What is the ideal boss? I asked a handful of people to name three characteristics that they wanted in their ideal boss. The qualities that were wanted weren’t complex or difficult to achieve, but rather simple and straightforward. In addition, I analyzed a research article that studied how managers’ behavior impacts employee turnover rate. The study focused in on two different behavior tactics and found that one tactic increased the likelihood of employee turnover rate, while the other tactic decreased employee turnover rate. Knowing what kind of qualities employees want in an ideal boss is beneficial because it can help prevent employee turnover rate due to mismanagement.
Interviews:
Karely, a 24-year-old woman states that her ideal boss would be “Informative, assertive, [and] compassionate.” She explains that an informative leader would state exactly what he or she expects from you job-wise. Karely believes that an assertive boss is able to “take control of situations, handle customers,” and can be relied on. Lastly, Karely says that a compassionate boss is understanding of employees’ needs and is able to keep employees happy and satisfied.
Josh, a 30-year-old male thinks of an ideal boss as “someone who knows their employees well and trusts in their ability to do the job.” He also believes that an ideal boss “understands and treats their employees like people.” To Josh, this means that the boss is “sympathetic and willing to work with whatever hardships their employees encounter in their daily lives.” Lastly, he firmly believes that “the best kind of boss is someone who respects people, both employees and clients.”
Robert, a 38-year-old male describes an ideal boss as someone who has a “laissez-faire approach to management.” He states that as a teacher it is very important that his boss trusts him “as both a content and pedagogical expert.” Robert believes that principals should verify trust through formal observations and occasional pop-ins, but that they shouldn’t micromanage. Robert thinks a boss “should advocate for appropriate time management.” He has found that administration “at the higher (district) level, has a tendency to impose meetings, extra requirements, paper, etc., onto teachers without much consideration for their time.” Lastly, Robert asserts that the ideal boss “should hold reasonable expectations in line with the salary given.”
Paige, a 24-year-old-woman says that an ideal boss is “patient, kind, and just.” She wants a patient and understanding boss who won’t immediately fire her for making a mistake, especially if she is new to the job. Paige says she wants a kind boss and that she hates “working for someone that’s rude or not a nice person.” She also wants a boss who is fair/just, as well as understanding. Paige says if she is sick, for example, she wants a boss who doesn’t get upset at her if she has to miss work.
Research Study:
The interviews above illustrate that people tend to have reasonable expectations for a boss. With that in mind, a survey conducted in 2008 found that “in a survey of 10,000 job seekers, 42% left their jobs due to dissatisfaction with managers (Reina, et al. 5). This is quite surprising since it seems like employees don’t have overly high standards of what an ideal boss is. In the research article, “Quitting the Boss? The Role of Manager Influence Tactics and Employee Emotional Engagement in Voluntary Turnover” Christopher Reina and his colleaguesconducted a study to find out “whether two commonly used influence tactics by managers affect their employees’ voluntary turnover” (5).
The researchers for this study examined two influence tactics used by managers: pressure tactics and inspirational tactics. Pressure tactics consisted of “demands, threats, or persistent reminders to control employee behavior” (7). Inspirational tactics were comprised of “explicit appeals to employee’s values, goals, and aspirations” (7). 90 directors of a marketing division in the United States were used in the study (9). The researchers “sought a sample of high-level employees” since the directors’ supervising managers would have “considerable discretion over using influence tactics” (9).
In the questionnaire portion on pressure tactics, employees were asked to respond to four questions. One of the questions asked was ‘“My manager demands that I carry out his or her requests.’” Another question was “‘My manager uses threats or warnings when trying to get me to do something’” A third question was ‘“My manager repeatedly checks to see if I have carried out a request’” The last question was “‘My manager tries to pressure me to carry out requests’” (10).
In a similar manner, four questions were asked about inspirational tactics. The employees were asked to rank the following question: “’My manager says a proposed activity or change is an opportunity to do something really exciting and worthwhile.” Employees were also asked to rank this question: “’My manager describes a clear, inspiring vision of what a proposed project or change could accomplish.” Another question asked was “’My manager talks about ideals and values when proposing a new activity or change.” Lastly the researchers asked employees to rank this question: “’My manager makes an inspirational speech or presentation to arouse enthusiasm for a proposed activity or change’” (10).
Findings:
After conducting the study, the researchers found that pressure tactics increased the likelihood of employee voluntary turnover rate. Inspirational appeals had the opposite effect. The higher the inspirational tactics, the lower the likelihood of employee voluntary turnover rate (11). According to Christopher Reina and his colleagues, “a one-unit increase in pressure tactics is associated with a 91.1% increase in the predicted odds of voluntary turnover” (14). In contrast, “A one-unit increase in inspirational appeals… is associated with a 68.7% decrease in the predicted odds of turnover” (14).
This study shows that employees are less likely to quit if their managers refrain from using pressure tactics. People don’t want to work for bosses who mistreat them: they want to work for bosses who treat them with respect. I know this is true for me. At my previous job, I had a woman who was in charge (but not my boss) use pressure tactics on me. She very rudely asked me “You don’t want to fail, do you?” I was shocked she would even ask such a ridiculous question in such a crude manner. Of course I don’t want to fail. Who wants to fail? The meeting with her got worse and after our talk was done I wanted to quit immediately. I didn’t. I tried my best to stick it out, but I eventually quit a couple months later. As the researchers said, pressure tactics “convey to employees that it is unsafe to freely express opinions and emotions without negative repercussions” and that’s exactly how I felt after my meeting with that rude woman. Overall, my reasons for quitting were numerous, but the pressure tactics used by those in charge was definitely one of them.
Hopefully businesses will realize that managers who use pressure tactics are hurting the company, rather than helping it. The researchers in the study recommend “Putting mechanisms in place to reward inspirational appeals and hold managers accountable for consistently using pressure tactics” to reduce employee turnover rate (14). Overall, it appears that employees want a boss who treats them with dignity and respect. The characteristics and behavior of the ideal boss don’t appear to be out of reach. I wonder why good bosses seem hard to come by. Maybe these bosses are being praised for using pressure tactics, or maybe they are using tactics that they are most familiar with. Either way, there needs to be a change. The bar for the ideal boss is low. When the basic expectation of being treated like a human being isn’t met, there is a problem.
Work Cited
Reina, Christopher S., et al. “Quitting the Boss? The Role of Manager Influence Tactics and Employee Emotional Engagement in Voluntary Turnover.” SAGE Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 2018.