Stop working for your boss when you realise he is toxic!

You are an adult now. You have made it to the big leagues and you are finally doing what you thought you had to this whole time. Brand new clothes, a job you desperately wanted and new clothes that could make anybody’s head turn, you walk into the first ever job of your life. The first few days are fun, rosy and full of joy. The people are nice, the breaks are fun and your boss could not be nicer. A few months into the job, you suddenly realise everything is not as hunky dory as you thought it was. You do not have it in you to do the same thing over and over again and have absolutely no patience to deal with the same kind of challenges on a daily basis. The reason? Your boss is not the person thought they were, a revelation only you realised and not the people around you! You have been seeing the signs and just did not want to accept them till the situation was too grave to ignore!

1. The ones who think feedback is for the week. 

You have been working hard at your job for a while now and suddenly over a period of time, you realise the very idea of waking up and going to work is a thing you dread. For example, a colleague of mine (Radhika*) was given a compliment the other day and because Radhika was so not used to receiving compliments, she responded with her fallback defense mechanism, sarcasm. Absence of compliments makes the heart grow harder, not fonder. Oh, dear Manager! If you work for a dude like this, you know the Exit sign is what you need! 

2. The ones who parent more than manage

Do you remember how when you were in college and there would always be that one teacher, who would be more of a parent than a teacher or rule enforcer? Sure, that is okay for a while in school, but when you have a similar boss at work, drawing that line between your personal and professional life becomes really hard. When you let people encroach on to your personal space at work, the lines become fuzzy, without any distinction later.

3. The ones who want the credit, but do not want to do the work

This is perhaps the most toxic boss you could have. They expect you to put in all the hard work and to meet all the deadlines way before your end time. However, when it comes down to giving you recognition or credit, the result is never good enough for them. This is because of two things: either they have already taken all the credit for your work or they just do not care enough about you as an employee. When this happens once or even twice, you can let it go. However, when it happens on a regular basis, that is a sure fire sign that you have to quit as soon as possible!

4. The ones who do not like getting feedback of any kind

While there is one category of bosses who fall under the category of not giving the right kind of feedback, there are others who do not like taking feedback of any kind. These bosses like enforcing rules, but when their employees want to give feedback about the changes, the reaction is quite contrary to what one would expect. A good manager likes learning how their employees react and likes looking at what can be done better from a different perspective. But when you do not see that happen, you know you should back off. This is not a good boss to have at all!

5. The one who is never around for things in life

Bosses like this are always absent for the bigger things in life. My boss’s boss (Mr. Y) is like this. Y will keep an eye out for everything that goes wrong, but never keeps an eye on the things which are going right. These are the bosses who are ready to jump down your throat and let you take the fall, but never give you a pat on the back when you deserve the positive feedback. The worst combination of a micro manager and an absentee boss, these kind of managers confuse your everyday schedule and make life at work a disastrous experience.

If you have ever had an experience with managers like this, comment and tell us so we can help you make dealing with your life just a little easier.

(*) Names changed to ensure anonymity.