One bad boss a day keeps the employee away – or at least very irritable. Unless you’re a muppet you’re working on Sesame Streetyou’re probably a version of it The Simpsons Mr. Burns when he gets a miserable job. While they may not always be so sinister as to suggest “letting the dogs loose,” a bad boss usually tends to ruin your day with an outburst or passive-aggressive email. But some employees are more affected than others.
This is the opinion of a group of researchers from the Stevens Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois Chicago. Their recently published, peer-reviewed study looked at bosses and employees from more than 40 companies in South Korea and hundreds of responses from students in the US to gauge the extent to which an abusive supervisor affects performance. By ranking interviewees based on whether they prioritize career advancement or keeping their job, the researchers found that the former group of go-getters are more likely to be put off by a raging boss.
That does not correspond to what the researchers expected. They initially predicted that a bad boss would shape the behavior of both those who want to climb the career ladder and those who focus on job security. But those motivated by progress are “heavily influenced” by toxic management and cut back on “taking charge,” while the other group would likely continue to take charge. “That’s a very surprising finding,” said researcher Howie Xu.
The researchers attribute these conflicting responses in part to the way these groups perceive threats. While an advancement-oriented employee may feel like a bad boss has a say in what he or she desires, such as a promotion, those who place more value on keeping their job may feel the opposite; that HR or their boss’s boss may have more influence over who gets fired than their actual manager.
Since an employee who prioritizes job security is unlikely to invest as much in career growth if they’re just clocking in for a check-up, they’re likely able to shake off any toxicity as long as they still have their job. On the other hand, employees who focus on career goals may feel more involved in their interactions as part of their advancement and therefore be more deterred by a boss’s toxicity.
The rise of the ‘accidental manager’
Bad bosses come in all shapes and sizes, and they aren’t always so obvious. “They’re smart, so they don’t explode,” said Grace Lordan, an economist at the London School of Economics. Fortune. “They are much quieter, and the people they don’t like tend to ignore, isolate and exclude.”
She added that these bosses could fall under three prototypes; the egoist, mediocre manager or overly nice boss. It seems like no one enjoys it overall; Xu’s research found that employees from different cultures reacted almost identically to management abuse. The authors attribute this to globalization, or a sign that this is a universal trait found in many different cultures.
“Fortunately, abusive supervision does not happen too often, but when it does happen, employees are much less likely to take the initiative and work to improve company practices,” Xu adds.
Most of us have seen these bosses before; a Muse poll from earlier this year found that 64% of respondents experienced a toxic work environment, with many attributing this to their leaders and direct managers. That could be partly because managers today are woefully unprepared and undertrained. A separate study from Britain found that 82% of bosses are “accidental managers,” or employees who have been promoted without proper leadership training. Those who perceived their managers as ineffective reported less job satisfaction, motivation and feelings of appreciation than their colleagues who perceived their bosses as effective.
Caught between employees and senior executives during controversial return-to-the-office mandates, middle managers have often bitten off more than they were trained for and are suffering high levels of burnout. Perhaps a new wave of bad bosses has emerged, with casual managers ill-equipped to deal with the new way of working.
Research shows that teams that are too comfortable at work won’t work as hard. But Xu’s research shows that management has more to lose than they think if they take action. In reality, no one is motivated by toxic bosses – and go-getters are especially likely to keep their mouths shut if the bosses’ bad behavior goes unchecked.