The Good Boss Company, a consultant group, interviewed 1,000 employees and found that 58% of these employees looked for another job because they didn't like their boss. In addition, 1/3 of the workers in the office faked sick days when working for a bad boss when compared with only 1 of 10 with those who have good bosses. Thus, bad bosses have higher employee turnover and more people absent on any particular day.

If you feel that bad bosses don't have an affect on employees then consider that nearly 40% of American employees feel that have a bad boss. The wide scale of such feelings indicates that there is currently a problem with poor manager to employee relations that exists throughout the American labor force. Many of these problems revolve around people's lack of ability to communicate.

You may be wondering what really constitutes a bad boss. Bullying, incompetence, harassment, discrimination, disregard for the law, poor compensation, rude behavior and invasion of privacy are all signs that a boss isn't doing his/her job well. Such bosses are the result of the Peter Principle where they have been promoted to their complete incompetence.

The Peter Principle is in effect when employees are promoted to supervisory levels without having the skills necessary to effectively do the job. They were promoted because they were good at what they did. However, some people are great employees but terrible managers.

Even worse few employers will take much action against poor employees let alone bosses. According to a survey listed in the Journal Personnel Today 9 out of 10 people in authority do nothing about poor performance of bosses or employees. Thus, these bad bosses continue to stay within organizations year after year with little consequences.

If you have by now recognized that you need to make a few changes in your organization you may be wondering what you can do about it. The easiest solution is to wrap the bosses management skills and effectiveness into the performance appraisal. When poor management becomes wrapped into compensation and employment stability these managers will either improve their performance or be managed out of the organization.

Lawsuits: The best way to avoid lawsuits is to be fair in all decisions and base these decisions on documentation. Making a fair and just decision requires that you have all of the information necessary to come to a reasonable conclusion. For example, if you simply assume the employee is guilty because he/she is not liked in the organization it will leave you exposed for legal damages. Gather the facts, put them into a file and justify your decisions.

The second method of avoiding lawsuits is to document any discussions, performance reviews or discipline that you have given the employee. Build a “case” to be used in case you are dragged into court. These documents allow the employee to be informed about the problems they are causing and gives them a reasonable opportunity to improve. Hearsay and testimony is important but what sweetens the cake is the paperwork. Arbitrators, lawyers and Judges love to make decisions based upon the documented facts.

Commotion in the Workplace: Employees who are unhappy and disgruntled often do not get along with their coworkers. They are difficult to talk to, are slow in providing information and love to spread rumors. Such people would be much happier working somewhere else if they could find another job. Handling these commotions is difficult to manage but is possible if you tighten up your processes.

Once an issue becomes apparent the employee(s) causing the “drama” can sign a counseling report stating “any further problems should be brought to (Your Name) attention. Failure to bring these problems to (your name) attention or failure to maintain confidentiality can lead to further discipline up to and including termination.”

By placing these employees on “notice” you are letting them know your expectations and covering yourself incase they continue to spread the rumors. Employees should know that you are serious about squelching rumors and commotion before it gets out of hand. This can only happen if you are willing to take action.

Impression of Other Workers: The perception you give other employees about how you handle issues is important. It is not uncommon that owners/managers unwittingly give impressions of being arbitrary, unfair and unjust. They do this through giving preferential treatment and surrounding themselves with close associates that appear to have different terms of employment than everyone else. Before making assumptions about a disgruntled employee, be sure to investigate and know whether or not they have a justified cause. If they have been treated unfairly then make amends and protect your image. Failure to manage your image will leave employees with an impression that the company doesn't care about them.