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Do you like your boss?
Make Them Fear You and They'll Work Harder?
By Maureen Latta Wednesday, June 27, 2012I once worked at a butcher shop where my boss's philosophy of leadership was, "Make them fear you and they'll work harder." When giving his staff instructions, he used foul language and a meat cleaver to emphasize points. I can laugh about it now, but at the time the experience was horrific.
A study conducted for Adecco Group North America found that 89% of workers think their relationship with the boss is important for job satisfaction. Feeling stuck in a job with a tyrant boss can be among the worst of life's experiences.
A tour of online discussion forums reveals that people generally share similar views about the characteristics of a good boss.
A good boss:
is competent at their job
listens and provides feedback
doesn't need to be right all the time
knows how to do the job of the people he/she supervises
appears to care about the staff's well-being
stands up for his/her staff when necessary
never criticizes one employee in front of another, or in front of a customer or client
Relationships are a two-way street. You can help to keep that relationship healthy. Trust is important in any relationship, and trust at work means doing what you say you'll do and keeping to your due dates. Keep your boss up to speed on your progress with projects. When you are aware that your boss is facing a work challenge, ask what you can do to help.
Treat your boss the way you would like to be treated if you held a great deal of responsibility for an entire staff. Never bad-mouth your boss with other employees. If a boss-bashing session is developing during coffee break, take your coffee elsewhere! It's easy to get sucked into a group mentality and wind up thinking your boss is worse than he or she actually is.
Different bosses have different work styles, and many different styles can be effective. Just because your boss has a style that differs from what you are accustomed to - or does things differently from how you would do them - doesn't mean they are a bad boss. The key to establishing a good employee/employer relationship is this: Try to understand your boss's work style and figure out how to flow along with it.
If your boss is truly exhibiting "bad boss behaviour" - which includes anything from sexual harassment to extreme incompetence - seek sound advice from a reputable source about how to proceed. In cases of harassment, you can start with this online government publication, "Is it Harassment? A Tool to Guide Employees."
If you are lucky enough to have a great boss, you'll probably want to thank them whenever you have the opportunity. Even if you have a less-than-stellar relationship with your boss, try expressing praise or gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful force. You might notice a shift in the relationship over time if gratitude becomes your daily practice.
Grazina - 2012-08-09 This is something we're rlaely struggling with!We usually start off allowing this on other sites, but eventually someone abuses it and so then we have to ban it completely just to have a clear line.Any thoughts on how we should handle it here?
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Grazina - 2012-08-09
This is something we're rlaely struggling with!We usually start off allowing this on other sites, but eventually someone abuses it and so then we have to ban it completely just to have a clear line.Any thoughts on how we should handle it here?