Latest Headlines on OCRegister.com
[x] Close
OC Business News ~ All the latest news that matters to Orange County investors, consumers and businesses.
« Previous Post
Next Post »

Bad news: that mean boss probably won’t get better

October 15th, 2009, 1:27 pm · 7 Comments · posted by Peggy Lowe

 badboss2

So after all those nights tossing and turning, the many attempts at flattery or plain-old sucking-up, do you really want to know why your boss is a mocking, belittling monster?

Seems he just doesn’t feel good about himself

A new study by researchers at USC’s Marshall School of Business and UC-Berkeley found a direct link between self-perceived incompetence and aggression among supervisors and upper management.

“When people in high-power positions feel incompetent they tend to respond with aggression toward others because it makes them feel superior,” said Nathanael J. Fast, a USC assistant professor of management and organization

Some 37 percent of American workers — 54 million people -– have reported being bullied at work, according to a 2007 survey cited by the researchers. Those aggressive behaviors reported by those bullied include being sabotaged, yelled at or being belittled.

While past studies have shown that bosses act aggressively when they have an especially high need for power, this study, which was co-authored by Serena Chen, a UC Berkeley associate professor of psychology, went further. It found that a threatened ego, caused by the boss’s own sense of incompetence, triggered the hostility

The news about fixing the problem is not promising. The researchers report that the manager who lashes out because of his feelings of inadequacy loses respect and influence with his subordinates. That only exacerbates the manager’s feeling of incompetence and a vicious cycle is created.

Is there hope for such a bad boss? The researchers were pessimistic about this, too. They found that when managers are encouraged to focus on other parts of their lives where they do feel competent, they are less likely to be aggressive. If the boss uses self-affirmations about a good family life or friends, it can diminish the influence to become hostile, the researchers report.

But the study reports that “the very power holders who feel inadequate may be the least likely to engage in this type of self-reflection,” according to a release.

And your attempts at boosting the boss’s self-esteem with excessive flattery, compliments and old-fashioned sucking up? Not really going to help.

“It is both interesting and ironic to note that such flattery, although perhaps affirming to the ego, may contribute to the incompetent power-holder’s ultimate demise—by causing the power holder to lose touch with reality,” the report said

Read the report here.

Tell us your story: do you have a bad boss like the one researchers found? And what’s the worst thing he or she did to you?

Share this post:
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • NewsVine
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
Posted in: O.C. business news
 
ADVERTISEMENT

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Reader Comments
Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our User Agreement.
  1. Keep it civil and stay on topic.
  2. No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks.
  3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.

 7 Comments

  • OC4truth says:
    October 15, 2009 at 3:37 pm

    Well this isn’t surprising. That seems true of most bullies, that they are insecure.

    I have had insecure bosses and realized that I needed to be aware of that and avoid things that made them feel threatened. If you are smarter than your boss, that can be hard. Things like asking intelligent questions can make some feel insecure, while a good boss would appreciate it.

    I think one thing to do would be to be aware that it is coming from a sense of insecurity and so avoid contributing further to that or things they could perceive as threatening. Look for ways to affirm the boss, without insincere flattery. Most everyone is a combination of good and bad.

    But just realizing the boss’s insecurity and if possible showing some interest in the person could help. People can often read attitudes.

    It depends on the boss, but at least avoiding criticism and really overt things that would feed their insecurity could help make life easier for the employee.

  • alisha johnson says:
    October 15, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    What if your boss is cleary a b*tch and belittles you on a daily basis, while never showing up to work? Any way to get out of that job without just quitting? Is that a reason to be able to collect unemployment?

    • contrarian says:
      October 15, 2009 at 10:06 pm

      How can your boss belittle you on a daily basis if she’s never there?

      Maybe you can just do what your boss does and never show up. See if that works.

  • Mac says:
    October 15, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    I have a guy I work for that likes to be highly condescending, aggressive & obnoxious on a daily basis. Always said it was because of his overwhelming insecurities. I was dead on.

  • Marla Jo Fisher, Staff Writer says:
    October 15, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Gee, i can think of a few bosses I’ve had over the years that fit that description! And yup I don’t think any of them ever changed.

  • Sick of the boss says:
    October 16, 2009 at 7:37 am

    I have a 28 year old boss who was hired because he keeps his face in the manager’s butt
    This guy is stupid and worst of all has turrets!
    Blows snot out of his nose
    Cracks his neck 200 degrees back and forth
    Eats junk food all the time
    Is so hyper he throws up most of the time
    Coughs in my and other employees faces
    Wastes incredible amounts of money
    Treats us like dirt
    But they can’t fire him because he will sue!
    Hopping he will have a massive heart attack or stroke

  • working man says:
    October 17, 2009 at 12:26 am

    OK, I agree this study could explain some aggression some of the time, no doubt (and I’ve been on the receiving end of it enough times), but could it not also sometimes be justified indignation? Or frustration?

    Have you seen the number of incompetent people in the work pool lately? This alone could disprove the theory of evolution (lol). Or how about the pressure for a boss (a real boss, not the 28 yr old wacko wannabe) to live up to unreasonably high expectations?

    I realized a long time ago that there are no perfect bosses but we’d all like to have one, huh? And we can all feel better about our own incompetence by agreeing with the study results in an almost knee-jerk fashion because it appeals to our own insecurities.

    Anyone here actually been a boss? Don’t be too quick to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.