If you could know the boss’s resume beforehand and have better references, many employees could avoid headaches. Bosses can be a great job uncertainty, especially when you are new to a new company. Although these people will be responsible for guiding the path and professional development of employees, some can stagnate, reduce and block them professionally and personally.
Then, being accountable to a difficult boss becomes a daily ordeal to which the employee may be subjected, affecting the work environment and directly the performance of the team.
According to Antonieta Tavares, Human Resources coordinator at Hays Colombia, the aspects that can the most are:
- Discrimination
- Victimization
- Intimidation
- Fraud
- Bribe
- Corruption
- Harassment
- Inappropriate physical contact
- Abuse
A boss can adopt egocentric, ‘tyrannical’ and distant tendencies easily, since “a vicious circle is generated, where the lack of connection and empathy crumble the morale of the team, increasing absenteeism, breaches and physical and mental illnesses in those affected,” says Patricia Vargas Rojano, manager of Right Management.
To avoid these scenarios, bosses must know their teams, avoid bad temper and be effective and transparentwith the decisions they make.
In addition, Tavares affirms that “companies that wish to increase their retention levels must include topics such as flexibility in contracts and promotion internally, since internal mobility allows employees to know different teams and roles in the organization, giving more variety to their day to day”.
Similarly, companies and Human Resources areas must create “seedbeds” and effective communication channels “to make proactive feedback to leaders, showing in a very respectful way that these harmful behaviors,” suggests Vargas.
If there are no employee support lines, it is a matter of time before the company and teams begin to lose talent. According to Vargas, as a consequence “the organization assumes the time and cost of selecting, training and taking a new employee to a learning curve, who may begin to become demotivated once he enters the organization and must interact with that leadership style.”
If the turnover becomes constant because of a boss, the latter could become the next to be evaluated. The retention of talent and a good work environment depends on bosses who are leaders, close and inclusive, who care about enhancing the skills and strengths of their teams, as well as identifying weaknesses.