Some time ago I wrote an article about crazy bosses and how they could drive you crazy. I haven’t had any super crazy boss, but I have had some nice bosses. Today I want to discuss the phenomenon when nice bosses actually encourage me to work harder voluntarily.
My current boss is really nice. He is really easy going and trusts people to work on their own. He wants us to get things done, but he never pushes extremely hard. He always allows people to take care of their personal hardships first and seems to truly care about his team. This week I asked for a day off for Friday because of the hubby’s bonus Vegas trip. So I asked if he would sign my vacation form, and he said don’t worry about it and just go. Then he told our entire team that we could take the whole week off because we just finished our release. This is actually the second time he negotiated with upper management to give us a week off. When our team is on a deadline we do work pretty hard and put in time late at night or on weekends so the days off are like a release bonus for all of us. Now the hubby says that I can use the time to clean the house and lose some weight. I’m not sure if that will really happen, but I could try.
I think nice bosses actually encourage me to work harder. When I am left alone and not prodded constantly I tend to finish my tasks faster. The key takeaway here is that if a boss leaves you alone to do your tasks it shows that he or she trusts you. Having that trust allows me to do the best I can do. I think if I had a crazy boss that looked over my shoulders constantly while I worked I would be pretty annoyed and just try to get him or her off my back as soon as possible.
Another thing is that by being nice, a boss actually instills loyalty in his or her reports. I know that in a previous article about Gen-Y and the workplace I wrote that there isn’t much loyalty between employees and companies these days, but there I believe loyalty still exists between people. For example, my team at work all share the same goal when we are working, and we all want our product to be the best so that everyone on the team can look good in the company. Having a nice leader makes me want success for the entire team because in a way I don’t want to disappoint them.
Finally, I believe that having a competent and nice boss is really better than having a higher salary because to me a friendly working environment is more important than money. What do you think? Do nice bosses naturally encourage you to work harder?
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12 comments ↓
“When I am left alone and not prodded constantly I tend to finish my tasks faster.”
So true. And if I am prodded, then I tend to start feeling defensive and angry, as well as getting less work done.
Different folks different strokes. Bosses need to know their men in order to know how to handle them.You are right because you are responsible but how about other people?Nice post!
Sometimes there are associates who will walk all over a boss like that. I tend to want to get away with as much as I can as long as I get my work done. My boss is super nice but he’s also a professional and expects work done and on time. He doesn’t hover over my shoulder, thank goodness. And I do feel loyalty and will feel guilty if I’m slacking too much.
Or dropping Entrecards. Ha!
I have two “bosses” and have noticed that they could give me the same task or ask me the same question and I’ll respond differently to each. It’s really odd to me, they’re both pleasant men, but one definitely has more of a trusting and hands off management style. The other is more of a micromanager, and his slightly panicky stress is unpleasant to be around.
Crazy bosses will certainly drive you crazy, no doubt in my mind about that. I wrote a post about one nutcase I worked for a while back that it pains me to even read
I think in general you are correct, a boss who is a jerk does not inspire his or her employees to “go the extra mile” when it is necessary. Although there can be an extreme in the “too nice” direction where the boss isn’t respected as well.
-RC
An examplary boss is someone I look for to work with. A good worker is someone who is self-driven. The niceness is just the icing, good to have but not essential. Just my thoughts……
Nice, fair, intelligent and empowering is the key I think. Bosses can be nice, but they need an equal amount of fair so they don’t get taken advantage of. When I worked part time - 4 days, my boss who was all of the above, in reality got 5 days worth of work out of me. He gave me flexibility when I needed it and I respected him for that and always made sure I delivered above the mark for him.
It really depends on the type of person you are. Unfortunately too many people take advantage of “nice bosses” which causes them to swiftly change managerial behavior.
Regards,
Dorian
For me a nice boss is someone who knows his employees, who knows who he can trust to work independent and who he has to look for a bit more to finish his task in a good manner. Maybe also you get along with your boss so well because you are also caring about your work and the company. But great to see he honors your work that way!
I have a fantastic boss. He’s great about taking time off and is pretty great about workloads. I don’t know if I work harder, but I definitely stay at my job (with a lower salary). Plus, I’m a lot happier!
so true. my boss (professor) is very nice, doesn’t act demanding at all, and has a very flexible policy about taking vacation time (his policy is basically “take as much time as you need”). At the same time, he clearly knows his stuff and the students believe in his long term research plans.
The result of his policy is his students and staff love working for him. I think the key for bosses is to find a balance between being serious and being fun/funny. I’m definitely taking notes if/when I have to manage people in the future.
I guess it’s a little different in grad school because the students are preselected…you don’t apply for a phd program if you don’t really want to get one. And, you’re ultimately judged based on your own work. But some profs make the experience much more enjoyable than others.
2 definitions of a nice boss: the one you are using, and a pushover. The first type of boss might also be characterized as a GOOD boss. Good bosses get the value out of the employees without whipping humiliating intimidating or any of those nasty things. We might do a lot of work when they are subjecting us to nastiness but we do our BEST work when we are happy and self motivated. The pushover boss is not good because his people walk all over him and goof off.
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