Toxic Bosses: How to Know If Your Boss Is Toxic?

 

Toxic bosses can do so much harm to their employees in so many ways. Not feeling comfortable in your work environment can impact your performance, socialization, self-esteem, and private areas of life.

We spend so many hours working, and it’s only natural that the experiences we have during our work hours impact us so much. However, when these experiences are negative, they can lead to serious issues, including health problems. The first step to ensuring you’re not stressed at work is identifying if your boss is toxic. This will provide you with a clearer picture of your work environment, your job, and your future at that company. After all, many employees leave because of their toxic bosses, even though they are satisfied with their salary and other benefits.

In this article, we bring you everything you need to know about toxic bosses and how to recognize if you have one. 

 

What Is a Toxic Boss? 

Bad bosses can be challenging to work for and might be hard to spot at times. The most common traits of a bad boss are grandiosity, micromanagement, excessive political behavior, and a lack of team trust.

A toxic manager is one who undermines and harms those who report to them. Their persistent, disruptive behavior robs workers of their autonomy, sense of purpose, and sense of belonging, all of which are essential for thriving at work, and causes staff to become disengaged.

 

Signs of a Toxic Boss

Understandably, it will be easier to determine whether your boss is toxic or not if you take a look at certain situations and how they react to them. In most cases, there are certain signs that are common among bosses who are difficult to work with. 

 

1.They Take Credit for Other People’s Work

A toxic employer will rarely give you credit for a job well done. Instead of viewing their staff as unique people, they perceive them as extensions of themselves. That is why they receive all the credit when anything works out. After all, they truly believe their staff only needs to carry out orders on their behalf. 

Although they take credit for your or your colleague’s work, they will never do that when faced with bad results. They avoid taking responsibility in such situations and often blame everyone else. Should they see any possibility of their own mistake or lack of action, they will promptly enter a state of denial and simply blame anyone else who is not them. 

 

2.They Don’t Listen

Your thoughts, worries, and criticism are ignored when working with a toxic supervisor. Furthermore, the organization as a whole suffers because of their inability to pay attention and actively listen. Even if your worries come true, they will probably blame it on you and not them. 

You probably notice that their attention span is also short and selective. This means that they will not give you the attention you need to talk about certain matters. However, if you talk about their greatness as a boss, they will definitely pay attention to what you are saying, as it boosts their ego. Additionally, you can miss out on important chances to learn and share ideas when you are unable to communicate properly, and you may come to believe that neither your work nor your ideas are essential.

 

3.They Use Fear  

Because they fear losing control, bad bosses will do all in their power to intimidate or frighten their team members into obedience. If you don’t comply, they might harm your reputation or your staff. In an attempt to show you who’s boss, they might also try to take away your authority and power, which would be highly detrimental to morale. The main point is that some bosses simply cannot stand having someone else have greater authority than them.

 

4.They Use Double Standards

A lousy boss will apply double standards, so you’ll know if you’re working for them. Either this person is incredibly strict and demanding, or they are the most laid-back boss on the planet with no boundaries at all (they make up regulations as they go). In any case, they will behave in an erratic and inconsistent manner.

You will always worry about the stability of your employment when your boss treats deadlines, performance reviews, communication styles, team composition, and project management procedures inconsistently. Oftentimes, this leads to staff burnout. 

 

5.They Don’t Respect Your Personal Life

You will often receive messages or calls from this type of boss, day and night. They anticipate that you will be available, even when it isn’t required. They’ll want anything to be done instantly, even if it means disrupting your meal with loved ones. Unkind supervisors don’t value your personal time or concern themselves with your well-being. They frequently fail to see how your personal life affects both your effectiveness at work and your chances of sticking with the company for a long period of time.

 

What to Do About It? 

There are many indicators of a toxic boss. Watch how they treat their staff and how much faith they have in them; there are a lot more warning signs that you should be aware of. If you believe that your supervisor is mistreating you or fostering a poisonous work atmosphere, it’s time to either find a new career or learn how to handle them.

While working with them, it would be a good idea to seek a therapist and talk to them about what you’re experiencing at work. After all, they might teach you techniques on how to deal better with such a boss and help you build the confidence to leave. 

 

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