Terrible bosses, classified
by CanadianManufacturing.com Staff
Bad bosses have been around forever. Here's a look at the four main species and where you can spot them in the wild.
CHELMSFORD, Mass.—Bad bosses have been around forever. If you look at pop culture they’re easy to spot: Mr. Slate, Fred Flintstone’s short-tempered boss at the quarry; Montgomery Burns, Homer Simpson’s cruel task-master; the bumbling Michael Scott from The Office and most recently Jennifer Aniston’s character—Dr. Julia Harris—in the movie Horrible Bosses.
Captivate Network, a company that manages content feeds to elevator TV screens across the continent, surveyed more than 670 North American workers on their experience with bad bosses and came up with four classifications of terrible head honchos.
Does your boss fit into this list?
The “Time is Money” Boss:
This boss relies on his staff far too much and over works them accordingly. The “Time is Money” boss tends to make employees feel like they are squeezed and must focus only on what impacts the bottom line.
Natural habitat: Start with the engineering department at a large company.
The “Workaholic” Boss:
The “Workaholic” boss works too much and is compelled to do all of the work himself, leaving employees feeling micromanaged. These employees are most likely to be in the market for a new job.
Natural habitat: The office—there’s no time for personal activities during the day.
The “Judge and Jury” Boss:
A judgmental boss spends a lot of time taking lunch, making personal calls or running errands while passing judgment on those in the office. Do your peers rate your performance very high but your boss rates you much lower? If so, you might work for a judgmental boss.
Natural habitat: The small or medium-sized business, lording over employees with no work life balance that are very unhappy, are generally between 35-54 and make between $40-$75K.
The “Empty Suit” Boss:
This unproductive boss may not be easy to spot because they tend to be out of the office much of the time and and might be one of the easiest to deal with.
Natural habitat: His luxury sedan, on the way to another lunch meeting.
The Shocking Truth
You may be ready and willing to gripe about your boss at the drop of a hat, but take a look at yourself first. Captivate’s survey found employees are far more likely to engage in bad behaviour than the object of their management ire.
Indeed, workers are 50 per cent more likely to take a smoke break, 75 per cent more likely to go for a stroll, 53 per cent more likely to go out shopping and 91 per cent more likely to shop online.
