Boss bashing is becoming an epidemic

“The average American spends fifteen hours a month criticizing or complaining about their boss.”

–Recent research from DDI

I learned this factoid from Marshall Goldsmith’s book Mojo: How to Get it, How to Keep it, How to Get it Back if You Lose it.  As Marshall explains:  “I initially chose to believe that this research was wrong, but when I conducted a similar study of two hundred employees, my results were exactly the same.”  He elaborates:

Many of us bash the boss at work, after work, even on weekends when our only audiences are our partners or captive family members.  That fifteen hours is more time than Americans devote to watching baseball which suggests that our real national pastime is bashing the boss.

A little bit of boss bashing may be understandable, in the same way that stepping outside to scream at the top of our lungs releases some of our pent-up frustrations.  But whatever therapeutic benefit we derive from this form of complaining is far outweighed by the negatives.

For one thing, it’s not particularly attractive.  Trashing the boss when he or she is not in the room to put up a defense makes even the most eloquent whiner appear small and cowardly.  People wonder why you don’t say it to the boss’s face.  They may also wonder what you are saying about them out of earshot.

It’s futile to critique people who aren’t even in the room.  They can’t hear you talking or respond to what you are saying (although trust me, through boss’s intuition, he or she senses your disdain).  Nothing constructive will come out of it.  You won’t build a better boss with your jibes.  You’ll only tarnish your own reputation, plus risk that the boss may hear about you through office gossip (or overhear you when you think no one’s listening).

More than anything, boss bashing is unproductive.  Imagine what you could accomplish if you dedicated those fifteen hours to something of consequence (like going to night school or being with your family)?

The next time you start to bash the boss, think about what you may be doing to yourself and those around you. If you really have a problem with your boss, talk to him or her about it.  If you feel that you cannot talk with the person, leave.  If you cannot talk with the person, and cannot leave, accept the situation and make the best of it.

Thanks, Marshall, for showing us how better to channel a common work frustration!  Read more on Marshall's website.

Bob Nelson, Ph.D.

President, Nelson Motivation Inc.

Multi-Million Copy Best-selling Author

1501 Ways to Reward Employees

(858) 673-0690 direct

www.drbobnelson.com

Based in San Diego, California USA
Named as a Top Thought Leader for 2013 by the Best Practice Institute