Seven in 10 US workers say they would leave a job if they had a bad manager
Whether you work in a large corporation, small business or you’re working in a federal context, chances are you’ve experienced a bad manager at some point in your career.
But would you be prepared to quit your job if your manager was unbearably bad?
According to recent research, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’, with 70 percent of U.S. workers admitting that they would leave a job because of a bad manager.
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This figure rises to 75 percent among Gen Z workers and 77 percent among millennials, compared to 68 percent among Gen X and 61% of Baby Boomers, highlighting that younger generations are less inclined to put up with toxic management traits.
This isn’t a recent phenomenon either. In 2019, Gallup released data that showed that 52 percent of employees voluntarily leaving jobs were motivated to do so because of a bad manager.
However, this escalation from 52 percent to 77 percent underscores that more workers are leaving jobs because of bad management, and as a follow-on, shows how important managers are in keeping employees engaged and invested in their roles.
But is there a way to navigate a bad boss so that your long term career goals remain intact in the short term?
Accidental managers
Part of the problem with bad bosses is that they haven’t received the training or professional development necessary to develop management skills.
In fact, recent data from the UK’s Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found that these so-called “accidental managers” make up 82% of leadership positions, despite having no formal training, and 52 percent of managers don’t hold any management or leadership qualifications.
The research also established that managers with formal management training are significantly more likely to trust their team and have confidence in their abilities.
Additionally, good managers foster a more positive workplace culture, instill a better work ethic and empower their staff to be high-performers.
While quitting and looking for a new job is the most obvious solution, what can you do in the meantime to navigate a bad boss?
The first step is to establish what makes your manager a bad one on a professional level.
This can include identifying if someone is a bad communicator, for example a manager who lacks the skills to communicate business goals, project objects or KPIs and then resorts to blaming everyone around them when things don’t work out the way they envisaged it in their head.
Or perhaps your manager is a micromanager who wants to be copied in every single email you send? They may undermine your position by jumping in to resolve minor issues that you are perfectly capable of dealing with, or keep tabs on what you are working on by asking you for updates on an hourly basis.
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Overfamiliarity is also one to watch out for. While it’s important to have a cordial relationship with colleagues, it’s impossible to keep professional boundaries in place.
And if your manager treats staff members as if they are friends and not an employee, it can be difficult to say no to requests to work late or at the weekends, have conversations about remuneration or helping with projects that don’t fall under your remit.
Another alternative? Formal upskilling to develop your own managerial skills so you can move into a management or leadership position. From an MBA to executive management programs designed to develop your skills in a shorter space of time, there are lots of options out there that you can complete in a part-time or after-hours capacity.
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