Bosses, by their very nature, are not always warm and cozy figures. Turbulent economic times don’t make them any easier to get along with.
Recognizing that bosses are the gatekeepers on their career paths, wise careerists will cut them a little slack and work harder to make their boss relationships mutually rewarding.
Career Tip: As hard as it may be a times, it is productive to realize that bosses are human, too.
They are under more pressure than ever before for increased productivity and greater profits from fewer resources. Deadlines, once set in weeks are now often same-day. Accountability, measured by demanding metrics, is exercised to an exhausting degree. The pressure is growing for quarter-to-quarter increases in profits.
Many of the perks that made life more pleasant have disappeared. Easy days, time to kick back and enjoy the trip, have gone away.
Bosses are expected to learn new skills and different ways of doing things. Trained in a culture of building staffs, they are often forced to dismantle and reconfigure in endless accordion motions. They have to drop the axe on good employees as well as goof-offs.
Managers are suffering from what has been described as “survivor sickness.”
With all of this turmoil going on, is it any wonder that bosses are harder to trust and get along with than ever before?
Workers’ Confidence On Downhill Slide
Meanwhile, studies of employee attitudes show repeatedly that workers’ confidence in their employers is on a downhill slide.
“The day when management could say, ‘Trust us, this is for your own good’ are over,” according to a report from Opinion Research Corporation. “Employees have seen that if the company steams off in some new strategic tack and it doesn’t work, employees lose their jobs, not management.”
In this sort of environment it is not surprising that many bosses act like endangered species, frightened and insecure. Feeling threatened, are driven to protect their turf. They chop away at any signs of independence.
“They (bosses) become hostile toward those around them or toward themselves…or they try to impose strict controls on everything within their jurisdiction,” declares Dr. Gerald Kraines, a Harvard psychiatrist.
“As job security declines, anxiety increases, trust goes by the wayside, and people at all levels…start behaving in bizarre and unpredictable ways,” declares Industry Week magazine. “Just because someone has the word ‘manager’ printed on their business card doesn’t mean that person is immune to the external pressures all of us feel. You boss may appear to be an unfeeling, insensitive automaton. More likely, he or she is reacting to the same workplace changes you are.”
It’s worth repeating every day: bosses are human, too. Give your boss the benefit of the doubt. The wise careerists double their efforts to take pressure off their bosses and make them look good in the eyes of the organization.
I wish you career success!
Ramon Greenwood
