SURVEY - Bad Bosses Lead Many to Quit Jobs

OVERVIEW

A CareerBuilder.com online survey (see below press release) reveals that many people quit their job because of an intolerable boss.

The poll showed that 43% of respondents walked away from a job due to a difficult boss.

Workers between the ages of 35 and 44 are the most likely to quit their job for that reason.

Some of the awful things respondents say they've seen supervisors do include;

• hiding in places in order to spy on employees,
• tap dancing on an employee's desk,
• and even using a taser gun on a subordinate

Men seem to be a little more tolerant of bad bosses, with 39% in the poll saying that was the reason they left a job as opposed to 48% of women.

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PRESS RELEASE

Company Releases Survey on Most Bizarre Boss Behaviors

CHICAGO, January 27, 2009 - They lie, they cry, they yell a lot. They’re bad bosses and 43 percent of workers reported they have quit a job to get away from them, according to a survey of more than 8,000 workers by CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s largest online job site. Workers who are dealing with problem supervisors will be happy to hear that help is on the way. CareerBuilder.com just launched a new online Anonymous Tip Giver tool that enables you to provide "constructive" criticism or fun advice for bosses or co-workers without revealing your identity.

CareerBuilder.com’s survey found women (48 %) are more likely to quit because of a bad boss than men (39 %). Age also plays a role in who stays and who goes. Approximately 48 % of workers ages 35-44 left their jobs because of a bad boss, while 40 % of younger workers, ages 18 to 24, and 41 % of older workers, ages 45 to 54, said they quit.

Some survey respondents shared real life examples of bad boss behavior that borders on the bizarre, including:

• Hid in weird places in order to spy on employees
• Took a bite of someone’s doughnut while they were away from their desk
• Held a meeting while locked inside the bathroom
• Brought a gun to work and cleaned it in an area behind employees
• Tap danced on employee’s desk
• Showed everyone a kidney stone he had passed
• Broke down and cried during a meeting, "Why don’t you like me?"
• Kept his lunch in a freezer intended for human organ storage
• Used a taser gun on a subordinate
• Declared "Talk like a pirate day"
• Rode a child’s scooter through the office

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 8,038 U.S. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government) ages 18 and over between November 12 and December 1, 2008 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset U.S. employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 8,038, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.09 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

ANONYMOUS TIP GIVER
By logging onto www.anonymoustipgiver.com, users can select from one of four outlandish characters and choose a unique voice to deliver a tip for the recipient. You can write up your own advice or select from a list of pre-made tips such as "One out of 10 people think your barking dog ring tone is funny, that one person is you." You can even record your message over the phone. Without revealing your identity, in an instant the fully animated tip is delivered right to the recipient’s e-mail box. Voilá! Bad boss problem solved. Annoying co-worker situation addressed.

"Anonymous Tip Giver is part of CareerBuilder.com’s new national marketing campaign, which is officially launching at the Super Bowl," said Richard Castellini, Chief Marketing Officer at CareerBuilder.com. "The campaign is a lot of fun and is chock-full of tips to help workers ‘start building’ better work experiences."


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OTHER SURVEYS :

BAD BOSSOLOGY SURVEY RESULTS

Total number of responses: 8730

Have you ever quit or changed positions because of your boss?

Once - 38%
Twice - 24%
Never - 16%
Three times - 8%
More than 3 times - 14%

WHAT MAKES A MANAGER A BAD BOSS SURVEY RESULTS

Total number of responses: 11804

What Makes a Manager a Bad Boss?

36% - The manager provides little direction. (4326)
23% - The manager micromanages and nit-picks your work. (2777)
16% - The manager belittles and puts down staff. (1979)
10% - The manager offers little or no recognition for success and hard work. (1278)
8% - The manager is indecisive and seemingly changes direction at whim. (1004)
3% - Other. (440)