Six Signs of a Toxic Boss

How can you tell if the person interviewing you will be a toxic boss? Here are some things to watch out for.

1. Disrespectful Behavior such as failing to return e-mails or delaying an interview without apology may indicate employee relation problems in a supervisor. Don’t be surprised when your request for a raise gets postponed, or worse, ignored.

2. Defensive Body Language like avoiding eye contact, constant shifting, and excessive fidgeting could be signs of insecurity. A boss in constant fear of losing his/her job will be less likely to invest in your career.

3. Blaming Others for company misfortunes, especially during an interview, certainly is a sign that you might get thrown under the bus when things don’t go as expected.

4. Pessimism and Negativity can corrupt a work environment, and over time, become a source of enormous amounts of stress for you at the workplace and also at home.

5. Self Absorption indicates that the boss cares mostly about themselves and that they can be very difficult to work with over a long period of time. Your potential ideas will fall on deaf ears, and if they do manage to get noted, you may not get the credit you deserve.

6. Obsessive Tendencies with miniscule details while failing to see the big picture is a classic trait of a micromanager. Micromanaging can squelch individual creativity and instill feelings of apathy in the workplace.

(From a Seminar on Reading People by Dr. Mimi Hull)

 


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