10 things every boss hates

If a staff member annoys you, there’s a good chance the irksome trait will be one of these 10. NAOMI SIMSON

By Naomi Simson

One of my favourite topics is employee engagement. I have worked for some really great bosses – I have also worked for some terrible ones in my 15 years of corporate life before I started my own show. So I have been both a boss and an employee – I have seen both sides of the fence.

It is true that a third of people leave a workplace simply because they say “they are not noticed” according to Gallup Organisation.

But I was interested to read a recent article that outlined what if you are noticing employees for all the “wrong” reasons.

Apparently about half of employees say they “hate their boss”. But the shoe could just as easily be on the other foot. What if the employee is a right royal pain! A bad hire, or has just got cynical with the years. If you don’t like your boss, maybe they don’t like you either.

Susan Nicholson, organisational psychologist and partner at Mentors Psychology, has researched the 10 things bosses hate about employees:

1. They are unreliable

Missing deadlines, saying one thing doing another – having an excuse for everything. Bosses hate that. We just want them to get the job done and on time.

2. They won’t fess up to mistakes

Blaming the other person or trying to cover mistakes up, instead of just owning up to it and working out how to fix it. This shows that someone is weak of character if they don’t take responsibility. Which ultimately is the “number one career killer”.

3. They gossip too much

On Facebook, Instant Messenger or at the coffee machine, it doesn’t matter how. Talking about people behind their back, stirring up trouble or undermining what you are setting out to achieve.

4. Nothing’s ever good enough

I call this one the black hat! They are going to rain on anyone’s parade just because they can. The employee who constantly gripes, points out that new ideas are destined to fail or sits in meetings scowling and smirking. Negativity is like a cancer, spreading and rotting what the positive people are achieving. It perpetuates an “us versus them” mentality.

5. They hate change

The one constant thing at RedBalloon is change. How can you be a fast growth business – growing organically – without constantly challenging the status quo and doing things differently. RedBallooners embrace change – it is just the way we do things around here. I could not imagine what it would be like to work with people who love to grumble, and criticise new ideas and processes.

6. They smell

A very sensitive subject. Too much perfume is just as much of a problem as BO. Both are too dominant in the workplace. Very tricky to deal with.

Talking about dress and appearance is really really hard for bosses – and quite frankly we should not have to. But remind people about the importance of dress (tribal wear) for their next promotion. If they want to be a marketing manager, dress like one – don’t dress like a uni student.

7. They’re always late

Tardiness, sick days or long lunches add up, and we notice – especially if they then lie about it. Why do employees think we won’t notice if they are constantly cutting corners. No-one likes people who appear to be doing the bare minimum. We want people who are not only productive but are coming up with ideas on how to do things better. If people are late to work, late to meetings, late back from lunch – it shows us bosses that something else is way more important than their job.

8. They’re over-eager

The worst part of this is when we get copied in on every email that the employee writes, looking for browny points. This just makes more work us. The job of the employee is to reduce the work load of the boss.

9. They run their personal life from their desk

Stealing time is as bad as stealing from the stationery cupboard. Staff might think it is only an hour here or there on eBay, Flickr and YouTube, but it really makes the other workers mad. Realising that their time is a scarce resource that they apply to the greater cause of the work place will give a whole new meaning to productivity.

10. They’re a bully

I have been bullied by an employee some years ago… and it is really very distressing. Officially, businesses need to have an anti discrimination policy, but it is astounding to learn that more than a quarter of workers say they have been bullied at work, and more than half say they have witnessed bullying in the workplace.

Bullying includes needless swearing in the office, making threats… bosses want happy peaceful teams, not dominating or passive aggressive ones.

But what goes around comes around, and it will be the people you like who you will put in a more favourable light for that next promotion.

To read more Naomi Simson blogs, click here .

Comments

Tony Burnett writes: I’ve worked in the corporate area for over 10 years and I have yet to find a great boss, most have either lacked direction, strategic planning, culture, enthusiasm and knowledge about their role.

I have been a boss as well with teams ranging from three up to 20, I have injected passion, culture and a general commitment into my teams and they all love it. They become loyal and honest and hardworking, we all achieve reseults if the workplace and people are cultured together.