꼭 피해야 할! 나쁜 상사가 회사에 미치는 끔찍한 영향

Why Swindon business leaders should steer clear of recruiting bad bosses

• The Ink is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support The Ink’s work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Local issues deserve local journalists holding the powers that be to account. With local news in decline, knowing what is going on in our communities is more essential than ever. We can only exist because some of our readers are willing to support our work. If you value what we do, please consider becoming a paid supporter to ensure we can keep doing it. Free subscribers will only get the first part of this piece. Upgrade now and get your first month free. The ultimate try before you buy. It only costs £5.99 a month - less than parking in Swindon town centre for an hour once a week - and you’ll be supporting independent quality journalism in Swindon. Today is our monthly Ink Business Focus, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month. Upgrade to Paid By Fiona Scott How many of us have been the victims of a bad boss or manager in our careers? I suspect it’s quite a common experience, and in an economically active town like Swindon toxic bosses and managers are bound to be hiding in plain sight. During my time as a journalist, I’ve occasionally done stories on horrible bosses or petty behaviours which sometimes escalate into something far more serious. Yet the hidden damage of such behaviours is incalculable to the individual on the receiving end. Proving someone is a bully is incredibly hard as most people are too smart to behave badly in an overt manner. I’ve also been on the receiving end of horrible behaviour and seen it visited on others. The amount of times that organisations protect bullies is insane and the victim is left out in the cold as some kind of sad reject. I’ve attended tribunals and civil court cases around this. One that sticks in my memory was actually the MD of a company who got a new job with a bigger company as a CEO. He gifted each staff member with a box of three luxury chocolates to say goodbye. He charged that to his expense account and later his former company took him to court around that decision. The guy accepted he was wrong and paid the money back but he still went to court. Why? He did it because he wanted someone like me to come in and tell that story about how petty his former employer had been in taking him to court after an act of kindness. It was front page news the day after. Just think for a moment how that company looked when I wrote up that story and it was published. No one from the company even bothered to turn up for the hearing but complained later – and it got them nowhere. Other than very bad PR. In the world of small business I’ve seen some horrible bosses and managers. They have one thing in common – they totally refuse to see or acknowledge that the ‘problem’ is them. They give off very clear signals as well: Moaning that they can never find good staff – and that moan is a pattern. Having a high churn of staff in a sector where that’s unusual. Never taking responsibility when it’s just obvious they were at fault. Once someone who ran a company said to me ‘I never fail, I don’t do failure’ and the subtext of such a stupid statement is ‘all failures are blamed on someone else’. We all fail. Last year I was in the office of a Wiltshire business person, who I am not going to name, who was shouting at a member of staff in front of everyone (there were about 20 people in the room) and getting angry because this member of staff – who was quite new – did not understand how to use their ‘system’. It was embarrassing. This escalated into shouting at me because I approached her desk and was told to ‘stay away you can’t see any of this as it’s sensitive’. Well, I wasn’t looking at anything on her computer monitor, I was too far away to see any detail and I would never share confidential details of a client’s information anyway. The difference here is that I wasn’t an employee and I could just get my bag and leave, which I did. Later this boss called me to tell me off that I’d left. I reminded her that I was not her employee, I ran my own business and had other appointments that day so couldn’t wait around until she was ‘able’ to fit me into her diary. She knew I was coming, our meeting had been planned and it was not my fault she was too busy and I had to work with her marketing manager. Unsurprisingly, we are not working together any longer. Nor would I ever work with her again, or recommend anyone else to work with her or for her. I’d do this with not an ounce of guilt. That young person could be traumatised by that episode and there’s every chance it’s happening to someone in that office every day. If you look at reviews of this company online, you’ll see almost 30 per cent are negative and this boss is named in several. So the risk for companies these days as that such behaviour will leak out – one way or another – because victims have different tools now to put that into the public domain. This didn’t exist when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s – we just put up with bad behaviour. Alastair Greener is a generational expert and author of the book ‘Generationally Speaking – how to bridge the generation gap and communicate with confidence’. “Toxic bosses,” he said, “are often presented as a personality problem, but in many workplaces the issue runs deeper. Too many managers are promoted because they are technically good at their job, not because they have been trained to lead people well. The result is a workplace where staff can feel misunderstood, undervalued, poorly communicated with and, in some cases, driven to leave. “There is also a strong generational angle. Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) has entered the workplace with very different expectations of leadership. Many young employees have grown up with a voice at home, at school and at university so it should be expected that they will be more likely to question, challenge and expect dialogue rather than simply accept hierarchy. “That does not make them difficult; it means managers need to understand how expectations have shifted. “At the same time, older generations may have been shaped by different workplace norms, where authority, patience and ‘earning your stripes’ were more accepted. The danger comes when each generation misreads the other.” I’ve seen how my own children respond to bullying and bad behaviour and they walk away. This kind of thing is happening every day and companies which don’t pay attention to toxic bosses or managers are allowing poison to drip through the business and it will have an impact eventually. A recent survey by LiveCareer has shown that bad bosses are still abundant. They did a survey of 1,000 people across Europe and the finding are quite stark: 19 per cent of employees have already left a job due to a bad boss and 41 per cent have considered it. 76 per cent of those surveyed said bad bosses are common in the workplace and unavoidable. 66 per cent a business will ‘tolerate’ a toxic boss if they are high performing. 54 per cent do not feel safe escalating matters to HR as it might impact their own career. Signs of a toxic boss are many and often under the radar. They might include rewarding favourites, claiming the success of others as their own, humiliating people publicly, controlling every detail or exhibiting frequent passive aggressive behaviours. Taking into account the costs of recruitment and retention of staff, surely Swindon companies need to know what a good boss or manager should look like? Ashlea Fisher who runs IRecruit4 and works with several of Swindon’s larger employers, said: “As a recruiter, I’m in a unique position because we hear both sides of the story from employers and candidates and from this knowledge and experience I suggest that employers, bosses and managers need to consider three main areas.” These are:

