Have you ever worked for a toxic boss?
If so, you know how bad it can be. Toxic bosses are often self-centered and selfish, unwilling to listen to their employees or consider their needs.
They might be abusive in some way or they might just treat everyone around them like they’re disposable. Either way, they are a nightmare!
But if we’re being honest… toxic bosses aren’t always easy to spot right away. Sometimes it takes years of working under one before the signs become clear enough that you can finally say “enough is enough.”
So, in this blog post, I’ll be going over 15 traits toxic bosses have in common. By knowing these traits, you’ll be able to spot them from a mile away and avoid working for one.
Let’s get started.
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Traits Toxic Bosses Have In Common
1. They are overly critical
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One of the most distressing things about having a toxic boss is his or her tendency to be overly critical. If you’ve ever worked for someone who spent more time tearing you down than building you up, you know the type.
They have a knack for making even the most mundane tasks seem like they’re taking an inordinate amount of time, and they have a way of making it sound like your work is just not good enough no matter how hard you try.
In fact, to them, your best is never good enough. An example of this would be a boss who tells their employees that they are not doing their job properly, but they never explain what they need to do differently.
They just tell them they’re doing something wrong without giving them any guidance or suggestions on how to improve.
This type of criticism can lead to a loss of confidence and self-esteem, especially in people who are already prone to being self-critical. It also leaves employees feeling like they have no room for improvement or growth, which can lead to burnout and frustration.
2. They use fear and intimidation as a management style
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Another common theme among toxic bosses is their tendency to use fear and intimidation as a way to get things done. Some usual traits are not sharing information with employees or threatening job loss if things don’t get done a certain way (or on time).
This means that, instead of showing trust in their employees or offering positive reinforcement for work well done, they spend their time trying to control their workers by making them feel anxious about their job.
They use negative emotions like guilt or anger to motivate workers into doing things their way.
The reason this is such a bad management tactic is that it causes employees to focus on avoiding punishment rather than performing at the highest level they can.
The more afraid employees are of doing anything less than perfect, the more likely they are to make mistakes out of fear they’ll get called out on them.
3. They show no accountability
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Toxic bosses have a tendency to not take responsibility for their actions or lack thereof. They might be great at blaming others for any problems that arise, and even if they do acknowledge that they played a part in the issue, they will never be truly accountable for it.
They will constantly shift blame from one person to another, leaving people questioning whether the problem was even real.
This can lead to the creation of very toxic environments where employees are afraid to speak up about issues because of what might happen to them if they do.
It also causes a lot of finger pointing, frustration, and resentment.
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4. They’re unable to listen and accept feedback
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Not listening is a huge problem in the workplace, both because it’s rude and because it means your boss isn’t receiving feedback that could help them improve as a leader.
And since everyone has different needs and preferences and expectations, that feedback is crucial to making sure each person is happy with their job.
When someone comes to you with an idea or complaint or praise, it’s important for you to listen and react accordingly.
Either integrate their feedback into your decision-making process or explain why you don’t agree with them and how their perspective doesn’t align with your goals for your team.
A bad boss will never do this – they’ll shut down any kind of criticism and refuse to hear suggestions from anyone but themselves.
This can happen for a variety of reasons:
Some bosses are bad listeners because they’re arrogant or self-centered. They believe that their vision is the best one and so anything you say is irrelevant or wrong.
Others are insecure, so they’re hyper-vigilant about anything that could threaten their position: any time staffers disagree about something, it shakes them up and forces them into defensive mode.
Finally, some just don’t know how to listen – they may be so used to being in charge that they’ve forgotten how empowering it can be for their employees.
5. They are micromanagers to the extreme
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Managing is a necessary and valuable part of any job. Good managers know that employees are more motivated when they feel like they’re developing their skills and doing fulfilling work.
A bad manager, on the other hand, regards their role as micromanagement – they feel like their time is better spent looking over their shoulders to make sure that workers are doing things the way they prefer than it is to trust that they’ll do the job well.
This kind of boss is a toxic force in an office environment. Rather than have workers grow into new responsibilities and opportunities, they leave them frozen in place or stunted in their growth.
