5 not-so-obvious signs you’re a horrible boss and employees probably hate you

Recently, a lot of attention has been given to bosses who create a toxic atmosphere at work, but the truth is that many toxic bosses lack self-awareness, and introspection is hard, so let’s help them with some clarity.

Here are five not-so-obvious signs you’re a terrible boss:

1. You say things like “We’re a family” or “We are building something big”

This is often a gaslighting technique used to make people take on things that aren’t really part of their job description, because how else can a boss rationalise forcing all his or her employees to attend their colleague's naming ceremony or wedding and contribute money towards it? You can’t enforce what people use their private time and money to do.

Another way the "we are a family" phrase leads to toxicity is sending employees on errands that have nothing to do with work, like picking up your laundry.

We are building something big in another phrase toxic bosses say to force you to take pay cuts and work crazy hours. It’s often healthier to differentiate work from family.

2. You have no filter

Steve Carrell played Michael Scott in the TV Series 'The Office'. He often had no filter when speaking to his subordinates [peacock] Pulse Nigeria

A quality of a good boss is tact, and a quality of a bad boss is a lack of tact. There are just some things you shouldn’t say, like sexual jokes such as “I bet you had a wild night last weekend” or “When was the last time you had sex?”.

Also, when passing criticism, you shouldn’t cast aspersions on their character or mutter full-blown insults like, “You are dumb” or "fool" “stupid”.

3. You don’t pay salaries on time, but you expect your employees to work

To expect people to put in their best and even come to the office and not pay them when due is akin to emotional torture. If you can’t pay your employees, you probably shouldn’t hire them in the first place.

4. You are always calling for work at odd hours and weekends

If you are sending an urgent email or putting a phone call through by 12 a.m. in the middle of the night, then you are quite toxic. Except that it’s a matter of literal life and death, there is no need to send that mail or put that call through to your employees. The same rule applies on weekends and when they are on vacation.

5. You love long, pointless meetings

Before you schedule a long meeting, ask yourself, “Can this be an email?” If you love to waste everyone’s time in meetings that really don’t add to productivity, then rest assured that your employees or subordinates probably hate you.