Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Stop Your Bad Boss From Spreading Toxic Behavior



 An August 2014 Michigan State University study found that bad bosses’ toxic habits are often mirrored by their employees, which spreads hostility and dysfunction within the workplace. You can help stop the spread of this bad behavior by the way you interact with your bad boss.

When a supervisor creates a hostile atmosphere in the workplace, employees are not able to come up with their best work much less innovative ideas. Just as one bad apple spoils the entire barrel, a bad boss can spoil the entire team.

To stop this spread, workers need to go against their natural responses. We tend to model the behavior of those in front of us. If the boss is modeling bad behavior, then people that report to him allow themselves to show their worst instead of their best. IIf the boss encourages yelling and is always irritable, employees will follow. It’s the ‘kick the dog’ phenomenon.

These behaviors can be changed. Instead of accepting your boss’s hostile attitude, turn it around. See yourself as helping with your boss’ success, which will help advance your own career. Make a conscientious effort to not let your bad boss get to you. If your boss is always blaming others, particularly you, when things go wrong, be his or her problem-solver. Don’t let this insecure finger pointer cause you to start yelling at your colleagues. Stay calm and immediately offer to help. Then follow through. Eventually, your boss will see you as a much-needed ally to make him  or her look good, which is all what most bad bosses want in the first place. The temperature of the workplace will go down.

By stopping the negative behavior at the source, workers will be less on edge and more likely to be their true selves. Most people are essentially good and want to do their best at work. Sometimes, they just get caught up in a negative work culture.

For tips on working with specific bad boss types, go to http://www.noellenelson.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GotABadBoss or at https://twitter.com/GotABadBoss.