A MAJORITY of Australian workers - some 57.7 per cent -believe their boss is completely ineffective, according to a new survey.Talent2 CEO John Rawlinson, whose company led the survey, described the finding as a wake-up call for employers. "Employees truly believe their employers should be able to perform their job with a superior skill level and thus to obtain the respect of their charges,'' he said.
"It is no longer sufficient for bosses to expect their employees to carry the load.'' From www.news.com.au
Now this comes as a surprise to me (note high levels of sarcasm here). I must admit that during my expansive working career, I have only had one boss that I really respected, admired and looked up to and that was when I was working in Tokyo. All my other bosses have been completely and utterly incompetent and I had absolutely no respect for them what so ever. Is that bad of me? Should I look up to my bosses as if they were some Jedi Knight or Shaolin pen pusher?
I guess it is hard to respect someone who doesn’t really respect you and I think that’s what it basically boils down to in the end. I’ll respect you if you stop treating me like some 16 year old school girl who has never worked a day in her life before. I find patronising your staff doesn’t work, treat me like an equal, listen to my ideas and thoughts and give constructive criticism – the operative word being constructive here. Don’t shoot me down in flames when I have a brainwave, yell and scream at me because I wasn’t willing to say “how high” when you said JUMP and don’t whatever you do say to me “when you are older you will understand” how much bloody older do I have to be, for Christ’s sake I am old enough to have a pre-teen child!
When I was working in Tokyo I had an internship for an all female language teaching organisation (all female students, all female teachers – reduces the amount of either student and or teacher hitting on each other). The woman who set the whole organisation up was amazing, she really was. She started off in Tokyo teaching English then decided to write a book about ‘gaijin’ (foreign) women’s experiences in Japan in order to help other women who were thinking about moving or already living in Japan. Now she runs seminars, helps find women jobs and offers a real community support network for women living in Japan – check out her website http://www.being-a-broad.com/
The real stand out difference was that she treated everyone as equals, never spoke down to anyone, never yelled at anyone and never expected anyone to work ridiculous hours. In fact she would sometimes actually leave the office at around 5:30pm so that the Japanese workers would feel it is ok to go home and then if she had any other work she would come back after she had a coffee or she would tell them to go home.
Now I find that all my subsequent bosses have had little to no respect for me, maybe I am imagining it, I don’t know. However, I get the feeling that when my previous boss said to me “we’re going to a big meeting tomorrow how about you put a short black dress on”, he wasn’t interested in my views on the current market trends and potential hot spots for increased sales through my new sales plan.
The thing that really shitted me off when I was working for Mr Nobb Ed, was that the only people who ever got anything or anywhere where the women who giggled at all his jokes, smiled gooey eyed at him when he was in the room and massaged his ego (I was going to use another ‘m’ word there but I actually felt physically sick thinking about it).
I tried it once and only once, that night I scrubbed myself raw with my loofa because I was so ashamed and felt so dirty. Plus I just couldn’t pull it off, it always came out dripping with sarcastic acid, I don’t know why, must’ve be my intonation.
So now one of my current bosses thinks that I don’t have enough work to do. Frankly that is bullshit, I don’t get nearly enough time to read all the blogs that I want to during my lunch break, so that obviously means that I am over worked.
Work is a major hindrance to everyone’s social life, so why make it even more painful?
Work to live, not live to work that is my motto and if they don’t like it – eh what are they gonna do about it?
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10 comments:
My current bosses are quite cool actually. But I still wouldn't mind having Obi Wan Kenobi on the team...
my boss is a selfish, rude, conceited old man who drops in to work when he feels like it but spends most of that time outside smoking and talking on his phone. he is constantly yelling at employees for the stupidest things. he makes up crazy rules that are completely unfair. he treats every body like shit. he is already filthy rich. he lives in a enormous house in one of the richest neighbourhoods in vancouver. his daughter crashed her BMW so the very next day he went out and bought her a brand new mercedes. i hate him so much.
I completely agree with you regarding female bosses. I'm generalising, but I think women make better bosses. I've worked for some amazing women and I'm lucky enough to have two female bosses now (actually, I work in an all female workplace) who are both great.
I've worked for some utter cunts of men too who like to belittle, degrade and humiliate their staff. What's the point?
Egad, I've had some stinkers of male bosses too. I occasionally daydream and fantasize that they are now living in slums somewhere, suicidally depressed and crying into their gin as they regret all the nasty things they ever said and did to me.
Unfortunately *some* women can be worse as they are more sneaky in their evilness, whereas men are pretty stupid and make it obvs to everyone.
Anyway, Mercedes are crap quality now. Pass that on to your boss and let him reduce his insultingly large bank account by buying her a Zonda (bonus: she'll also look ridiculous in it). ;)
You're right, it does all come down to respect, and some employers think they don't have to EARN the respect of their employees it should just be a given.
It doesn't work like that though, you have to give it to get it.
I love my boss, she's an amazing woman and I wanna be just like her when I grow up ;)
Redcap - maybe you are the cool one ??
Sumiko - God your boss sounds like a right ol wanker.
Audrey - yeah I have found generally that female bosses are better.
Eleanor - me too - about the fantasizing thing is that a bad thing. I actually have never felt so much hate for one person as I do for my ex-boss and I don't think that is healthy (breathe breathe).
Steph - It seems a pretty obvious equation that you get what you give, but most people don't seem to understand that.
Admittedly, my two bosses are women at the moment. In fact, I'm in an office full of gals with a lad for an underling, which feels rather revolutionary >:) But women are just as capable of being psychoboss as men are, I'm afraid. I've seen both ~shudder~ Though the only one that I came close to killing was male. You remember that twat, don't you sakura? Boof? Useless prick's somehow holding down a job at the Hobart ABC now, if you can believe it!
Wait, what? Only 57.7%
How specific.
How low a percentage.
My current bosses are fantastic. I love being working with them all.
My previous boss was the slag from hell. Not only does it look like her plastic surgery face is melting, but she fits the definition of workplace psychopath. She's not JUST a bully, but a manipulative liar, who stands over people, demeans anyone and does nothing all day. People that DO her work are too afraid of challenging her - its pathetic and it makes me wild.
orhan khan - you know I too was really surprised that it is such a low percentage as well.I really thought it would be more. Everyone who bitches about their bosses.
miss smack - woah your previous boss sounded like a complete psychopath, seriously. glad to hear you have really nice bosses now.
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