When you have a boss who can’t trust you to do your job because they’re constantly looking over your shoulder and telling you what to do, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting anything done at all.
This can cause disengagement, low productivity, and even turnover among staff members.
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6. They lack empathy
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Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, and it’s essential to any good boss.
It’s how leaders know when it’s time to give praise, or when it’s time to give constructive criticism. It’s also how they can tell when someone is struggling with a problem at work or needs help with something outside of work.
But toxic bosses don’t really care about any of that – they are too focused on themselves and their own success to worry about what impact they might be having on others.
They feel like they are superior enough not to have to relate to their employees’ struggles, and therefore act like they don’t matter.
For example, if you have been working really hard at a project for a boss and they don’t seem to appreciate it, or if you are trying to pitch an idea but your boss is being dismissive, this could be a sign that your boss is not very empathetic.
This can lead them to make decisions that come off as insensitive or uncaring, causing poor morale and ultimately poor productivity.
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7. They are condescending and patronizing toward employees
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Most bad bosses talk down to their employees as if they don’t understand simple concepts, or as if they don’t have any right to have an opinion on their own work.
They’d say it’s “constructive criticism”, but the difference between constructive criticism and condescension is pretty obvious: criticism explains how you could change your work for the better, but when someone is condescending to you, it feels like you’ll never measure up no matter what you do.
These bosses ask questions like “Do you understand why that’s wrong?” or “Are you sure there aren’t some holes in your logic here?” instead of just telling someone what needs to be done and leaving it at that.
If you’ve ever had a boss question whether or not you really know something that was totally obvious, chances are that person was being condescending towards you.
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8. They take credit for other people’s work
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These types of bosses also tend to be territorial and jealous. They want all the credit for themselves and will make up stories about how their vision made everyone else’s work possible.
They’ll take credit for other people’s ideas, and downplay their own role in projects, even ones where they did most of the work. If another person gets a promotion, these types of bosses will leave out the part about how they were instrumental in helping them reach that point.
And in general, they show no respect for the contributions of others – even if they are not getting any credit themselves, they’ll act like those contributions don’t even exist.
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9. They are extremely passive-aggressive
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Toxic bosses are masters at using the hidden tools of passive-aggressiveness to manipulate others and control the outcome of events in their favor.
Passive aggression is a form of covert aggression, where hostility and anger are expressed in a non-directive manner.
Whether it’s in a professional environment or in a business deal, these bosses will often use tricks like sarcasm, withholding information, or simply pretending to be ignorant about certain facts to take advantage of their subordinates or opponents.
For a toxic boss, passive-aggressiveness is not necessarily just an ineffective way to communicate; it is a carefully calculated way to get things done their way.
This behavior can also take the form of sulking or silence, but it’s often so subtle that you may not realize it’s a form of hostility.
A good example of this is when they give you an assignment, but they don’t specify how long it should take you to complete it. They leave you to figure out what “on time” means, and then they’ll complain if it gets done late.
Or, while not being openly hostile, they will avoid making eye contact and refuse to respond when asked to do something. They may also make excuses for their behavior, such as saying that they are too busy or that they do not have the time to help you out.
They will also make subtle digs at your work, such as by saying that it’s “not bad” in a tone that suggests it is actually bad.
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10. They’re manipulative and try to pit employees against each other
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A good boss wants to bring out the best in everyone, give his or her employees a fair chance, and provide constructive feedback when things go wrong. But a bad boss wants to make the workplace a toxic environment so they can keep control of the power structure.
In order to keep themselves at the top of the food chain, they want to make people distrust each other and are constantly trying to figure out how they can set people up against each other.
They’ll often use the same tactics that bullies do: they’ll criticize you for things you didn’t do, or they’ll make it seem like you’re not doing a good job when you really are.
They also use things like playing favorites: they only give praise and rewards to certain people in the office, which makes other employees feel like their work isn’t worth anything.
The people who don’t get special treatment start to feel resentful, and this can lead to an office full of drama and backstabbing.
