Dive Brief:

• In observation of National Boss’s Day today, Randstad USA offers employers suggestions for best boss practices that engage and empower workers. Recommendations are based on the results of a Randstad USA survey on employer-employee relations.
• The survey found that slightly more than half (53%) of respondents said their boss values their opinion, but only 41% think their boss is helping them grow professionally. About 17% said their boss takes credit for their ideas.
• The study also showed that about 35% of respondents said they don’t feel inspired by their bosses. Randstad says that bosses should set an inspiring vision for their employees, recognize employees’ successes and encourage collaboration.

Dive Insight:

Remember the saying "people don’t leave companies; they leave bosses"? Employees do leave toxic workplaces, but an intolerable boss — the person in the office with whom they interact daily — can cause even those who love their work to leave.

A Bamboo HR survey released in July found that 44% of respondents left an organization because of a bad boss. The most offensive boss behavior cited was taking credit for subordinates’ ideas, which 17% of bosses apparently do, according to this survey. By contrast, bosses surveyed didn’t think the bad behavior employees attributed to them as offensive. HR must address this disconnect to keep bosses from driving out talented workers.

Job seekers look for employers who offer career growth. Likewise, limited growth opportunities are often cited by employees as the reason they leave their jobs. High-performing employees are sometimes the victims of “talent hoarding," whereby their bosses refuse to promote them or block their upward mobility to keep from losing them. Good bosses, and employers in general, incorporate employee development into their organization’s culture.

HR must follow up on complaints against bad bosses, and not just allegations of illegal behavior. Bad bosses who don’t recognize their own inappropriate behavior need to be confronted by HR to stop them from driving out good employees.