I Can’t Stand My Boss!

I was at a women’s event this weekend chatting it up with a few ladies I had just met. The event host happened to mention I was an author and of course, we started talking about positivity.

I told them the name of the new book, Is It Monday Already?! and folks started volunteering the reasons they dread Mondays. Then one woman broke it down. She told me she didn’t look forward to Mondays because she didn’t like her boss. In believe her exact words were, “I can’t stand my boss!”

Social connections are the number 1 indicator of a person’s happiness on the job. Social connections are your relationships with your coworkers. The most important colleague is your boss. If you don’t have a good relationship with the person you directly report to, more than likely, you don’t like your job.

Workplace research has proven that social connections boost worker productivity and make them more engaged in the job. In addition, there is less job turnover. Having a social connection doesn’t mean you have to be friends. Although that certainly is the case for some people, it can also backfire if something personal begins to impact the job relationship.

Developing social connections with others means being courteous and friendly. It means watching the little micro-aggressions we commit that sometimes we don’t even realize. Small things like saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ on a consistent basis is a good way to start. Being kind and mindful of others is a great way to continue. Because we know those small things make a difference in the work environment.

I asked my new acquaintance, (because you know we started establishing a social connection as she shared her story) why she felt like she did about her boss. She replied, “Because he doesn’t care about me…So I don’t care about him either.” She’s been on the job for less than a year and I doubt if she will be there for more than another year. As soon as it’s acceptable on her resume to transition, she’ll be at a company where her boss respects and values her.