Top Traits of Bad Managers: ‘Clueless,’ ‘Focus on Negatives’
Dana Wilkie, SHRM
The “bad boss” can be “bad” for any number of reasons, according to a survey by Chicago-based LaSalle Network, a national staffing and recruiting firm that found—among other things—that most people have had a bad boss but more than half never told other leaders.
Why not?
“There could be a number of reasons why respondents didn’t report bad bosses to leaders,” said Jessica Schaeffer, marketing director at LaSalle Network. “Fear of losing their job, fear of being viewed as a gossip or having their claims not taken seriously, and fear that their comments would make their way back to their boss and make the situation worse.”
What Makes a Bad Boss Bad? Top 12 Characteristics of a Bad Boss According to Readers
Susan M. Heathfield, The Balance
Nothing sparks more commentary than asking about what makes a manager a bad boss. From my former website poll and its lengthy comments thread, I found some common themes in site visitor responses.
Want to avoid becoming a bad boss? Afraid that you may already be considered a bad boss? Just want to commiserate with other people who have bad bosses? Here are your thoughts about what makes a bad boss, well – bad?
The Chaotic Leader: How to Survive It
Lolly Daskal, Lead from Within
Have you ever worked with a leader who was always inviting chaos or a boss who constantly had to create drama?
The most effective leaders work to create an environment that will stimulate, motivate and develop people—who in turn will bring their best to work.
But many otherwise qualified bosses and leaders share a need to create chaotic cultures that keep everyone in a heightened state of anxiety.
How to Tell Your Salaried Employees They Are Now Hourly
Suzanne Lucas, Inc.
Some of your salaried employees are about to become hourly employees, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it …
How should you tell your employees? Some of them won’t take it very well. You should have managers sit down, one on one, to deliver the news. But you’ll also want to follow up with written communication. Here is a sample letter to get you started. You will need to modify it for your specific situation. Please pay attention to local laws as well.
Related: #FLSA Changes: How to Tell Employees They’re Moving from Salary to Hourly – Sharlyn Lauby, HR Bartender
Secrets of the top women execs
Elizabeth Gehrman, Boston Globe
As a baby boomer, former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey says women of her generation who moved up in the working world were often ascending into positions previously held only by men. “So we found ourselves trying to juggle or seeking an ideal where everyone could perform all the duties they had at home and at work and do it flawlessly,” says Healey, now president of Babson College. “We moved from how to have it all to how to do it all, and the fact is, you can’t.”
But some women, including Healey, seem to. We asked her and other women in top positions to share some of their tested strategies for maximizing productivity and minimizing that overwhelmed feeling.
White House Challenges States to Overhaul Non-compete Deals
Jon Hyman, Workforce
… the White House announced a call to action to reform non-compete agreements. Instead of proposing sweeping federal legislation, it is asking each state to pass non-compete reforms. This call to action comes on the heels of a joint White House/Treasury Department report issued this past spring addressing the use, issues, and state responses to non-competition agreements.
Related: Are Noncompete Agreements Feasible?
Who Wins in the Gig Economy, and Who Loses
Diane Mulcahey, Harvard Business Review
All of that is changing. Work is being disaggregated from jobs and reorganized into a variety of alternative arrangements, such as consulting projects, freelance assignments, and contract opportunities. Independent workers can obtain health insurance and save for retirement without an employer, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, individual 401(k)s, and individual retirement accounts. The American Dream is transforming to prioritize experiences over material goods and quality of life over quantity of stuff. Most important, the absence of job security opens up new possibilities for a portfolio of gigs to provide a more meaningful and robust sense of income security than any full-time job can.
Free Webinar: FMLA Abuse Got You Down? Best Practices for Using FMLA Medical Certification as a Tool to Deter FMLA Misuse – November 15, noon to 1:15, central time – Jeff Nowak, FMLA Insights
More HR news of note
- Overcoming precrastination – Procrastination’s painful cousin
- How much are your toxic employees costing you?
- 8 Key Questions Employees Want to Know (But Might Not Ask)
- California Rules About Violence Against Health Workers Could Become A Model
- Pets at work may help atmosphere – but bring their own risks
- Report Shows Continued Decline in Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
- Unused dental surgery prescriptions may help fuel opioid epidemic
- New JOEM Review Shows Mental and Physical Toll of Workplace Fatigue
- 15 obscure words to delight linguists
- 7 Tricks for Having the Most Productive Office
From the Lighter Side:
Craziest excuses for missing work: Sorry Boss, Can’t Make It in Today; My Llama is Sick!
Your job may be tough, but at least you don’t have to dress up in panda costumes
Unusual Tumblr of the Day: Sad Chairs of Academia