What is Toxic Boss Syndrome?
Toxic Boss Syndrome is a problem many workers around the world face everyday. Strong leadership in the workplace is crucial to success, but many leaders end up hurting their employees and therefore the company by their attitudes and behaviors. Because the economy is unpredictable and sometimes unstable, it has authority figures on edge and many unable to lead in the ways that need to be done (Mckee, 2012). According to Colonel George E. Reed of the US Army, there are three main characteristics of toxic boss syndrome: “apparent lack of concern”, “personality… that negatively affects organizational climate”, and authority figures who are “motivated primarily by self-interest” (Reed, 2012, p. 67). …show more content…
Bosses who whine about work not being done but do not want to put in the work themselves make a difficult work environment (Degges-White, 2015). These types of bosses hardly put in the necessary productivity to get things done, which creates more stress for employees when they are blamed at the end of the day.
The Wannabe Friend Boss The kinds of bosses who want to be friend with employees but do not know how to handle the friendship are toxic bosses. Making employees feel uncomfortable or putting employees in awkward situations can come from bosses who cannot balance friendship and work. Sometimes these kinds of bosses can be “arrogant yet incompetent” in the sense that they act inappropriate towards a friendship in the workplace because they may be desperate to make friends (The Muse, 2012).
Tips for Dealing With Toxic Bosses
Stay Confident In a workplace with toxic leadership, it is important for employees to keep their confidence high in order to deal with the situation (Crowley, 2009). One of the most important ways to maintaining high confidence lies with not taking boss’ ridicule personally. Bosses with this toxic boss syndrome have problems with themselves and end up taking things out on their employees (Mckee, 2008). By remembering that the true problems lie within the bosses, and not the employees, allows for the employees to work past their struggles with their