Most unacceptable boss behaviours revealed

44% of workers have quit a job because of their bosses, survey says

Most unacceptable boss behaviours revealed
“Taking credit for employees’ work” is the most unacceptable boss behaviour for workers as 17% said this has led them to quit their jobs, according to a recent poll by HR software provider BambooHR.

Other unacceptable behaviours include:
2nd: Not appearing to trust or empower employees
3rd: Not appearing to care if employees are overworked
4th: Not appearing to advocate for employees in terms of compensation
5th: Hiring or promoting the wrong people

The study found that non-managers tend to feel more strongly about the top bad boss behaviours than managers do. When it comes to “taking credit for employees’ work”, “not trusting or empowering employees” and “overworking employees,” 20% fewer managers said these are deal breakers that would make them quit.

Results came from a poll of more than 1,000 U.S.-based employees to score a list of 24 typical boss behaviours from “totally acceptable” to “totally unacceptable.”

Male and female employees rated bad boss behaviours differently. Women rated 19 of the listed behaviours as being more unacceptable compared to the male respondents.

Behaviours that men rated as more unacceptable compared to women included “refusing to friend you on social media”, “not liking to spend time together outside of work,” and “requiring you to take personal days for mental wellbeing.”

Some 44% of all respondents said that they have quit a job primarily because of their bosses. The top boss characteristics that made them leave include “management style”, “a condescending attitude”, “meanness or a bad temper”, “inappropriate behaviour” and “harassment of employees,” respectively.


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