University of Aberdeen professor Rhonda Flin writes in the British Medical Journal that work environments that include arguments and rude comments cause people to lose concentration and increase  their likelihood of making mistakes.

The most recent and widely publicized example of a hostile work environment impacting employee concentration is the incident where two Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot their airport by 150 miles while in the midst of a “heated discussion.” The pilots, on their way from San Diego to Minneapolis with 147 passengers on board, were so involved in their argument over airline policy that they lost focus (and their way) until a cabin crew member alerted the flightdeck.

Flin’s study, conducted among college students, repeatedly showed decreased performance levels among those who had been subjected to rude comments or simply overheard rude comments. Reportedly one in ten U.S. workers witness rudeness in the workplace every day and researchers say that 48% of employees who are the targets of rudeness, reduce their work effort. It’s no wonder, rampant rudeness in the workplace, especially at the hands of a bad boss, demoralizes workers. And an unmotivated, unappreciated employee means decreased productivity for both employee and employer.

Read more about Flin’s study here at Inc.com.

According to a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, leadership is often about who’s the loudest, not who’s right.  In the first study, students were recruited and divided into teams with the task of creating fictional nonprofit groups.  Members rated one another on level of competence and influence over the group.  People who spoke up the most were rated as “intelligent” while quieter members were described as “uncreative”.

The second study aimed at being more quantifiable, and had team members solving math problems from the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).  People who spoke up first and more often were again rated as leaders.  Thing is, these “leaders” were not the ones giving the most correct answers.   U.C . Berkeley associate professor of organizational behavior, Cameron Anderson led the study and says “Even though they were not more competent, dominant individuals behaved as if they were.”  Bottom line, the people in charge of us may not know more, they might just be louder and pushier.  Your boss may not be as smart as she thinks she is. Duh.

Source: Time Magazine

Inc. Magazine recently posted an article about managing the office bully and contacted yours truly for some advice. In the piece Raven Hill offers tips on reining in the office bully. Here’s an excerpt from the article…

How to Manage an Office Bully: Are You a Bully?

Denise Dawson, who runs the ReallyBadBoss.com blog, describes her first boss as “the worst bully,” a cursing and screaming type who preferred to rule by fear.  “We felt like prisoners more than employees,” she says. “Morale was awful. Attrition was atrocious.”
She worked at a small, family-owned company that made bikini wax products. The lowest point came when he asked another employee to model a bikini to give him a better idea of how they could improve their products. “And she wore it,” Dawson says. “None of us said anything. We were all scared of losing our jobs.”

What Dawson witnessed may be extreme, but the fear she described is not unique. Do your employees complain of random sabotage, harassment, humiliation or isolation? There’s a good chance they are being bullied.

OfficeArrow, an online community for office managers and small business owners, created a quiz to see if you are a bully. For those who fear they are in a bully’s bull’s eye, the Workplace Bullying Institute has a checklist of early bullying signs that includes an unreasonably demanding boss, “surprise” meetings designed to humiliate, retaliatory behavior, unfounded accusations of harassment, and extreme work-related stress that interferes with your health and personal life.

Read the complete article, including a definition of workplace bullying, online at Inc.com.

Even though I’m sure I hold the record for having he worst luck when it comes to bosses, and although I came home every day and railed against them for hours, there are a few things I never did when it came to my bosses. And if you need your job, which most of us do, I suggest you never do them either…

1. Bad mouth your boss to colleagues. It’s one thing to discuss specific tasks your boss has asked you to complete, but it’s another thing entirely to tell everyone in earshot that you think he’s an idiot. For one thing, you never know who you can trust. Some people’s answer to dealing with a bad boss is to turn into the office snoop. Trust no one.

2. Boss bash on social media. Lock your twitter account, guard your friend list with your life or just don’t post any disparaging remarks against your boss while you’re in her employ. The truth is, everything and I mean everything you post on the web can be accessed by someone else – even people you don’t ever want to see it. Leave the bad boss rants to in person meetings with friends you trust.

3. Steal from your employer – The temptation might be great, especially if you’re not being paid very well or you feel you need “hazzard pay” for putting up with a tyrant of a boss, but stealing from your employer is never a good idea. The big ones are easy, like not raiding petty cash or stealing money or products, but if you’re doing other work on the company’s time, photocopying your weekly church bulletin or stocking your home office with your company’s supplies, you’re stealing from your company and it will eventually catch up to you.

4. Bad mouth a former bad boss during an interview – It comes across as sour grapes and leaves your potential employer wondering what you’ll say about him when you get the chance. Instead, talk about what you learned from your former boss (which, if you’re paying attention can be a lot) and how you plan on using what you’ve learned in your new position.

5. Threaten your boss –It might seem as though it goes without saying but we’ve shared stories of bossnapping and slipping bosses drugs before. In both cases, employees ended up arrested and with hefty fines. No bad boss is worth that kind of trouble. If it gets to the point where you’re imagining doing your boss harm, it’s past time to go.

This week I’m featuring a couple of my favorite blogs, plus a link to Really Bad Boss in Inc. Magazine…

• eBossWatch uses an evaluation form to let people anonymously rate their current or former bosses. The site’s founder also runs GreatPlaceJobs a source that helps job seekers find jobs at award-winning great workplaces.

• The Earmark always manages to wrangle up a great list of really bad bosses, mostly of the political kind. Here’s the most recent.

• Workforce Management Today asks the question; Has the employer-employee relationship changed for good? A quote from someone they interviewed for the article pretty much sums it up, “Let them fire me. I don’t even care what happens anymore. I’ll just go work somewhere else and be totally unhappy in that job too.”

• On her blog A Meaningful Existence, Karen shares The top 5 reasons to leave your job – no surprise here, a bad boss is number one. And while this economy might have you staying put for a while, it’s important to note her suggestions, particularly about doing something everyday to move towards finding a better job, and a better boss.

• Over on Inc. online, Raven Hill offers advice on managing bully bosses and guess who was tapped for the piece. Check out the story and Really Bad Boss’ mention here.