Let’s be realistic, There are few individuals who are passionate about going to work and who fully enjoy what they do Are you one of those who can’t stand going to work? Welcome to the club… because you are not alone. If it is already hard to get up in the morning to quickly grab some toast and run to the office, if on top of that you have a boss who makes sure that the workplace is the closest thing to hell, living becomes very difficult. hard.
There are many types of bosses , and surely throughout your life you have come across someone who has made your existence bitter. Well today we are going to talk about the toxic bossesthose bosses that we don’t even want to see in painting.
The relationship between superiors and subordinates has been the result of various studies in the workplace, and organizational psychologists have been interested in this relationship for many reasons, but mainly because A good relationship between bosses and employees increases productivity and company results No less important is to know that, although many companies do not pay due attention to this phenomenon, the leadership style of superiors affects the well-being of employees.
Employee well-being is also closely related to company results And for this reason, organizations should take special care when assessing this variable, because stress and work unrest, among other causes, can be the result of a toxic relationship between these actors.
A toxic leadership style and poor leadership skills on the part of superiors can cause phenomena such as role conflict, role ambiguity or role overload, which in turn can cause negative feelings in employees: such as wanting to leave the company or having a poor sense of belonging to the company.
Transformational leadership for better employee well-being
The organizational world has undergone great changes in the last three decades due to globalization, and stress has become a very serious problem for companies. The crisis has created really complicated situations for workers , who have had to adapt to changes and a less safe work environment. Not to mention that their expectations are very different from those of just a few decades ago, as are their needs.
Studies suggest that one of the leadership styles that best fits the current times is transformational leadership Transformational leaders use high levels of communication to achieve objectives and provide a vision of change that they manage to transmit to employees. They are great motivators and increase the productivity of the workers under their charge. With their charisma they make a great impact on their subordinates and earn trust, respect and admiration. The complete opposite of toxic bosses.
Recommended article: “Types of Leadership: The 5 most common types of leaders”
Four out of ten bosses are toxic
And there are more toxic bosses than we think. At least that’s what you can read in the newspaper. The worldbecause in one of his articles he echoed a statement that appears in the book, New management for dummies. According to this text, four out of 10 bosses are toxic
Besides, In the same newspaper there appears a list of five toxic boss profiles that , according to Ana MarÃa Castillo and Juan Carlos Cubeiro, two renowned professionals with extensive experience in the university and business fields, create a bad work environment and negatively affect employees. They are the following:
Characteristics of a toxic boss
But what common characteristics do toxic bosses have? These are the 11 characteristic traits of bosses who have lost their sense of fairness.
1. They are arrogant and do not communicate well
Toxic bosses are arrogant and do not communicate correctly with subordinates They think they are always right and expect others to accept their words just because they are the boss.
2. They do not take into account the needs of employees
Bosses who have lost the sense of their role in the company never take into account the needs of employees Well, they only think about the numbers. They are not aware that the workers are the driving force of the company and, therefore, they must be taken care of.
3. They are autocratic
Toxic bosses only allow themselves to make decisions. and set the guidelines without the participation of the group. They are the ones who concentrate all the power and no one challenges their decisions.
4. They are easily irritable
Bad bosses have little patience and are easily irritated Since they are not open to the ideas of others, they do not want to be bothered. Toxic bosses are not aware that the true wealth of their organization is human capital.
5. They are inflexible
Toxic bosses are mentally closed and afraid of change , so they are not very innovative. The lack of innovation, in most cases, makes it difficult to adapt to the modern market and, therefore, the progress of the organization.
These types of bosses control excessively That is why, by supervising each and every one of the tasks carried out by their subordinates, they reduce their creative capacity.
7. They have no confidence in themselves
They may appear to have confidence in themselves, but the reality is that they are not A leader with self-confidence is not afraid to delegate when necessary, nor is he afraid to value the opinions of the group. His insecurity makes them toxic bosses.
8. They have unrealistic expectations
Toxic bosses have unrealistic expectations , so they usually demand more than they owe from their employees. Not only that, but they are not very grateful when others do things well, since they only focus on the negative.
9. They discriminate
Bosses without style are full of prejudices In fact, they often have a sexist and racist mentality, in addition to other discriminatory behaviors.
10. They manage time poorly
Planning, both work and time, is essential when leading teams, as it can be a source of stress if not done correctly. One of the problems with toxic bosses is the inability to manage and prioritize your time correctly and effectively , which can lead to saturation of tasks and responsibilities. In the end, your subordinates pay for your poor time management.
11. They do not give rise to creativity
Bad bosses are unable to recognize the talent and creativity of their employees. They are governed by rigid rules and dynamics, leaving no room for improvisation. This causes employees to have totally mechanical functions and fail to develop their capabilities It is a common mistake, and the company is the main victim of this attitude.