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11. They’re self-absorbed and self-obsessed
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Most toxic managers and bosses are so focused on their objectives and their own well-being that they frequently forget about those around them. They don’t see their employees as people. Instead, they see them as tools for getting things done.
They use people and discard them when they’re no longer of use, without any concern for whether their actions will leave those people devastated or lost at sea. They don’t care if some of their workers feel undervalued and overlooked.
They spend a lot of time thinking about themselves and their own needs, and not enough time thinking about you or your needs. That’s why most of the time they will make decisions that benefit only them, and they won’t take into consideration how those decisions will affect you or your team.
For example, if a new project isn’t interesting to them, they won’t consider that it might be exactly what one of their workers needs to develop a new skill set and advance in the company.
They might simply assign the job to someone they like better and won’t even recognize how unhappy this person is with the change.
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12. They don’t communicate well or at all
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One of the biggest traits toxic bosses share is the inability, or unwillingness, to communicate. If they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions or want you to take responsibility for theirs, they will likely keep you in the dark about what’s going on.
They won’t give clear instructions or will give conflicting ones. They’ll make unnecessary changes to your workflow and expect you to figure it out on your own.
The reason for this is that they are afraid of being criticized or questioned by their employees. They may also be more interested in getting their point across than in listening to what their employees have to say.
In addition, some toxic bosses don’t want to share too much information about themselves because it makes them feel vulnerable or weak.
As time goes on and there is more confusion about expectations and requirements, this lack of communication can start to turn into a spiral where people are afraid to take initiative because they don’t know what will be expected of them or because they don’t want to do anything that might upset their boss.
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13. They’re moody and unpredictable
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A toxic boss will do things like go from happy to angry at the drop of a hat, or suddenly change their mind about what they want. This can make the workplace feel like a war zone and your daily life feel like walking a tightrope.
People working for these kinds of bosses have no idea what they can expect to happen throughout the day or week. Because they can’t be sure of what might set their boss off, they’re always on their guard and always trying to avoid doing anything that could potentially upset them.
The result is that their lives start revolving around how best to handle their boss, instead of revolving around whatever work it is that they’re actually supposed to be doing.
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14. They take everything personally
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Another common toxic trait among bad bosses is to always blow even minor issues out of proportion and make them into personal attacks against themselves.
When you fail to meet their expectations – even if it’s not your fault – they’ll turn it into an attack on their own competence. This is something you should be very aware of because you’ll always end up feeling as if you’re walking on eggshells around that person.
The more successful you are, the more they’ll hate you for it. For instance, they might think that the reason people in the office aren’t getting the work done quickly enough is because they don’t respect them or have confidence in their leadership.
So those who are working hard will feel like they’re under attack, while those who aren’t will feel like there’s no point in trying to do a good job.
These types of bosses have a serious victim complex and it’s important to know this so you can stay out of their line of fire.
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15. They have no boundaries with staff
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Toxic bosses don’t know when to keep their distance. They don’t understand that the entire point of being a boss is to have the power to make decisions for a group of people and to make those decisions in a way that’s best for everyone.
This type of boss thinks that just because they’re in charge, they should be able to do whatever they want – even if it means regularly getting involved in things that aren’t their business.
When bosses lack boundaries with their staff, they have no qualms about interfering in their lives outside of the office. They feel entitled to an employee’s time and personal information and are inclined to pry into areas that are none of their business.
They are always willing to overstep the mark and invade their employee’s personal space. This can be in the form of physical touch, as well as just being overly familiar with questions about your life.
In addition, they can often make inappropriate comments about your appearance, family life, or other personal matters.
This kind of behavior can cause employees to feel uncomfortable in their own workplace which can lead to stress-related illness, depression, or even leaving the job entirely.
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To Summarize
These traits are universal: no matter what industry you work in, no matter what job title you have, a toxic boss can be draining on your motivation and your sense of well-being at work.
If you find that you’re experiencing these traits without any relief in sight, it might be time to look for a new job.
And if you get the chance to interview for a position at a different company, make sure to put up some questions to the interviewer. Try to gather information on how managers conduct themselves and manage their teams.
