither through their superiors and make it seem like they're doing an outstanding job; however, their good job is coming at the expense of other employees' happiness and well-being.
Here are some unsettling facts about bad bosses:
This infographic was crafted with love by Officevibe, the employee survey system that helps companies improve their employee retention, and have a better organizational culture.
1. Is Your Boss The Worst Part Of Your Job
Three out of four employees report their boss is the worst and most stressful part of their job.
Over 75% of the workplace says that their bad boss is the worst part of their workplace. If this is true than all the statistics around horrible management prove to be true. It sucks that most people have to work hard to obtain a degree in something that they're passionate about, only to deal with some knucklehead who can't lead properly.
In a perfect world, managers and colleague relations are ideal. Managers see all employees as equals and are able to work alongside them in order to improve the workplace and create better opportunities for people around them to excel and grow.
2. Bad Management Leads To Low Employee Retention
50% of employees who don't feel valued by their boss plan to look for another job in the next year.
I think if you're able to see your employee turnover rate you'll be able to see what your employees really think of your workplace. People can only take so much before they make a drastic decision, that will change the outcome of their professional (and personal?) life.
If you're interested to see how retaining employees will save your company money, check out this ROI of Employee Engagement Calculator the Officevibe has developed. It's a nifty tool that shows all the perks of having good bosses, as well as a sound employee engagement strategy - in order to keep employees.
3. Employee Wellness Initiatives Can't Help The Case
American companies spend an estimated $360 billion each year in health care costs as a result of bad bosses.
Billions of dollars are lost every year due to health care costs and having disengaged employees. When we first read this stat, we knew that we had to help out individuals in the workplace (in fact, it was one of the reasons we started Officevibe).
We already know that there are tons of mental health issues that are directly correlated with having stress at work. Now, it's really up to top-level employees to start evaluating their managerial talent and making sure that they're not messing up the workflow. That's why we went with creating employee pulse surveys, as every week/month/quarter/year it'll be easier to evaluate manager performance with employees, on a more consistent basis, as opposed to a once a year survey that could be biased ... and not have good participation rates.
4. Bad Managers Lead To Less Productivity
Employees with bad managers are among the least productive workers.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, bad managers foster a non-productive culture. People don't want to work for a demoralizing person. It's very archaic to think that you can lead by fear (sorry, Machiavelli).
In this day and age, people want a good boss that they can work alongside, that has a good gameplan on what they want from their employees, their office, and understands the company's core values.
5. Our Leaders Aren't Getting Leadership Right
60% of employees working for the U.S. federal government are miserable -- not because of low pay, poor workplace benefits, or insufficient vacation days -- but because they have bad bosses.
It's not just regular workplaces that are being affected by bad bosses, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is having problems managing their employees. These are people that have more advantages than most workplaces, and they still can't get employee happiness right.
6. Would You Rather Have A New Boss Or A Raise
65% of employees say they'd take a new boss over a pay raise.
Statistics like this will always shock me (and I'm sure others out there) but people would prefer a big change over compensation. For all the cynics out there, it's time for you to believe this truth. Some people just want to work for their dream job and be in peace with great employees around them.
I'm fortunate enough to work along a great staff, and every time I talk to someone coming from another office, they often tell me of the horrors that they used to face in their previous workplaces. I can't help but to think: "Damn, why don't managers treat people like people, instead of indentured servants." People are choosing to work for an organization, the least a manager can do is make them feel welcome.
7. Employee Feedback Is ... Questionable?
37 percent of employees say their boss failed to give credit.
Give credit to your employees for the hard work that they do.
This will go a long way in making them feel more empowered, and will incentivize them to work harder for the company. It's very important to recognize hard work, and when you don't, it can have a major effect on an employee's happiness.
8. Managers Abusing Their Employees
44% of employees say they've been verbally, emotionally, or physically abused by a supervisor in their career.
This is just flat out wrong. I know I've probably seen some crazy videos of managers telling off their employees on Court TV or something like that, but to hear it happens frequently, is rather disappointing.
If a manager is abusing their employees, they just deserve a lot of bad things to happen to them ... nothing too bad, but I do wish a lot of small inconveniences in their daily lives -- like mustard always spilling on their shirts or something. All jokes aside, a manager is supposed to be a leader, a true leader doesn't bad-mouth the people that they work with.
So the facts I've provided are absolutely unsettling, but they can be avoided by having a good transparent company culture where employee feedback is welcomed. So do your best to give employees a voice and, more specifically, find the people who are a cancer to your company, and try to fix the problem. Not by termination, but by teaching simple, proper leadership skills .