It is not a big workload that causes depression at work. An unfair boss and an unfair work environment are what really bring employees down. A huge pile of unfinished work is not the main reason why employees become depressed; a heavy workload has no effect on whether or not employees become depressed. Instead, it is the work environment and the feeling of being treated unfairly by the management that has the greatest effect on an employee’s mood. We may have a tendency to associate depression and stress with work pressure and workload; however, in the main workload actually has no effect on workplace depression. I recommend a management style in which there is a clearly expressed wish to treat employees properly – combined with a transparent organisational structure. Throughout your career, you will undoubtedly have numerous bosses. Some will be good, some will be bad. Very few will be outstanding, and hopefully, very few will be outstandingly bad. Early in my career, those many years ago, I had the tremendous privilege of having the best boss I’ve ever had, a Hungarian from Germany, he was a strong manager with an outlook that has stuck with me throughout my life. His governing philosophy was, “Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you’ll do!” and I’ve tried to emulate his approach throughout my career, generally to very positive effect. Shortly after working for this great boss, I had the misfortune of working for the worst boss I’ve ever had, who I won’t name. This boss was a petty tyrant, mean, spiteful, vindictive, credit stealing, and overall a terrible boss. I’m actually grateful for having had the experience (despite the living hell of working through it). It demonstrated so forcefully what I would strive to never become, particularly after working for the first boss, who showed so positively what I absolutely wanted to become. This bad boss set a negative example so bad, that all my other bosses, and many other assorted managers I’ve known, all showed much better characteristics than this one bad boss ever did. Overall, the learning experience of working with such a variety of bosses and boss types has been truly educating, helping to learn what works, what doesn’t, what to emulate and dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
Page 1 of 6
expand on, what to reject and avoid, and how to be as effective as possible in doing your own work and in helping to successfully direct the efforts of others. What follows are some thoughts on the characteristics of good bosses and what they can do to improve the lives of their employees, and what bad bosses can look like and how they undermine the work of their employees.
Leadership:
A good boss shows leadership by example, and helps his/her employees learn about leadership, whether that is leadership of a subgroup, of a project, of a specific effort, showing leadership in meetings, or any of a wide variety of other leadership approaches.
A bad boss tends to ignore his/her employees, except when they’re really needed, and generally provides little in the way of useful guidance or true leadership. He/she also tends to use his/her employees as pawns to blame for problems for which the bad boss is actually responsible.
Clear Expectations:
A good boss gives his/her employees clear expectations on what they’re expected to do, and on how they can best accomplish it. He/she doesn’t do the job for them, doesn’t spoon feed them every step of the way, and doesn’t think for them. He/she just lets them know what is expected of them, and how they can best accomplish what is expected. If employees come back with questions or concerns, a good boss answers and guides them, again, without doing the work for them. A bad boss typically gives vague descriptions of the job and avoids getting further involved, often discouraging further interaction. This makes it easier for a bad boss to place blame.
Meaningful Objectives:
A good boss provides his/her employees with meaningful objectives, with goals and targets to shoot for that capture the importance and value of the work they are about to pursue, and that make their work understandable. Such goals and targets should be concrete, achievable, and actually fun to shoot for. They should tie together the context of the work of multiple people, bringing out competitiveness in a positive, enjoyable, and professional fashion, rather than in dreary, repetitive, breaking rocks, just doing work for work’s sake kind of way . A bad boss gives his/her employees work assignments, but without specific or meaningful objectives, goals, or targets to achieve. They are assigned work, but without context or meaning, making it difficult for them to succeed, or effectively work together.
dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
Page 2 of 6
A Sense of purpose:
A good boss provides his/her employees with a true sense of purpose, an understanding of the common goal of their work, and a reason for them to work closely together to achieve that goal in a way that builds a true esprit de corps. When a good boss provides such an exciting common sense of purpose, it can make people really look forward to coming to work every day! A bad boss may describe the basic job, but fails to let the employees understand the opportunities that can make the job exciting and enjoyable, or the best ways to approach it. He/she thus turns what could be a truly inspiring opportunity into just another dreary job.
Autonomy and Independence:
A good boss provides his/her employees with high degrees of autonomy and independence. He/she allows his/her employees to make their assignments truly theirs, as most people care more when they’re in charge, empowered, and in control. Such freedom encourages innovation, and finding new ways for them to accomplish what needs to be done in the ways that work best for the individual employees. A bad boss micromanages and oversees every detail, giving their employees little freedom to do the job their way or to show their unique flair and ingenuity.
