When Your Mind Is Wide Open, You Can Learn Great Lessons (Even From Your Toxic Boss)

This is what I learned working under a toxic boss for more than a year.

What do you want from your job? This is what I want: an inspiring environment, a cooperative boss, and of course, a decent monthly paycheck. I also want my works to be recognized. I hope you want more or less the same.

Now let me ask you, do you always get what you want in your job? According to an article published in SeedScientific, less than 50% of employees trust their companies. But the more depressing news is nearly 75% of employees quit their job because of their boss.

I worked under a toxic boss for more than a year and know very well what it means to work under bad leadership. Though I intended to work for that company for at least three years, I switched my job on only after one year and two months as I was desperate to quit my boss.

But I must admit that my toxic boss taught me some valuable lessons that will help me throughout my entire life. I think it may help you too if you are the one who runs businesses or manages people on a daily basis.

Your Employees Are Not Your Slaves

Take my former colleague, Mr. Rick (alias) as an example. When he joined the company, he worked in the marketing department. But within six months, when our boss thought he needed a man in the operation team, he told Rick to work with the operation team. Within just one year, Rick worked in four different departments. Of course, Rick didn’t like it as he always wanted to work in the marketing department, and roaming here and there was also hampering his mental peace.

Even I worked on different projects that I hardly liked. I understand it was a small company with only 20 employees and we overlapped our departments frequently. But overall, it was never a pleasant experience. And our boss never asked for our decision. Instead, he just ordered what he wanted.

His voice always had a commanding tone, which was not what we would expect from a boss. But nobody couldn’t talk about it because everyone had a family to maintain, and they couldn’t afford to lose their job.

Note

Treat your employees as your colleagues.
Don’t impose your decisions on them.
When you need to reshuffle your employees, talk to them first.

Recognize Your Employee’s Contributions

It’s been five years since I left that company, but I still have good relationships with a few of the employees of that office. And from them, I came to know that none of them are working there. All have switched their jobs. I understand the reasons. Because my toxic boss never bothered to give any credit to his employees. Instead, he would criticize if anything went wrong.

I remember we used to have a combined meeting every two weeks. And our boss would never miss a chance to remind us if any of us did anything wrong on any project. If everything was great, he would remember past mistakes and tried his best to let us know we were not good enough at what we were doing. It was extremely demotivating for all of us.

Once, I completed a project, and it was a tremendous amount of work. I was responsible for organizing a joint meeting between several banks and a government body. My tremendous efforts made the program a success. My boss was very happy. But he never bothered to even thank me for what I did. That really surprised me. I felt dishonored.

That’s why, when I got another job, I didn’t think twice and switched my job immediately. Though my payment was not that lucrative, I quit the job because I never wanted to work under a bad leader.

Note

Recognize your employee's contributions.
Inspire them with positive feedbacks.
Make them feel important, they will do everything for you.

Your Employees Don’t Have to Own Your Company

My boss always told us to own the company. In every meeting, he would say this mantra ‘You have to own the company.’ Everybody worked hard days and nights for the company. And the company was doing great. Yet all of us failed to own the company in the eyes of my boss.

In the disguise of this ‘own the company’ mantra, our boss actually wanted us to leave the office late, work unpaid overtime, and do whatever he wanted. Eventually, we realized that we could never own the company irrespective of our contributions. And it was just a technical statement made for employees like us to keep the company above everything.

I learned from my five years of experience in three different organizations is that nobody should try to own the company they work for because it is impossible. Instead, I recommend you do your work efficiently and leave the office in time even if other employees want to remain extra hours to create a good image.

Own your life and keep yourself and your family above everything. Because that truly matters in life.

Note

Never tell the employees to own the office
Appreciate them if they work efficiently and leave the office in time.
Treat your employees based on their achievements, not by the hours they spend in the office.

Final Thoughts

Working under a toxic boss is an extremely painful experience that nobody should go through. It impacts badly on employees’ mental health and reduces productivity. But most business leaders fail to understand that and treat their employees badly. If you are an employer and want to build a great working environment that enhances productivity, do the following.

Treat your employees with respect and listen to them.
Recognize their contribution and don’t criticize publicly.
Inspire and reward efficient working.

If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your organization. Treat your employees well and be an inspiring leader, not a toxic boss.

Thank you for reading.

If you want to read more of my writings, you may check out the following articles.