The high costs of low morals and destructive behavior of bad bosses
Ah, bad bosses. Most of us have had at least one in our careers.
You know the type: their management style is characterized by abusive, manipulative, and self-centered behaviors. They run the show on a mix of fear, intimidation, coercion, and control. They lack empathy, blame others for their mistakes, and can’t accept feedback.
In my last post, I shared some stories from fairly early in my career about a cartoonishly bad boss (although no one who had to work under this dictator was laughing). While J.R.'s outsized awfulness took place nearly 30 years ago, I’m worried about the rise of toxic leaders in our politics and the risk of spillover effects in business. We must actively resist returning to this outdated, destructive brand of leadership.
In this post, I outline some adverse effects on employees and organizations, including undermined morale, reduced productivity, increased stress and burnout, and higher turnover rates.
Just as a single drop of oil can poison a well, toxic bosses pollute their work environments to catastrophic effect. Here’s how.
Engagement plummets
The biggest hit I see toxic leaders having on their organizations is on people's commitment to their jobs and overall engagement–and who can blame them? Why should you care about your work when your boss clearly doesn’t care about you?
Toxic leaders often create hostile work environments that degrade employee morale and job satisfaction. Constant criticism, unrealistic expectations, and lack of support can demoralize even the most dedicated workers. When employees feel undervalued and mistreated, their enthusiasm and engagement with their work drop like a stone.
Productivity takes a nosedive
Bad bosses don’t just hurt feelings; they can also have very real financial impacts. Instead of helping the bottom line by being “tough,” toxic leaders often hurt it through reduced productivity and increased recruitment costs.
Companies suffer from high turnover rates, reduced productivity, and increased healthcare costs due to the stress and burnout associated with toxic work environments, as these pieces by McKinsey & Company and the Ivey Business Journal detail.
Burnout is ignited
It is exhausting for employees to come to work every day and navigate a workplace ruled by a dark overlord, where it feels like they are walking on eggshells. Under constant pressure and scrutiny, employees can experience increased rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, which affect their sense of well-being AND their productivity and performance.
Collaboration is crushed
Successful teams run on trust, which toxic leaders erode through their manipulative behavior. In this setting, people become more guarded and suspicious, more hesitant to share ideas or seek help, and less communicative and collaborative. A toxic leader's divisive tactics can foster a culture of competition and conflict rather than cooperation, where employees are pitted against each other rather than encouraged to work as a team.
All this delivers a gut punch to innovation, which thrives in environments where employees feel safe, valued, and empowered to take chances. Toxic leaders stifle creativity and discourage initiative, leading to a stagnant, risk-averse culture.
Diversity and inclusion suffer
Toxic leadership disproportionately affects underrepresented groups, including women and minorities. These leaders often create environments that hinder diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, exacerbating the challenges these groups face in the workplace (McKinsey & Company)
Reputational damage
In the age of social media and online reviews, your organization’s reputation is more vulnerable than ever. Word of toxic leadership practices can spread quickly online and in real life, damaging your organization’s brand and making it difficult to attract top talent. A tarnished reputation can also affect relationships with clients, customers, and business partners.
And…the doom cycle continues
Bad leaders typically hire bad leaders, spawning a whole org chart of toxic mini-me managers. This ripple effect can accelerate quickly with exponentially toxic leadership (remember that 1980s Faberge shampoo ad, where Heather Locklear “told two friends about it, and they told two friends, and so on,” into infinity? Same idea, just with bad bosses, not gorgeous hair).
As we see from this laundry list of workplace disasters, the consequences of toxic leadership are far-reaching and detrimental. Being caring, and coming from a place of character isn’t just good for your humanity and that of your team – it’s better for your business, too.
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