1. Communication and consistency “The biggest complaint I hear from candidates isn’t necessarily about pay or workload, it’s about poor communication. Good managers set clear goals and expectations , provide regular feedback, and communicate consistently. Employees want to know where they stand, what success looks like, and how their work contributes to the wider business.”
2. Respect and genuine investment in people “The best managers understand people are not just resources; they’re individuals with ambitions, strengths, and challenges. Candidates regularly leave businesses because they don’t feel valued, listened to, or supported. Managers who take the time to understand their team, recognise achievements, and show genuine interest in employee development tend to retain their best talent.”
3. Accountability and leadership by example “One of the most common themes I encounter when interviewing candidates is that people rarely leave companies - they leave managers. Strong leaders hold themselves to the same standards they expect from their teams, take responsibility when things go wrong, and create a positive culture through their actions. Employees are far more likely to stay engaged and loyal when they see their manager leading from the front rather than managing from a distance.” Pete McCallum runs electrical contracting company TECC Ltd and has a team of 20. He said: “In my opinion a bad boss is bad because they don’t take the time to understand the people who work under them. They don’t lead by example, preferring to bark orders out or abdicating responsibility as opposed to training and delegating. “On the flip side, a good boss has time for any of their team and has an open door policy. They can empathise with people whilst at the same time being tough on performance. This comes from leading by example, simple things like making the team a tea or coffee, the soft skills. “When it comes to the tougher elements of a job, dealing with a complaint, they can show people how they would want it dealt with by actually doing it and instilling confidence in people to deal with the next issue when it arises.” Dave Southby of Southby & Co Financial Planning has a team of six. He said: “A good boss treats everyone as an individual whilst bringing them together through shared values and a positive culture. I believe it’s also about being approachable and having open conversations with your team so they feel valued and understood. “I’ve had good bosses in the past, learned from them and I hope I’m taking those positive experiences into my own business.” The survey does suggest that, in general, employees have a more positive experience working in a smaller company. As for Swindon’s bigger employers – please pay attention. Your reputation goes before you quicker than ever now and what do you want people to be saying about your culture?The Swindon Link Magazine Archive Over on The Ink’s sister publication Swindon Link’s website you will find an impressive archive of the past 47 years of Swindon Link magazines, giving you a huge glimpse into the town’s recent past from the beginnings of West Swindon to now. You can find the archive here. The latest magazines For the North West Swindon Link Magazine click here For the South East Swindon Link Magazine click here To contact The Ink directly email - theink@positive-media.co.uk The Ink is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support The Ink’s work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

