Toxic bosses: what they are like and their consequences for mental health – Online Psychologists

I'm sure it's not hard for you to think of someone in your environment who hates their job, or their boss.. Maybe even you feel the jitters when Sunday afternoon arrives and the short weekend break begins to disappear in the middle of a countdown, before the threat of a new Monday. It seems like something normal, a cliché that plagues hundreds of movies and millions of easy jokes, but Lack of motivation at work can seriously affect your emotional health and maybe it's your boss's fault.

Have you ever been afraid of going to a meeting? Have you heard your colleagues scolding you while they hung their heads? Have they belittled your team's achievements and even taken credit for your achievements without giving you any credit? If the answer to any of these questions is «yes,» then you may have the misfortune of having encountered a toxic boss.

First of all, it must be made clear that toxic bosses They are the cause of the bad atmosphere in the workplace.

It is about manipulative and disrespectful peopleexperts in mistreating their employees and creating a work environment that is detrimental to the mental health of others and also to the company's results. The silence surrounding their attitudes can lead those who suffer from it to think that they are experiencing an isolated phenomenon, but this is not true. Ana María Castillo and Juan Carlos Cubeiro, authors of the book «New management for dummies«they claim that 40% of bosses are toxic.

Although there is no common description that can do justice to the portrait of all toxic bosses, it is common for them to share certain characteristics. Impatience and irritability are common to many of these toxic bossesunable to understand the times of the workplace. Their impatience often stems from the belief that they are superior, and not only in the corporate hierarchy: They tend to consider themselves smarter than othersso they tend either to despair at the «incompetence» of others, or to communicate with them as if they were children incapable of understanding complex reasoning.

This type of attitude is usually caused by a low emotional intelligence which makes them lack empathy and makes them incapable of communicating correctly and respectfully, taking into account the impact their attitude has on the mood of those around them.

There are different types of toxic bosses: from the one who publicly humiliates his workers, to the one who doesn't respect breaks and expects you to be available 24 hours a day, to the controlling one who supervises every little task he gives you because he doesn't trust you to be able to do a good job. However, There are certain signs that can help you recognize a toxic boss:

Good communication is essential for any relationship. Even more so if the proper functioning of the company and the standard of living of those who depend on it depend on that relationship.

Nevertheless, Toxic bosses are usually not good communicators: When expressing themselves, they may either explain themselves inadequately or underestimate their employees' ability to understand. Listening is usually zeroand even They can interrupt to the rest when they speak, which makes them oblivious to the team's work.

This causes there to be misunderstandings when presenting results, because if employees feel that they are being ignored, or believe that their doubts will not be resolved in a comprehensive manner, they will not communicate with their boss and will have difficulty carrying out what is asked of them.

Toxic bosses They think they are always rightso they do not take into account the opinions or needs of their team, nor do they accept that their mistakes are pointed out.

Believing themselves to be better than everyone else, they have no qualms about stepping on top of others, appropriating their achievements and taking credit for the work that others have done, whether inside or outside the company, because They only care about their own benefit.

Communication difficulties and lack of self-criticism often result in a little patience. At any failure, delay or misunderstanding, a toxic boss will explode in a fit of rageeven going so far as to humiliate workers in front of their colleagues.

Even though they hate failures, They do not usually make constructive criticism aimed at improving the results of jobs they don't like.

Toxic bosses will always be comfortable in the position of superiority in which they are elevated and will never have a problem with everything remaining exactly the same.

That's why They tend to oppose any innovation that could endanger the stability of the company in the slightest, even if the change could make them more competitive. Faced with the slightest setback, toxic bosses They have a lot to loseso they will insist on keeping everything as it is and will try to make those who stand out for their creativity or innovative ideas go unnoticed.

This situation can lead to a brain drain of its workers to other more competitive companies.

The high self-concept that toxic bosses have of themselves leads them to believe that no member of their team lives up to their expectations.

For this reason, many toxic bosses are seen unable to delegate completely in their employees and they carry a detailed monitoring of each task, creating a climate of surveillance that ends up limiting creativity and generating unrest.

The low emotional intelligence demonstrated by many of these toxic bosses leads them to lose sight of the fact that their employees are human beings with the same dignity as them and, therefore, deserve respect.

The belief that they are superior For the rest, it can lead them to humiliate others, to make malicious or directly discriminatory comments, or to make gestures that subtly belittle the work of others.

The little space that toxic bosses leave for communication leads them to create unrealistic expectations about the team's production capacity and on their performance.

To a toxic boss, everything will seem like too little, because they have no knowledge of how their team works, of their virtues or their defects. No matter what the outcome, will always demand more and therefore will not recognize the work of your team.

Far from limiting themselves to results, toxic bosses also have unrealistic expectations about working hours. The excessive demands of these individuals lead them to believe that employees must always be available, burdening them with a unmanageable amount of work during the working day.

It is common for those who work with toxic bosses to find themselves unmotivatedsuffer from stress either anxiety and even develop depressionIf you think your boss's attitude is affecting your mental health, don't hesitate to contact a psychologist.

Wherever they go, Toxic bosses find themselves surrounded by conflictsTheir lack of communication can lead to misunderstandings within the team and their irritability can undermine the trust that workers have in the rest of their work environment.

Besides, tend to foster competitiveness, criticizing the work of others behind their peers' backs and belittling others in an attempt to gain followers.

Despite their low emotional intelligence, toxic bosses can be very intelligent people in other aspects, capable of handling other people using mechanisms such as guilt or victimhood.

But they don't just manipulate people, they are also capable of turning any situation around to blame others for their mistakes and get away with it, since responding to them can be the beginning of a new humiliation.

The presence of a toxic boss can have serious consequences on the mental health of its workers. A study carried out in the Stanford University concluded that those people who worked in a toxic environment had a 50% more likely to suffer from mental health problems than those who worked in a healthy environment. The results of another study, this time carried out by the University of Manchesterfollowed the same line: the presence of a narcissistic boss in the workplace increased the risk of developing a depressive disorder.

Tension, stress, lack of motivation and even fear of going to work are just some of the consequences of having toxic superiors, but the consequences are not limited to the mental level. Some scientific research has also linked the influence of toxic bosses with the possibility of suffering from cardiovascular problems.

Not only that. Beyond the consequences that they can have on the health of their employees, the presence of these individuals often undermines productivity and produces worst results than those generated in healthy environments for workers.

First of all, don't be afraid to share your feelings with other people. You may think that you are exaggerating and that what is happening is not as serious as you think. Talking to other classmates And realizing that you're not the only one who feels mistreated by your boss can help you gather the strength to put an end to the problem. Also, keep in mind that the more of you there are, the more weight any complaint you make will carry.

Before you get started, you can take inventory of all the times you have felt humiliated or belittled by your boss. In case you want to report the situationyou will need to refer to concrete facts.

When it comes to reporting harassment from your boss, you can resort to a number of procedures, including the courts. If you don't want to go that far, You can report the facts to Human Resources, Occupational Risk Prevention, the workers' union and even the Labor Inspectorate.

If you don't feel ready to stand up to an abusive boss, but still want to protect yourself from his or her behavior, you need to protect your mental health.

To deal with negativity in your workplace, you can try to focus on the positive aspects of your life: Surround yourself with your family and friendsexpress your feelings openly in places where you feel safe and try to find time to do what you like. If you bring the pressure of work home with you and feel compelled to work double hours to cope with the stress it causes you…