8 Signs of a Toxic Boss

You love your work. It’s what you’ve wanted to do, what you were trained to do. But when you come into work and encounter your boss, you feel . . . uncomfortable at best and humiliated at worst.

One Gallup study of 7,272 U.S. adults found that 50% of employees left their job “to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career.”

And, if you’re like many people who try their hardest to adjust and do their best, you probably think it’s you. But is it? When do you stop trying to change yourself to accommodate another and take a close look at who you’re working for. Could it be your boss is the problem.

A bad boss can make you feel miserable at work, disengaged, not wanting to do your best because no matter what you do it’s never enough. AND that discomfort stays with people when they leave work. It’s stressful. While some stress actually helps people grow, the stress of feeling criticized, unappreciated and disrespected at work actually compromises relationships outside of work as well as a sense of general wellbeing. People under work stress report more quarrels with significant others and family as well as difficulty sleeping and more frequent health issues — colds, digestive issues, headaches, palpitations to mention just a few.

Here are 8 signs that you’re working for a very difficult person and unless you can resolve the issues with this cranky person or get moved into another section or placement within your company you may want to seriously consider finding another place to work.

1. Your boss has favorites and you’re not one of them. No matter what they do, they’re golden. Everyone knows it. It’s not just you, even though you have the same skill sets or better than the golden one[s].

2. Your boss never smiles at you or demonstrates interest. In fact, [s]he avoids contact as much as possible except for those occasions where you’re criticized for not meeting some expectation — which frequently is outside your job description.

3. Your questions or requests are not addressed within 24 hours. You have decisions to make but can’t because you need input from your manager. You look bad because you haven’t responded. And if you blame your boss you look worse.

4. Your boss is a rumor monger spreading gossip about people in the office. You fear what might be said about you and you hear rumors about you through the grape vine.

5. Your boss takes credit for your work. You did it. Boss gets the accolades. Frustrating.

6. Similarly, you get blamed for mistakes, but don’t get credit or gratitude for things that go well.

7. You never laugh together. Instead, the tension you feel with your boss undermines you. Being able to laugh with another person is a sign of a viable relationship. People who can laugh with each other, don’t take things too seriously and can work through difficulties.

8. Your boss keeps you out of high profile meetings, keeping insights you’ve provided for his/herself

Is it worth it? Do you want to live with ‘agita’ from work that affects everything? Agita -An Italian-American word for Heartburn, acid indigestion, an upset stomach or, by extension, a general feeling of upset. I don’t think so.

If this is your reality, maybe it’s time to start thinking about a change.

And with the times inviting change now, it’s probably a good time to be rethinking.

To your success

Doc Sharon

SharonLivingstonPhD.com. DrSharonLivingston@gmail.com 603–505–5000