U.S. Workers Report Toxic Boss Behaviors

For most people, the relationship they have with their boss is the most important work relationship they have. For most workers in the United States, that is a problem.

According to new survey research from The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice, 60 percent of American workers say they have a boss who exhibits toxic behaviors, and a total of 70 percent say they have had at least one toxic boss during their career.

What are the signs of a toxic boss? In this poll, workers asked about several different negative behaviors, and a third or more of workers reported their bosses had exhibited at least one out of seven notable behaviors:

Toxic situations have adverse consequences for organizations. Disengagement at work has become a major issue, particularly for midlevel managers. In the Harris Poll, 61 percent of American workers said “the minute… the job market improves, I plan on switching my job due to my boss.” In addition, more than 60 percent said they actively avoid their boss at work.

In general, workers are hesitant to take action against toxic behavior from their supervisor—63 percent said they feared being labelled too sensitive or not a team player. However, 55 percent reported that they had been pushed far enough to take one of eight actions the poll asked as a reaction. Setting firm work-life boundaries was the action taken by most workers (22 percent). Other actions they took included getting feedback in writing, reaching out to human resources or a higher manager, and taking medical or mental health leave.

One interesting finding in the survey: Generation Z (defined as ages 18-29) employees were more likely to take action, with 73 percent reporting they had taken one of the actions.

Not only are toxic bosses bad for organizations, they can be dangerous. In Security Management’s “Publicly Humiliating Events: A Precursor to Workplace Violence?” experts Karie Gibson, Lauren Brubaker, and Andre Simons examined toxicity in organizations.

“Security and human resources (HR) professionals know well that terminations, disciplinary problems, and conflicts between coworkers (including interpersonal conflicts and bullying) can quickly escalate and amplify pre-existing feelings of animosity and rage,” they wrote. “These events can cause an employee to feel publicly humiliated and isolated, fueling a potential attacker’s grievance against a company.”

For those experiencing toxicity in the workplace, Sarah J. Powell, writing for Security Management, advised that they set boundaries, seek support from allies within the organization, document incidents, practice self-care, and take control of their career path by seeking healthier environments.

Security leaders, and other executives and managers, have a responsibility to try to correct toxic cultures within their organizations. Elaine Palome, director of human resources, Americas, for Axis Communications, outlined four areas for organizational leaders to build a positive culture in their organizations:

Address discrimination and harassment claims. If someone is upset about their work environment, get to the bottom of it. If it is found to be just a disagreement, determine how you can get the individuals involved to work better together. If it is a true harassment or discrimination case, then it must be acted upon.

Assure company communication is crystal clear. Communicate as much as you can without divulging confidential information. Be transparent so that people aren’t left to fill in the blanks on their own.

Set realistic standards. Avoid setting the productivity bar so high that you’re sacrificing people’s mental and physical health. Watch for burnout. Say “thank you.”

Have a strong set of core values. Any company can go through the exercise of asking, “What do we value as an organization? What are the acceptable norms of behavior? What behaviors are going to help us win business and drive profitability?” Business leaders then must communicate those values and hold people accountable.