Male bosses tend to look at the longer outcome, the female bosses tend to look at the shorter outcome – Do you agree with this?  Male bosses tend to look at the vision and devise all means of getting there.  Generally, they do not spend time focusing on devising the process of getting there (although they do), their objective is not to think about processes.  Female bosses will generally look at how to get there instead and devise the every step required.  They will tell their employee what exactly to do (something like spoon feeding).  This can be counter productive as the female boss maybe spending time irrelevant to overall goal.  Furthermore, the employee’s lack of autonomy only result in lower morale due to restricted proposals

They good thing about being careful with every process in reaching the goal is that all things are covered nicely.  That is what the female bosses tend to be good at.  Female bosses tend to be more meticulous in details.  They can check on the missing gaps that are necessary for the overall outcome.  However, excessive detailing of the outcome can create unnecessary overhead to the employee.  Overhead is also created for the female bosses themselves when they focus too much on the details.  They are blinded by the details that they do not see the overall goal anymore.  What are the mistakes they can make?  They focus too much on grammatical mistakes of the reports, the amount of purchases to make on small insignificant items (e.g. stationary, office equipments).

Lastly, male bosses tend to empower employees, whereas the female bosses tend to oversee and watch over everything little activities in delivering outcome. The good thing about empowerment is that employees can do whatever they can do deliver results.  They are not bounded by rules and should work within guidelines.  The problem is sometimes, when the male bosses tend to focus on the outcome and empowers everyone, he maybe slowing drifting away from this team and not knowing what they are actually doing on the ground.  This can affect morale issue!  Female bosses on the other hand, focus on the every little activity, they hand-held you in your tasks, telling you specified instructions to perform.  That is good for beginner staff but this is robbing freedom from the employee.  Without freedom and autonomy, the employee are restricted in their creative and in the end morale will be affected as they ponder the real purpose of work they are doing…

Now having pointing out these, it seemed that working under a female boss is a dread.  We guess is every employee’s preference of who he love to work under.  Do you agree with us?  Not necessarily all are working in this manner.  There will be exceptions and we hope you are one of those lucky ones!

Being an over meticulous boss is sufficient to score an annoying point.  Being overly micromanaging the team is a sure walk over for most staffs under him to give him the red card!  However, unknowingly to these management, they can be annoying from another set of criteria.  Are they being stubborn to ideas or clueless of what’s going on in the organisation?  Or are they being too personal and self-centred of themselves that leaved their staff feeling annoyed?  Find out more with our continued part two post here!

• “What’s going on” bosses – This type of bosses do not have any clue of whatsoever is going on in the organisation.  They just live the day as it is and doesn’t plan for tomorrow.  In the first place, how did he become the boss?
• Being stubborn – These bosses just resistant to any suggestions from the ground.  They believed what they said are always right.  They reject ideas from the staffs.
• Avoiding things that are critical to the entire productivity of the organisation – The staff have pointed out critical improvements to the process to the overall productivity of the organisation.  However, the bosses are resisting accepting the new proposals.
• Shifting non-valuable work to the staff – Admin work are shifted to the staffs to do.  You do not have a choice if you are the admin staff.  However, if you are not, are you loosing the chance to do better things out there?
• Taking credit for staff’s work – This is the worst thing that can happen to a staff.  Their credit is being taken away by their boss.  What’s worst, not a single appreciation and acknowledgement is given to the staff.  The staff may consider resigning the job!
• Keep talking about their family stuff – Self-centred series number one.  The topic circles around whatever happened in your boss’s family.  Such as kids going to school, how smart are the kids, how adoring is your house pet, how good is the nanny, etc.  Please refrain from doing this, you will only bored people down.
• Keep talking about their experiences on (not anything) everything – Self-centred series number two.  The topic circles around how good the boss is at handling things, how he learn things so fast, how he developed the new process that shaped the organisation, etc.  The staff will know how good you are by working with you and not by hearing your stories
• Keep cracking cold jokes – Please do not torture your staff with cold jokes.  They are put into the position to patronise your stupid jokes.  Give them a break on this!  If it isn’t funny, don’t even mention it.  Your staff won’t be in a fix to find some means to respond to the dumb jokes.

If you are such superior, it’s time to review yourself as a superior.  This goes for those who often take credits away from their staff!  Give gratitude and acknowledge your staff’s work.  Reward as and when needed.  If you like to blabber about your own stories, remember that the other party may not be really interested in what you are saying.  Find someone that is interested to hear it instead.  This will at least bring the annoyance level of your staff down!

