Why Employees hate their Bosses!

By Wongai Zhangazha

A survey titled “Why Employees hate their Bosses” by a Zimbabwean human resource consultant firm, Industrial Psychology Consultants, has revealed 42 reasons why employees hate their managers.

Out of the sampled people, 26,1% were qualified at the post-graduate level, 42,9% had at least a degree, 26,1% had diplomas and 1,5% had “other” qualifications while 35.4% were female and 60.1% were male.

The research revealed that 28,67% of the 268 individuals who responded to the poll do not like their supervisors because they feel disrespected. According to the poll, some of the bosses are so disrespectful that they poke their nose into their subordinates’ private life.

“Most employees explained that although their bosses were their superiors, it was no excuse for bosses to disrespect them,” reads the report.

“Also in relation to bosses not having respect, employees expressed that bosses often treated them as though they were not intelligent. Employees complained about the fact that bosses would not respect their privacy and would often enquire about their every activity, including where they were going and why … Many employees gave the example of bosses enquiring where they were going even if it was a private matter such as going to the bathroom.”

Favouritism, Discrimination and Lack of Concern

Apart from prying, 23,19% of the workers hate their managers citing favouritism and nepotism as factors.

The IPC report all states that some employers continue to discriminate against workers on the basis of gender or race despite constitutional provisions outlawing discrimination and that this resulted in bosses not fairly aligning remuneration or benefits with work responsibility.

Only 5,25% of the respondents said their bosses felt “threatened” by more competent and experienced subordinates that reported to them.

“The results showed that three percent (3%) of employees regarded their bosses as Mr. /Mrs. ‘Know it all’. These are the bosses who take all the glory and think they are always right.”

“In addition, three percent (3%) of respondents specified that they thought their bosses had poor listening and communication skills. Finally, three percent (3%) of the employees indicated that their bosses failed to show support for their concerns and did not stand up for their interests,” reads the report.

Below are the 42 main reasons that Employees hate their Bosses:

• Lack of respect for subordinates
• Practicing favoritism and nepotism
• Feeling threatened by subordinates who are more qualified and better performers
• Poor delegation skills
• Making decisions based on the grapevine
• Failure to recognise and appreciate good work but being quick to point out problems
• Lack of concern/support for issues raised by subordinates/do not stand up for subordinates
• Lack of compassion/empathy
• Sexual Relationships with subordinates
• Cruel and managing by instilling fear
• Corrupt, unethical conduct and not practicing good corporate governance
• Selfish
• Shifting blame to subordinates when things go wrong
• Poor Listening and Communication Skills
• Unprofessional behavior
• Smoking in the office
• Dictatorship/autocratic management
• Setting unrealistic and sometimes unclear expectations/targets
• Jealous of subordinates
• Manager who has no clue on what to do- incompetent
• Mr./Mrs. "Know it all" - "takes all the glory"- thinks she/he is always right"
• Does not deliver on promises
• Not taking subordinate suggestions onboard
• No Feedback
• Moody
• Gossiping/Back Bites
• Too Serious
• Slow to make decisions- afraid to make the wrong decisions
• Does not trust subordinates
• Too rigid- cannot accept new ways of doing things
• Micromanaging - I know how to do my job , please leave me to do it
• Not Accountable
• Lack of Vision or Strategic Focus`
• Involved in visible organisational politics
• Too many meetings/Long Meetings
• Not empowering subordinates
• Not recognising that employees have other things outside work they need to attend to
• Everyone with a different view is an enemy
• Flamboyance
• Not developing subordinates
• Taking subordinate ideas as yours and not giving credit to the subordinate.
  

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