We've managed far and wide to research bosses and how they operate. And so we present bosses by the brass tacks - our favorite surveys of boss related behaviors.
Worst Bossy Traits
The dark side of the management force includes such bossy skills as:
- belittling people in public (41%)
- lying (34%)
- being demeaning or condescending (32%)
- humiliating and embarrassing others (24%)
- micromanaging and generally being picky (22%)
Male vs. Female Bosses
He-Managers are favored over She-Bosses:
- 37% prefer having a male boss
- 19% prefer having a female boss
- 43% say it wouldn't make a difference either way
However, there's also signs that the glass ceiling continues to crack... younger workers are almost evenly divided; for workers aged 18 and 34, 31% say they prefer a male boss, and 29% say they prefer a female boss.
Bossy Big Brothers
Management by monitoring is alive and well, according to data from the America Management Association that shows:
- 26% of managers have fired workers because of their Internet usage
- 25% have canned employees for e-mail misuse
- 6% have fired employees due to their use or misuse of office telephones
More than half of workers in the U.S. have dated a co-worker, and 21% of workers have admitted they've dated their boss.
Of these racy managerial romances, 25% of men say dating the boss helped their careers, compared with 13% of women. (Not sure what this suggests for the other 75% of men and 87% of women...?)
Moving up the Corporate Food Chain
Managers feed the networking beast... literally. Having dinner with their own bosses is the most common way for managers to scale the corporate ladder, with 48% of managers breaking bread with their bosses. Coming in second is golfing or other sports-related activities, at 33% of managers.
Boss Firing Addiction
80,700 employees are fired each day in the U.S... well, at least employees in the pink slip printing business have good job security.
Boss Job Insecurity
Ever got a sense that your boss would rather be somewhere else? Well, it's true: half of U.S. middle managers want to work somewhere else. 38% of middle managers are currently looking for another job, and another 10% will look for another job as soon as the economy improves. Why? 56% of middle managers looking to switch their allegiances want more money, and <gasp> 6% are leaving because they hate their own boss.
Take this Job and Re staff it
30% of workers who plan to leave their current jobs would change their mind if they were able to work under a different boss or management team. (So, if you're a boss and you want to retain your best and brightest, maybe the right strategy is to rightsize yourself? Note... we joke because we love!)
Bosses as Bullies
9 in 10 employees have dealt with a bully boss in their career. No, we're not sure how many wedgies are given or received at work.