1. Are you unhappy because the job is not what you want? – Simple, this is not the job that you truly dreamed off.  End the misery early by finding something you like.  Avoid hanging in this misery for too long!  You will continue to be miserable if you hold on to it.
2. Are you always doing the “dirty” work? – You are always been given tasks that are of low value operational work.  You are not given tasks that are of high value instead you are always assigned to those meaningless jobs…
3. Are you being rejected for all your training proposals? – Whatever training proposals that you made to the boss are always rejected.  What’s worst is your peers are entitled for the course while you stay in the office to clear his plate of work!  Favoritism at its best again?
4. Are you not appreciated by your boss? – Whatever results you delivered is just not up to the boss’es expectation.  They brush you off with insignificant remarks.   They don’t really see the effort you put into your work.
5. Are you lowly paid compared to your peers in the market? – If the salary you are getting is not comparable to what the market is offering, it’s really time to move on.  You can wait for as long as you want, but what you need maybe a fatter salary package to feed your family, pay the mortgage and the car now!
6. Are you always blame for anything and everything? – Whatever things that happened, you are always blamed.  What’s worst is even you have made significant contributions or have been performing positively but is still blamed for minor details at work.  Is your boss finding all avenue to piss you off?  Or is there some short-circuit mechansim in their brain that they need to pinpoint your every mistake?
7. Are you at the losing end of favoritism? – You are always given unfair treatment.  You are not on par with the other colleagues when it comes to welfare and career progression.  You are always not considered for anything important except to work on simple, non-strategic work.  Guess what, you are not being favored by your boss!

If what these are you are experiencing at work, it maybe time to update your resume.  The world is round and there are lots of opportunities up there.  Again, we are always being make believed to be a better worker in office but not many advocate to leave the organisation if you do not like it.  Take this piece of advice as a note and see if it can be planned and applied in your context.

1. You are always selected for training – You are are selected to attend training most of the time.  Most training budget is allocated to you and not everyone is having that same fair share of pie.
2. You are always selected for the most challenging assignments – Nope you are asked to run those errands or minor tasks anymore.  Your boss trusts your capabilities and is assiging you for control to work on most challenging ones independently.
3. You are always called into important meetings – You won’t be left out for important meetings.  Your boss have arranged for an additional person to tag along into the meeting and that is you!  Furthermore, you are asked to cancel other meetings or appointments to attend this one at all cost most of time.
4. Your boss approaches you for decision and discussion – During normal work days, your boss will approach you for small discussions or seek a 2^nd opinion from you.  The frequency and content of the discussion is more than that of any other colleagues.
5. You are given protection against most fault and errors – Whatever faults happened or any error made, you are given additional protection as compared with your peers.  You are being shielded and supported on your mistakes!
6. Your boss invites you for lunch or dinner – Frequently.  He most comfortable asking you along for lunch and dinner.  That includes gender difference favors with personal agenda as well… but that’s one of the possibility that your boss will ask you out for a meal!
7. Your boss invites you to join his personal sports – You are there!  He LOVES you and wants to share his interest together with you!  You have transit from a surbordinate to a friend!

Congratulations if you have most of these in your list!  You are well loved by your boss and your boss can’t wait to talk to you every morning when the work day starts!  If there isn’t any resemblence of the list, fret not!  The least you can know is that there are room for improvements!  What are your indicators that your boss likes you?

1. Make your workplace look attractive and pleasant to you — The typical workplace corporate environment are cubes after cubes of employees.  Come to think of it, it looks like a chicken farm where the chickens are sitting inside the cube.  The professional looks that the executives have planned for are usually dull, grey and lifeless.  If this is affecting you, change the workplace and make it look attractive, that you are proud of it, that you will come in every morning with a lighter feeling.
2. Remove the clutter – You will feel more relaxed with nothing on your work desk.  A work desk with minimal items make you feel refresh, like a new beginning everyday.  However, we have to say that some of us would feel more relaxed with things hanging around on the desk!
3. Add green stuff – Add plants.  Add things that are green or resembles the green foliage.  Greenery releases tension in our mind.  It brings peace and calm to our mind.  Greenery also helps to ease the strained eye. Your eyes had been staring at the computer screen for the entire day; it needs its share of rest!
4. Make the place smell good – Bring a scent that you like.  You do not want to smell the cardboards, wires, or the smell from the computers?  Give some refreshing smell that you are comfortable with.  Of course, you will have to be sensitive to your neighbour’s nose as well.  Before you put on any smell, be sure to check with them if they are comfortable with the new smell. J
5. Play relaxing music – Play music that sooths your mind and soul.  A calm mind will allow you to work better.   For me it’s instrumental jazz and classical music.  I’ve the tendency to listen to the lyrics closely and will lose my attention and focus of my work.  However, that will still be dependent on each individual.  Some are even more comfortable to hip hop or heavy metal!