Praise in public; Criticize in private:
A good boss knows that every employee does some things well, even a relatively poor performer, and that when an employee does something very well, it should receive praise and appreciation. Such praise should be given in public (as well as in private), so that others learn that good work is recognized for others to see. At the same time, when an employee does something wrong or badly, it is necessary for that person to get constructive criticism letting him/her know what was wrong. However, such criticism should be given in private, to avoid public embarrassment, and the stigma that could come with it. A bad boss is stingy with praise, if he/she gives it at all, and very public with criticism, often enjoying making a spectacle out of some real or imagined instance of poor performance. This makes working for a bad boss even more deplorable.
Consistency:
dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
A good boss is consistent in his/her interactions with all employees, treating every person fairly and consistently. Since every person is different and their assignments are different, the interactions with every person may be different, but the treatment should be consistent and fair. Open and honest communication is key to such consistency, particularly Page 3 of 6
when keeping people informed about decision making and how it affects them. A bad boss is often very inconsistent, treating different employees differently, showing favouritism, telling different employees different things about the same actions, etc. Such inconsistent behaviour breeds discontent and contempt for the boss, and is destructive to both the boss and his/her employees. Clearly, there are many other good/bad boss differentiators. For example: encourages/doubts, listens/ignores, trusts/mistrusts, humble/arrogant, communicates/secretive, empathetic/self-cantered, even tempered/bad tempered, decisive/indecisive, sense-of-humour/bad-humour, etc. I invite you to send me more examples. Regardless of the specifics, a good boss can make your work life an enjoyable experience that you look forward to every day, and a bad boss can make your work life a living hell that you dread going to. If you’ve got a bad boss, do what you can to change that, either by finding ways to change your bad boss into a good boss, or by getting moved to a good boss. This information may help you learn better what to look for. Life is too short to spend most of your time working for a bad boss!
Say What You Mean Mean What You Say And Do What You Say You'll Do! Let’s dissect this expression by discussing each of its parts.
First, “Say what you mean”. How many people do you know who say what they think the people they’re talking to want or expect to hear rather than speaking the unvarnished facts? Or present things in “politically correct” terminology, often obfuscating what they’re saying in seemingly “proper” language. When this happens, the facts are not really presented. Often when they speak in this fashion, the people they’re speaking with need to apply a “reverse translator” (or bullsh!t filter) to try to convert what has been said to what was really meant.
This approach is extremely inefficient and often misleading or even dangerous. Isn’t it better to hear what was meant rather than what the speaker thinks you want to hear? How can people expect to make informed decisions if the person speaking to them isn’t saying what he/she means? By really saying what you mean, you cut through the clutter and present the facts or your direct opinion so that things can be discussed meaningfully without dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
Page 4 of 6
going through a kabuki dance. While this direct approach of saying what you mean may startle, surprise, or discomfort others, you’re really better off knowing directly what was meant rather than having to interpret, often incorrectly. This doesn’t mean you should be insulting, just direct. Next, “Mean what you say”. If you say what you mean, but you don’t really mean what you say, what have you gained or what has the person you’re speaking with gained? If you don’t mean what you say, you’re lying or at least misleading. There may be times when you want to be careful not to hurt someone’s feelings or betray a trust, but that means being diplomatic, not misleading. If you say what you mean, and mean what you say, you can build a foundation of trust. You speak your mind, and stand behind what you’re saying. Done right, people will recognize that while they may not always like or agree with what you say, they know they will always get the straight scoop from you. By not coupling these two parts together, trust relationships will become difficult if not impossible. Finally, “Do what you say you’ll do”. If you commit to do something, follow through! Deliver on what you’ve promised. Let people see that your word is your bond. If circumstances prevent you from delivering fully, report back the cause of the problem. By saying what you mean and meaning what you say, you’ve gone a long way to build trust with the people you work and deal with. If you don’t then follow through on your commitments, that trust will not only be squandered, it will leave a very bad taste in other people’s mouths. You’ve led them to believe you and trust you, and then you let them down. Trust is difficult to build, but extremely easy to destroy. Be the person you would like to be and the person you would like others to be.
This is much like the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, but I believe “Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you’ll do” goes beyond that. It lets people know that you are a straight shooter who tells it like it is and delivers on your commitments. You are someone who can be trusted and valued. Now of course, we’re all human and we sometimes fall short of our ideal behaviour. No one is perfect. Still, when that happens, recognize it (sometimes this may be difficult, but as they say recognizing that you have a problem is a critical first step), apologize sincerely for falling short, and do what is required to correct your shortfall and go beyond what is required. Do dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
Page 5 of 6
this willingly and with gusto. With such a positive attitude you can recover lost trust. Without such an attitude, hard earned trust may be lost forever. It is for others to tell whether I live up to this credo, for trust is earned and not owed. I hope that I do, and I strongly recommend this to others. So remember, “Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say, and Do What You Say You’ll Do!”
Right! It’s up to you Boyoooh!
dodie ste®eo p®odu©tion ™
Page 6 of 6