Get a Life: Are you itching to fire the boss?

A new workplace survey found that happiness on the job still depends largely on the relationship with the boss, with 89 percent of workers saying that is an important factor in their job satisfaction.

Unfortunately, 53 percent of workers don’t think their boss is honest. In this time of recession, the lack of trust leads one quarter of employees to believe their boss is dishonest about their job security. The relationships are so bad that 28 percent of workers would even lay off/fire their boss if given the option, according to the survey, fielded by Harris Interactive on behalf of Adecco, a workforce recruiting company.

At the same time, it is not all bad news for managers as the majority (65 percent) of employees would not change anything about the relationship they have with their bosses. That could mean that they have found a way to work it out in the current situation or they are willing to suffer through it.

What do older employees know that others do not? A significantly greater percentage of Generation Y, the younger millennial generation workers, trusts their managers to promote their work internally and grow their career compared to Baby Boomers or Generation X.

At the same time, only one of four baby boomers responding to the survey indicated they would want their manager’s job in contrast, to one of two younger workers.

A lot has been written about toxic bosses. A new book, Working for You Isn’t Working for Me, touts being the “ultimate guide” to managing your boss. The book, written by a Harvard psychotherapist and a business strategist, identifies different types of difficult bosses and cross-matches different types of employee personalities.

The book provides many detailed examples to suggest ways to handle a variety of boss/employee relationships depending on various personality types of your boss and you. With a mixing and matching of types, this book is not light reading.

Regardless of whether you mesh with your boss or not, there are times when relationships can’t be fixed. Trying to prove yourself to a boss who can’t be pleased or who believes he or she knows best will leave you feeling constantly defeated. The authors point out that may be the time to move on.

Posted by Judith Welles on Oct 27, 2009 at 2:13 PM