최근 직장에서 나쁜 상사와의 경험을 다룬 글이 화제입니다. 글쓴이는 스윈돈 지역에서 다니며 다양한 기업에서의 상사의 태도가 직원들에게 미치는 영향을 강하게 지적했습니다. 여기서 특히 눈길을 끄는 표현이 있습니다. "Toxic bosses are often presented as a personality problem, but in many workplaces the issue runs deeper." 즉, 나쁜 상사를 단순히 성격 문제로 치부할 수 없다는 것이죠. 이는 고용주와 직원 모두에게 중요한 이야기입니다.

나쁜 상사와의 경험은 너무 흔하게 발생합니다. 글쓴이도 자신의 사례를 들어 이 문제를 부각합니다. 그가 참석했던 한 회의에서 상사가 직원에게 소리치고 심지어 글쓴이에게도 화를 내는 상황을 설명합니다. 그는 결국 회사를 떠나게 되었다고 말하는데, 이는 더 이상 참을 수 없는 상황이었다고 할 수 있습니다. 이 과정에서 우리는 "우리는 정말 이 변화를 원하고 있는 걸까?"라는 질문을 떠올리게 됩니다.

한 설문 조사는 나쁜 상사로 인해 직원들이 직장을 떠나는 일이 비일비재하다는 결과를 내놓았습니다. 흥미롭게도 약 41%의 직원이 나쁜 상사 때문에 직장을 고민해 본 적이 있으며, 76%는 이러한 상사들이 일반적이라는 응답을 했습니다. 꼭 나쁜 상사의 행동에 대해 목소리를 내야 한다는 점을 인지해야 하는 시점입니다.

결국 "A good boss treats everyone as an individual"라는 문장이 이 글의 핵심 중 하나입니다. 좋은 상사는 개인의 가치를 존중하며, 직원이 소속감을 느끼게 하는 걸 목표로 합니다. 스윈돈의 기업들은 이러한 좋은 상사상을 아는 것이 필수적입니다. 현재와 미래의 근무 환경을 생각할 때 명확한 메시지가 필요합니다. 나쁜 상사가 드러나는 세상에서, 좋은 리더십의 중요성을 타인에게도 전달할 수 있는 방법을 찾아야 하겠습니다.

오늘의 핵심 영어 표현

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Toxic bosses

뜻

나쁜 상사들

맥락

이 표현은 직장 내에서 상사의 행동이 얼마나 심각한 문제인지 강조하는 데 중요한 역할을 합니다. 이는 단순히 성격 문제로 국한되지 않음을 시사합니다.

예문

회사에서 나쁜 상사를 만난 경험이 있어요.

leadership by example

뜻

모범을 보이는 리더십

맥락

이 표현은 실제로 리더가 자신의 행동으로 팀원들에게 어떻게 행동해야 하는지를 보여주어야 한다는 중요성을 부각합니다.

예문

그의 리더십은 항상 모범을 보이는 데 중점을 두었습니다.

high turnover

뜻

높은 이직률

맥락

이 표현은 직원들이 자주 회사를 떠나는 상황을 지칭하며, 이는 나쁜 상사와 직접적인 연관이 있습니다.

예문

그 회사는 높은 이직률로 유명합니다.

misunderstood and undervalued

뜻

오해받고 과소평가된

맥락

이 표현은 직원들이 상사에게서 인정받지 못할 때 느끼는 감정을 굉장히 잘 설명합니다.

예문

많은 직원들이 자신이 misunderstood and undervalued된다고 느낍니다.

poor communication

뜻

불량한 소통

맥락

이 표현은 나쁜 상사의 주요 문제 중 하나로, 직원들 간의 신뢰를 줄입니다.

예문

불량한 소통이 많은 팀에서 문제가 발생했습니다.

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