3 Things Bosses Should Never Ask Of Their Employees
Manager pressure on employees can make for bad workplace relationships and a stressful office environment. The problem is that sometimes bosses don't realize when they've overstepped boundaries. That's why leadership expert Jeff Haden outlines some of the main things managers should never do in a recent post on LinkedIn.
Haden lays out nine different things that bosses really shouldn't ever ask of their employees. We've selected three of the most important ones:
1. Make employees feel they should attend 'social' events. There's a name for this, and it's good old-fashioned peer pressure. Some people just don't like to socialize with work people outside of the office, and that's their prerogative. "Keep in mind that 'pressure' can be as simple as saying, 'Hey, Joel, I hope you can come to the Christmas party,'" Haden writes. Even if this is what you mean, Joel might hear, "if you don't come to the party I will be disappointed in you."
2. Ask employees to reveal personal information in the interest of 'team building.' Even if your goal really is to help workers get to know each other, it's wrong to ask people to share information that is personal or private. "Bosses don't need to know their employees' innermost thoughts and feelings," Haden says. "More importantly, they have no right to their innermost thoughts and feelings."
3. Ask employees to do something they don't do. Bosses and managers should lead by example. That means sometimes doing unglamorous tasks or picking up the slack where it's needed. Employees will have a lot more respect for a boss that does the same tasks they do sometimes than one that delegates tasks he would never do himself.
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