The High Price of a Toxic Boss
Is Your Company Willing to Pay?
According to the Society of Human Resources Management, toxic workplace cultures have driven 20% of U.S. employees out of their jobs in the past five years — at a turnover cost greater than $223 billion. The same study that came up with that number also revealed that employees most often hold their direct managers, not the executive team or the HR department, responsible for their immediate culture. They also say that when the culture is toxic, it’s because their manager fails to communicate clearly or politely, that he or she lacks the soft skills to lead effectively, and that their manager is an ineffective listener.
A full-on 76% of people said their manager set the culture for their workplace experience.
Woah.
It’s fairly well known that having a toxic boss is bad for your overall health. There are plenty of definitions of “bad boss,” but there are lots of common denominators, too. Enough to find some real similarities.
Significant numbers of survey respondents categorize their boss as:
Self-centered (60%)
Stubborn (45%)
Overly Demanding (42%)
There are more, but if you are a frequent reader of mine, you know I’m getting at a greater point here.
