CamillaGeneva, Switzerland
I like my job but not my boss. He treats his employees poorly. Is this enough of a reason to look for another job? Will leaving send my boss the signal that he should change his behavior?
I like my job but not my boss. He treats his employees poorly. Is this enough of a reason to look for another job? Will leaving send my boss the signal that he should change his behavior?
We recently participated in a discussion at a conference on why people leave their jobs. The consensus was that people don't leave their jobs, they leave their bosses. Bosses have a tremendous impact on the productivity and happiness of their employees and a bad one can make a nightmare out of an otherwise good job.
In your case, we'd bet against your boss getting the message you intend to send by leaving. Little would change, and you'd have given up a good job for nothing. A better strategy might be to stay and work carefully toward helping your boss become better at dealing with his employees.
We suggest you read "When Smart People Work for Dumb Bosses: How to Survive In a Crazy and Dysfunctional Workplace" by William and Kathleen Lundin (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, 1998) and "Games Bosses Play: 36 Career Busters Your Supervisor May Be Firing Your Way and How You Can Defend Yourself" by Russell Wild (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, 1997). These books offer advice on how to turn your type of situation around.
Stay the course and, if promoted, be the kind of boss who nurtures and cultivates others. It's your best hope for creating a lasting and meaningful change.