Seven things you do that your boss hates
When you’re in a white-collar, corporate job, your role, at a high level, is to make things easier for your boss. That’s why she hired you—to solve problems and take the burden off of her. However, too many people either don’t realize this or forget that this is the case, and they do things—intentionally or otherwise—that make things more difficult for their boss. Here are the top 7 offenses, as reported by managers (i.e., that I’ve heard during my conversations with thousands of people):
Tardiness. I don’t mean that you need to be at your workstation every morning at 8:30 sharp. What I mean is that when you roll into meetings 10 minutes late or don’t complete projects within the agreed-upon timeline, this makes problems for your boss.
Pervasive negativity. Life is not all sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies. But if you are frequently negative and a naysayer, this reflects poorly on your manager and leads to lowered overall morale and resentment.
Spinning the gossip wheel. Office/company gossip is a given. No matter how professional you are, you probably participate in it to a degree. But, If you conduct yourself like a TMZ reporter, that’s going to get old, really fast. Gossip fuels the rumor mill, which undermines performance and productivity.
Lack of civility. Engaging in rude, disrespectful speech and behaviors creates risks for others and liability for the organization. This one can easily lead to your termination.
You stink, literally. I’m surprised at how frequently this one comes up, but apparently, there is a wholesale lack of personal hygiene out there in the world's cubicles. When you have funky body odor and your colleagues begin to complain—and they WILL complain—this puts your boss in the unenviable position of coaching you on the importance of hygiene in the workplace.
You consistently give inaccurate information. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but if you have a record of providing bad information, your boss hates it. This creates more work for her; she has to double-check all of your work. Is that a 50% increase in sales or a 15%? Accuracy and precision matter.
Hogging credit. Maybe your boss was out of the loop on the project, so you decide to tell her that you’re the one who came up with the great idea and did all the work, rather than sharing the glory with your teammates. Your boss will hear about this, and you’ve just created another morale/communication problem she needs to solve.
Beyond irritating your boss, this bad behavior can have a tangible impact on profitability. Missed objectives and declining productivity mean diminished profitability and damage to your reputation and the team and the company. No one said being the boss was easy, so step it up and help make it a bit less tedious.