How to deal with a bad manager

Bad managers exist everywhere. Sometimes they are abusive, other times they are mean. Sometimes they are incompetent, other times they are interfering. Some are just good people gone bad, and others are just overworked and under-trained. Sometimes they are funny – as in the comic strip Dilbert – and other times they are unbearable. Sometimes they can be bad enough to sack you, and sometimes they are bad enough to be sacked.

The stress associated with having a bad manager breathing down your neck and criticizing everything you do or say can be quite damaging. According a 2008 study conducted by researchers in Stockholm, having a bad boss can be bad for the heart.

Bad managers are easy enough to identify. According to Robert Sutton, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University, a bad boss “consistently leaves people feeling demeaned and belittled and de-energized” and “targets people who have less power than they do.”

If you are tormented by a bad manager, what can you do to take control of the situation and turn it in your favor?

Be patient
Sometimes a manager doesn’t know he/she is being a bad boss. In such situations, it is better to understand what is causing such behavior. Is he/she being subjected to burnout, or work-related stress, or a personal problem? Before you pass judgment, give your boss the benefit of doubt. Sometimes, our resentment for managers may be rooted in the fact that they are professionally more capable or younger than us, or that they have been newly appointed. Rationalize these thoughts before you decide that your manager is in the wrong.

Act professionally
There is a difference between a bad professional relationship and a bad manager. The latter is intentionally mean or unethical and does not interact with you in an honest and open way. Prepare to defend yourself against falsified charges and make sure all communication between you and your manager take place in the presence of other colleagues. Whatever you do, do not get personal.

Support your manager when it is called for
Professionally, your manager and you represent the same side even if you have personal differences. In situations where it is called for, stand by your manager. Do not let him or her down when your department’s morale or credibility is at stake. Let professional matters take precedence over personal relationships.

Communicate your discomfort
Seek an audience with your manager. Explain, to the best of your ability, how your manager can help make working conditions better and happier. Be open to taking the initiative to making this happen. In doing so, maintain your dignity. Take care not to come across as a pushover or a doormat. Make eye contact with your manager but do not appear confrontational, as personal confrontations are never productive.

Bring it out in the open
If your manager’s bad behavior is predictable, try and limit private interactions. Make sure at least one or two other colleagues come to know of the way you are being treated. Play safe and make sure you don’t cross paths with your manager except in situations that you can control. Your abusive manager is less likely to attack when you are around other employees, customers or outsiders of importance to the employer.

Keep notes and manage information
Convincing your manager’s manager and the senior management of your problem will be successful only with well-documented proof of your manager’s pattern of behavior. Without this, you may be viewed as the problem. If you are planning to initiate action against your boss, ensure that you keep notes diligently. Document all emails and communication from or involving your manager. However, ensure that your archive of documents is not within your manager’s reach. Protect your personal information, as access to this will give bad bosses more power.

Complain to HR – anonymously
If you are thinking of complaining to your HR department, first ensure that your company has set up the necessary structures to address employee grievances. Remember that HR’s allegiance is to the employer. Approach HR only if you are fully prepared and have the necessary legal backing.

Escalate your complaint to higher management
If you feel you can’t work with your current manager any more, and that your track record still shows your loyalty to the company, write to the higher management giving the details and documentation of the problem and details of your complaint to human resources. If you work in a large organization and think that your boss and you cannot work together at all, request a transfer to another department. If the boss is part of the management, look for another job.

Seek legal advice
If your manager steps way out of line, consider taking a legal recourse.

And finally – how not to hire bad managers
If you are a recruiter, you may often make the mistake of going by a candidate’s résumé alone and hire a bully masquerading as an extremely competent, no-nonsense taskmaster.

It is important, when hiring potential team leaders, to seek out referrals that are not listed by the candidate. Specifically inquire if there are instances of poor people management listed against them. Some companies try to ensure that employee satisfaction feeds into the appraisal structure of its managers. Here, employee satisfaction is linked to a team manager’s KRAs, which might to some extent, ensure the satisfaction of his/her subordinates.

Tagged as: bad boss, Bad managers, office politics, professional harassment, recruiters, superior-subordinate relationship, workplace relationship