Let’s face it, there are few individuals who are passionate about going to work and who fully enjoy what they do . Are you one of those who can’t stand going to work? Welcome to the club…because you are not alone. If it’s hard enough to get up in the morning to grab a quick piece of toast and run off to the office, if you have a boss who makes sure the workplace is as close to hell as possible, it’s hard enough to live.

There are many kinds of bosses , and you have surely come across one who has made your existence bitter. Well, today we are going to talk about the toxic bosses , those bosses that we don’t even want to see in paint.

Toxic employers negatively affect employee welfare

The relationship between superiors and subordinates has been the result of various studies in the field of work, and the psychologists of organizations have been interested in this relationship for many reasons, but mainly because a good relationship between bosses and employees increases the productivity and results of the company . No less important is to know that, although many companies do not pay due attention to this phenomenon, the leadership style of superiors affects the well-being of the employees.

The well-being of the employees is also closely related to the results of the company . And for this reason, organizations should be especially careful when assessing this variable, because stress and discomfort at work, among other causes, may be the result of a toxic relationship between these actors.

A toxic leadership style and poor leadership skills on the part of superiors can lead to phenomena such as role conflict, role ambiguity or role overload, which in turn can lead to negative feelings among employees: such as wanting to leave the company or having a poor sense of belonging to the company.

Transformational leadership for better employee well-being

The organizational world has undergone great changes in the last three decades due to globalization, and stress has become a very serious problem for companies. The crisis has created really complicated situations for the workers , who have had to adapt to the changes and to a less safe working environment. Not to mention that their expectations are very different from those of just a few years ago, as are their needs.

Studies suggest that one of the leadership styles that best fits the times is transformational leadership . Transformational leaders employ high levels of communication to achieve objectives and provide a vision of change that they manage to transmit to employees. They are great motivators and increase the productivity of the workers in their charge. With their charisma, they have a great impact on their subordinates and gain trust, respect and admiration. The opposite of the toxic bosses.

Recommended article: “Types of Leadership: The 5 most common types of leaders”

Four out of ten bosses are toxic

There are more toxic bosses than we think. At least that can be read in the newspaper El Mundo , because in one of its articles it echoed a statement that appears in the book, New management for dummies . According to this text, four out of ten dummies are toxic .

In addition, in the same newspaper appears a list of five profiles of toxic bosses that , according to Ana María Castillo and Juan Carlos Cubeiro, two recognized professionals with extensive experience in the university and business environment, create a bad working environment and negatively affect employees. They are the following:

  • The harasser or bully , characterized by humiliating his subordinates and giving orders by abusing his power.
  • The microdetailer , who is unable to delegate because he thinks no one is up to it.
  • The workaholic , who thinks that work shifts are 24 hours.
  • The all-numbers , which only gives value to the economic results.
  • The favoritist , who is neither fair nor impartial.

Characteristics of a Toxic Boss

But what characteristics do they have in common with the toxic bosses? These are the 11 characteristic features of the bosses who have lost their sense of equity.

1. are arrogant and do not communicate well

Toxic bosses are arrogant and do not communicate properly with their subordinates . They think they are always right and expect others to accept their words just because they are the boss.

2. They do not take into account the needs of employees

Bosses who have lost the sense of their function in the company never take into account the needs of the employees , because they only think about the numbers. They are not aware that the workers are the engine of the company and therefore they have to be taken care of.

3. Are autocratic

Toxic bosses only allow them to make decisions and set the guidelines without the participation of the group. They are the ones who concentrate all the power and nobody challenges their decisions.

4. Are easily irritated

Bad bosses have little patience and get irritated easily . Since they are not open to the ideas of others, they do not want to be disturbed. Toxic bosses are not aware that the real wealth of their organization is human capital.

5. They are inflexible

Toxic bosses are mentally closed and panic about change , so they are not very innovative. The lack of innovation, in most cases, makes it difficult to adapt to the modern market and, therefore, the progress of the organization.

6. They are too controlling

This type of bosses control too much . This is why, by supervising each and every task their subordinates perform, they diminish their creative capacity.

7. They have no confidence in themselves

They may appear to be confident, but the reality is that they are not . A confident leader is not afraid to delegate when necessary, nor is he or she afraid to value the opinions of the group. Their insecurity makes them toxic bosses.

8. Have unrealistic expectations

Toxic bosses have unrealistic expectations , so they often demand more than they owe from their employees. Not only that, but they are ungrateful when others do things right, since they only focus on the negative.

9. Discriminate

Bosses without style are full of prejudice . In fact, they often have a sexist and racist mentality, in addition to other discriminatory behaviours.

10. Poor time management

Planning, both work and time, is essential when leading teams, as it can be a source of stress if it is not done correctly. One of the problems of toxic managers is the inability to manage and prioritize their time correctly and effectively , which can lead to the saturation of tasks and responsibilities. In the end, their poor time management is paid for by their subordinates.

11. No room for creativity

Bad bosses are unable to recognize the talent and creativity of their employees. They are governed by rigid rules and dynamics, leaving no room for improvisation. This causes the employees to have totally mechanical functions and fail to develop their abilities . This is a common mistake, and the company is the main victim of this attitude.