Effect of a rude manager on employee morale
A rude manager can have a toxic impact on the employees and in turn affect the workings of the company as a whole.
Rudeness at the workplace is on a rise and can harm so many areas of an employee’s life. It has become a part and parcel of how managers treat the employees working under them. It can lead to a major impact on the employee’s physical and mental well-being. This in turn can lead to an increase in the attrition rate at the organization.
A major area that is affected is the morale of the employee. When managers are constantly rude and uncivil to the employees in their team, it can lead to depletion in the employee’s mental resources. Employees going through this then tend to be rude to each other as well. This is what leads to a toxic work environment. As rudeness and impoliteness is contagious, it spreads to everyone surrounded by it. Being rude to tends to make one rude towards as well. There are many mistakes a manager may make that has a negative impact on the employees, these should be avoided at all costs:
Mistake #1
Singling out an employee to blame
Picking on one employee in the team and blaming him for all the mistakes is a sign of a rude and uncivil manager. One employee should not be picked on when working in a team. Being a team, the blame should also be on the entire team. This can lead to segregation of the employee from the rest of team. The team will also then fear the manager.
Mistake #2
Publically humiliating employees
Calling out an employee in public is extremely humiliating and can lower their self-esteem. Putting people on the spot, especially in front of others should not be the way employees should be treated. Even though the employee is a subordinate of the manager, he is an adult and should be treated like one.
Mistake #3
Asking them to perform impossible tasks
Setting goals that are not impossible is another way an employee’s morale can be negatively affected. Tasks with unachievable deadlines and targets can take a toll on the employee’s performance.
Mistake #4
Micromanaging
A good leader is one who knows how to delegate work and not manage every minute detail of what his subordinates are doing. When a manager checks every detail of the subordinate’s actions, it can distract him. This in turn, can lead to self-doubt and poor performance.
Mistake #5
Ambiguous instructions
A manager should give clear instructions, rather than hasty and ambiguous ones. Having a clear set of instructions helps the employee perform better and complete the task on time. Without the same, it wont be possible for him to follow through and perform as expected.
Mistake #6
Never praising the employee and holding him back
When an employee does well, the manager must offer praise in order to boost his morale. Not doing so can lead to lack of confidence. Though the manager must not constantly be praising the employee, he must do so when the employee has done exceptionally well and requires reinforcement. This goes along with the fact that managers must not hold their employees back and encourage them to come up with new ideas. They should give them the chance to grow and this is possible if they let them know that they are doing a good job.
Many managers can make the aforementioned mistakes, knowingly and unknowingly. Nevertheless, employees should be equipped to handle such situations. Following are a few tips employees should look into in order to make it through tough times at work:
• Make sure you’re assessing the situation correctly
You may be wrong in understanding the situation and it may not be as bad as you think it is. Thus, step back and maybe ask for an outsider’s perspective to assess the situation at hand.
• Encourage more face-to-face interaction
Miscommunication is highly possible via emails or messages. Speaking to the manager in person can help in understanding the situation better.
• Demonstrate your capabilities in your work
By consistently showing the manager what you’re capable of and doing your best, you will be able to grab his attention. He will then have no choice but to offer you praise.
• Stay calm and focus on yourself
One of the most important things to do is to stay calm even when you feel low. You must not let someone else’s rudeness put you down. Be the better person and treat your manager the way you want him to treat you.