Supervisors With These 3 Traits Are Often Loved By Management But Resented By Employees
While employees begrudge them, leadership views them as an asset.
fizkes | Shutterstock There's nothing worse than having a bad boss who leadership loves. They constantly get applauded and praised despite being horrible to work with.
Boston-based employment lawyer and content creator Craig Levey says these types of supervisors, who are adored by management and detested by employees, often share a specific set of traits.
Here are 3 traits of supervisors who are loved by management but resented by employees:
1. Micromanaging
No one likes a micromanager. Getting your work done is hard enough. Having someone oversee every tiny aspect of it with great care is, frankly, annoying.
Levey knows this. “We all know that supervisor at work [who] needs to manage every aspect of a project,” he said. “They don’t trust anyone to do their job, so they’re constantly looking over the shoulders of the employees.”
"This is just annoying for employees to work with, and it prevents their own growth because they're constantly reporting back to this individual rather than letting them go and do their own thing," he explained.
In some situations, micromanaging can even be equated to bullying.
PeopleHR pointed out that it can actually be difficult to differentiate micromanaging from bullying because micromanagers are ultimately trying to "control their employees." That problematic behavior at it's root is the same manipulation tactic bullies use.
An employee is bound to resent a supervisor who insists on overseeing every single aspect of their work. However, management may see this as someone being productive and attentive to their job.
2. Poor communication
Working with a bad communicator makes everything infinitely harder. Communication is, after all, the foundation of a good working relationship.
“Really good supervisors are strong communicators, and they’re constantly speaking with their colleagues, letting them know what the expectations are and if they’re failing in certain areas,” Levey said. “When a supervisor is a bad communicator, the individuals that report to that person don’t know where they stand.”
Poor communication clogs up the workplace and makes it more difficult to complete work properly. Employees won’t be able to stand a supervisor who communicates poorly, but management may appreciate the tough reputation the supervisor earns.
3. All talk and no action
“We’ve seen these people before,” Levey stated. “They have super high expectations for the people that report to them, but they won’t do those things themselves.”
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The reason an employee would resent this kind of supervisor is pretty obvious — they’re being asked to do the work that their supervisor can’t. Meanwhile, their supervisor often takes all the credit.
“The best supervisors walk the walk and talk the talk,” Levey added. “They don’t ask anyone to do anything that they could not do themselves.”
When these traits are present, employees will likely resent their supervisor. Meanwhile, management may be able to excuse the behavior in the name of increasing productivity or making employees more successful.
If companies really want employees to be good, loyal workers, they should ensure that they are properly supported.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.