How to Deal With Toxic Managers As HR or Employer

How to Deal With Toxic Managers

If one of your employees is thinking about quitting their job, ask yourself: do they actually want to leave the company, or is it their management that has become unbearable to work with? We’re afraid to say that the latter is often the case. And you as an employer or HR manager are responsible for the unpleasant behavior of some of your employees.

Some employees try to find a way to handle the relationship between themselves and their abusive boss, while others prefer to leave the workplace once and for all. Even if you can no longer retain some of your workers, at least you know what the issue is - and that it needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

Conditions for a Good Company's Productivity

In order to demand great results from your workforce, you need to make sure that the working environment in your company is comfortable and stable enough. Unfortunately, many employers don’t take this into much consideration, providing basic conditions and offering poor company culture.

However, happy workers are your key to your success, but their happiness can’t be gained just by providing them with nice employee benefits. Good corporate culture, comfortable working conditions, and last but not least, support from management – all these add up to your employees’ efficiency.

How to Avoid a Toxic Attitude of Management

Outside the workplace, your employees probably would put someone with a toxic attitude in place, but they can’t risk their own jobs, so they keep calm and swallow their retorts. That’s why it is supervisors who should change their attitude, be respectful, and maintain boundaries.

1. Get to the root of the problem: Have a one-on-one conversation with each of the parties and then with them both in the same room. Hear what they have to say – perhaps they had a little fall out a few months ago that’s still bothering them, so they need to talk it out and find peace.

2. Make sure there’s no favoritism. Certainly, we get along with some people and can’t get on with others. However, at work, your managers have to remain professionals and treat everyone the same way. Of course, it’s not easy, but if a supervisor doesn’t know how to deal with people they don’t like, maybe it’s not the right place for them.

3. Celebrate achievements. We all love to see the results of our hard work. Ask your managers to be more appreciative of their subordinates’ successes, and whenever you get a chance, congratulate them yourself, too!

4. Get feedback. Make it a rule to check in from time to time with all of your employees, regardless of their status and experience in your company. An employer usually doesn’t have a clear vision of what’s happening inside the company, as they are typically more concerned about other stuff and have different priorities. So sitting down with your workers on a regular basis and have a one-on-one could be a good equalizer and would help you create a picture of the working atmosphere within your company.

5. Organize work socials. Very often, the relationship between a supervisor and their subordinate becomes way better once they really get to know each other. While you can’t beg them to hang out together after work, you can organize some social gatherings where you and your employees will be able to learn the non-professional side of each other. Have a little laugh with the people who spend eight hours a day leading your business to success – they deserve to relax and have fun.

Ways to Overcome Aggression at the Workplace

No matter how hard you try to make your company a great place to work, sometimes you just need your employees to show their toxic boss teeth. Because at the end of the day, some of them will get a promotion and become supervisors themselves, so they should learn how to deal with negativity, stand for their rights, and stick to their own opinion.

1. Help your employees gain confidence. Encourage your employees to be a little more confident and bold when it comes to their relationships with their managers. Make sure they understand that they are here for a reason and that you appreciate everything they do for the company.

2. Set strict regulations for everyone to follow. Many employees get on their managers’ nerves because they are often late at work, spend too much time interacting with their colleagues, don’t get reports done in time, postpone deadlines, etc. Well, pretty understandable, isn’t it? Your company also doesn’t benefit from workers like that. So, if this is the case, set more strict regulations and look through the list of your employees – maybe some of them are really not as responsible and reliable as you’d like them to be?

3. Listen to your subordinates. If you hear several employees complain about the same toxic managers over and over again, don’t ignore that. It might be that their supervisor is simply a tyrant who demands unrealistic results from their subordinates and yells at others for no reason. However great they may be professionally, you don’t want to risk your other employees who report them, so have a speak with the “tyrant” and see how true the talks are. After reviewing the situation, take action, if needed.

4. Make sure there’s no gossiping. When colleagues pay too much attention to an employee’s work or even their private life, it makes them feel extremely insecure and unconfident. This also affects their results at work and, eventually, their relationship with the management. And if people gossip about their bad manager and the latter finds out, there’s going to be trouble, that’s for sure. So make sure your employees take the workplace seriously and don’t turn it into a snake nest.

Create a Great Corporate Culture by Cultivating the Best Team

Providing an ideal corporate culture and making sure that all employees are respectful towards each other should be a priority for both HR managers and employers. A great working environment is one of the things that hold your business together, so if you strive for success, you should ensure that your workers feel safe, supported, and happy at the workplace. That’s why Lanteria HR not only focuses on the experience and skills of the potential employee but also on how well they would fit in your team. Reach out to learn about our next-gen Applicant Tracking System.