Defeating Toxic Boss At Work: Ways To Handle A Toxic Boss?

A lot of people search on the internet, “How can I stay mentally sane at work?” Well, one of the best ways to stay healthier and productive at work is to say no to toxicity. A toxic workplace drenches us mentally and physically, but have you ever thought about what makes a workplace toxic?

Research shows that unethical, disrespectful, and non-inclusive bosses majorly make the workplace toxic. I still remember the boss or manager at my first job was so toxic that I thought of quitting my job even after knowing the consequences.

In return, my manager started nitpicking, no wonder how messy it got through the end. Now that I know the drill, no toxic boss can mess with my professional or personal life. In this blog, I have listed signs of a toxic boss along with ways to manage a toxic boss based on my personal experiences. So, let’s get started!

Distinguishing If My Boss is Toxic: Who is a Toxic Boss?

A toxic boss is a person employed above you and works on damaging and demoralizing people under his/her team. A toxic boss continuously makes their team members feel less worthy of their job which slowly snatches away a sense of self, purpose, or belonging from team members.

Additionally, toxic bosses often break down important things required to thrive at work which leads to burnout, chronic stress, less productivity, depression, and other mental health issues in the team members. A workplace consisting of good bosses may have energetic, motivated, productive, happy, and healthy employees. But, in the case of a toxic workplace or toxic boss, it’s the opposite.

Having a toxic boss not only impacts its employees but also impacts the company or organization resulting in a high attrition rate, low satisfaction rate, bad reviews, low productivity rate, and more. Therefore, if you think your boss is toxic, check the below-listed traits of a toxic boss to understand how to handle or manage them without hampering your mental state.

Learning the Traits: Signs of a Toxic Boss

A toxic boss is a manager who is damaging, interrupting, and demotivating. Here are some traits of a toxic boss:

1. Not a listener: A toxic boss doesn’t believe in active listening but it is usually involved in giving instructions over guiding. Clearly, a toxic boss lacks team building and team leading qualities; they make decisions directly without consulting. They make other people listen to them without listening to them. Such a team lacks learning and growth. In such situations, employees also lose the ability to make use of opportunities because of a toxic boss who doesn’t teach but always scolds.

2. Micromanaging everything: A toxic boss is someone who micromanages everything without other team members’ acknowledgment and brainstorming. They will micromanage your productivity levels, your lunch breaks, in-out timings, and everything and will question each and everything in detail which results in more exhaustion and burnout.

3. Discourages personal growth: A toxic boss only thinks about the growth of the company or personal growth, they don’t like seeing other people grow (including their own team members). While working under such managers or bosses, team members start feeling monotonous. Additionally, this leads to demotivation due to the inability to access or explore your inner talents or skills.

4. Acts differently: A toxic boss is definitely a two-faced personality who acts differently in front of you and other people. They have ultimately mastered the skills of behaving differently in different environments. Such bosses also know how to manipulate others by playing the victim.

5. Insecure personality: A toxic boss is an insecure personality who keeps on disturbing others’ mental peace by disturbing them constantly or finding faults in everything you do. They are good at creating an environment at the workplace which makes you feel stressed, demotivated, and ruminated.

6. Sets unexpected expectations: A toxic boss puts unexpected or unachievable goals which makes team members feel demotivated. They don’t guide team members but know how to give lectures on flexibility. This not only puts an extreme workload on employees but also disrupts their work-life synchronization.

7. Obsessed with their work preferences: A toxic boss is obsessed with their skills or talents. They will never make decisions that will go against their willpower. In this cycle, they have also stopped focusing on their personal growth. They are rulers who know how to take support from others.

Defeating the Toxicity: Ways to Deal with a Toxic Boss

Now that you have realized your boss is toxic, it’s time to learn how to deal with them. Here are some effective tips for dealing with a toxic boss:

1. Provide feedback indirectly:

A toxic boss will definitely not entertain direct feedback put forward by team members. Therefore, provide them feedback indirectly. It’s a fact that most managers are so workaholic that they are not aware if their actions are toxic.

Give your manager a benefit of doubt and provide them feedback indirectly so that they can understand and correct them. Additionally, observe their reaction, if they give a polite reaction, you can work together on improving, if the reaction is weird, move to the next strategy.

2. Understand the root causes:

Some managers or bosses aren’t really bad but they are the by-products of the consequences of other team members. Some of them can actually be toxic or narcissists, therefore, before acting out or putting your professional career on a stake, it’s important to undermine the root causes behind their behavior.

3. Focus on your personal growth:

If you’re not able to find the scope of personal growth, prefer changing your team or mentor. This way you will be able to focus more on yourself. If you don’t have an option to change your boss, focus on doing your things. Become your own mentor, read different articles to seek motivation, and focus on your personal growth by achieving the personal and professional goals you have set for yourself.

4. Enhance your creative thinking:

One of the best ways to destroy obsessions is to present the ideas that show your personality and skills. Give them some credit so that they can support your ideas. During the process, be self-aware, express your feelings, and work on enhancing your skill sets.

5. Become your better version:

In order to disarm a narcissist, work on becoming the better version of yourself. Work on your flexibility, work management skills, and others to prove to them you’re worthy of this job, promotion, or better pay. Additionally, some bosses are good at micromanaging or micro-analyzing, let them do their work, and maintain your sense of self (even if they don’t appreciate you).

6. Escalate if it’s problematic:

If you’re not able to cope with a toxic boss or toxic workplace, focus on yourself and escalate the issues. Reach out to the Human Resource team (HR) or higher authorities to break the cycle of a toxic workplace. Document incidents and discuss them mindfully.

7. Set healthy boundaries for yourself:

If you’re stressed or exhausted because of a toxic boss lately, start setting healthy boundaries for yourself. Focus on doing your work, make sure you’re credited for your work, and know how to maintain a work-life balance. Hard work is the key to reaching your goals and disarming toxicity, therefore, practice self-care and never let others come between your goals.

8. Look for a change:

It’s not easy to change jobs; however, in order to protect your mental peace, you can start looking for other opportunities, maybe you can join another department or change jobs completely. If you don’t even want to change a job right now, work on expanding your network so that you can be aware of healthier opportunities.

A Quick Takeaway: Mental Peace Over Everything!

Dealing with a toxic boss can be an overwhelming and exhausting experience. Don’t put too much stress on yourself, focus on self-improvement. Remember, you’re not the reason behind their toxicity, therefore, focus on yourself and do your work honestly. If you’re still not able to deal with or manage such toxic bosses, prioritize your mental peace over everything, and look for better opportunities. Know how to maintain your sanity and never let anyone disturb your goals.

Now that you know how to protect yourself from a toxic boss, share this blog with your colleagues or fellows to help them balance their mental sanity!

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