1. If you are unhappy on the compensation and money issue, and you feel that the company is not going to properly compensate you no matter how many times you approached them, then its time to get a new job.  You can get a higher paying job if you have the capabilities and not limit yourself to the current one!  (Unless you lack the capabilities and you demand a higher pay).
2. If you are not on your boss’s list for fatter bonus or progression, then take a look around and make a healthy comparison with co-workers that are receiving one.  Are they really better than you in terms of performance and results delivery?  OR are there expectations and targets that they are able to meet, and you are not aware of and fail to meet.
3. If it’s the lack of leadership, appreciation, favouritism and poor judgement that is causing the grievances, you might consider changing a department, another job or the most direct, practical and effective method is to create a reporting structure that you directly reports to your boss’s immediate superior.  In this way, you are no reporting to him and thus empowering you.  Another note is that, he has to be wary now that you are under his boss’s protection too!
4. If it’s the boot-licking and politicking activities your boss indulges that left you disgusted and unhappy, we would suggest giving your boss the benefit of doubt first.  Observe to see if your boss does such activities for his own interest or the entire team’s interest.  If it is on his own interest, then its time to move on.  If it’s for the team, you may feel disgusted but it’s for the good cause for everyone.  Sometimes you will be surprised with bosses that do that for the team!
5. If it’s the bureaucracy and red tapes that is blowing your mind away, then you have two options.  One of them is to foster another set of thinking that bureaucracy and red tapes are necessary for the organization (such as banks and financial institutes).  The other, is to change your job that has more freedom.  Especially when these red tapes are procedures that restrict your career progression.  But think thoroughly before you do that.  The short term desire for freedom may not be wise in the long run!

1. Your company disallow internet access at work.  You can’t surf the web for research.  You won’t even be able to use it for personal relaxation or make an air ticket reservation.
2. You are unable or disallow to use the instant messenger at work.   (We do not understand why you need to use the instant messenger at work as it can decrease your productivity in the first place…)
3. You do not like your boss’s dress sense (totally outrageous!)
4. You cannot work from home! It’s your dream to lie on the couch, having the aromatic coffee and firing your emails away.  But nope, fat hope!  You can’t do that.
5. You have to abide to the break hours.  One hour lunch break means one hour lunch break.  No more than that!
6. You do not have overseas trip!  You are always not in the list of overseas assignments.…
7. You are constantly tracked on your activities at work, including the places you visited or the sites you surfed from office.  You hate being tracked.
8. You are annoyed with the intrusion of privacy.  The company is tracking all your activities and your profile constantly…

Sometimes, such impractical stuff is reasons why employees leave the company.  It’s totally different from the practical reasons.  Maybe you feel unhappy at work because of one of these reasons too.  If you are the employer or manager, you may want to talk and observe your employees on their unhappiness.   Is it as described here?  Is it worthwhile to keep them in the first place?  Food for thought! J

1. You feel that there is a high level of favoritism in the work place and is working at your disadvantage.
2. You do not like the competition at work and you can’t keep up the pace with other co-workers.
3. You do not like the work environment due to a competitive culture that promotes defending each individual’s premises and interest.
4. You are working in an environment with colleagues that belong to the two-headed snake cult.
5. You are working in a work environment that does not satisfy your hunger for challenges.
6. You are working in a work environment that restricts your progress through their rules and regulations.
7. You do not like the industry.
8. You do not like the culture of the company where they demand you to work your entire life and soul for them or even die for them!
9. You do not like the scope of work
10. Your scope of work changes over time without your consent
11. Your boss do not have any interest of you in mind
12. Your boss demands you to work like a machine
13. You are working long hours as your boss is treating you like a machine
14. You are underpaid even you are working long hours and overtime
15. Your health is deteriorating because of the long hours of work
16. You are working with a lot of unfriendly customers and users that are demanding.

Have any of the above answered your question of unhappiness in the office?  Or if you are an employer or manager, do you feel the negative sentiment at work and these are the reasons behind this negative sentiment?

1. You are (or you feel) underpaid as per what the market rate is offering.
2. You feel that you are not compensated as per what the title or position you are holding should be given.
3. You feel that you should be given a better performance bonus after a year end appraisal review.
4. You feel that the company should be giving a better organisation performance bonus because of the increased sales orders however they didn’t.
5. You feel that office politics is intoxicating the entire organisation at all levels (even at senior management level) and you are sick of it.
6. You are not doing something you like at work.
7. You are forced to do something that is against your principles
8. You do not have the freedom to choose what you can work on
9. You do not like bureaucracy and red tapes
10. You feel the entire system is unfair
11. You feel your boss is unfair
12. Your boss lacks judgement
13. You feel that you deserved better appraisal
14. Your boss lacks leadership and unable to give you clear directions of the team.
15. Your boss does not appreciate your effort and suggestion
16. Your boss is a boot-licker to his stakeholders such as his superior and his customers which he can do things that are dignity defying and against your principles

Have any of the above answered your question of unhappiness in the office?  Or if you are an employer or manager, do you feel the negative sentiment at work and these are the reasons behind this negative sentiment?

However, when employees are not being recognized of their performance, they started to drift away and may under perform in the long run.  The worst thing is employees tender their resignation in display of the lack of appreciation at work (and your leadership).  As such, employers (managers) should always be sensitive to their needs.  Remember, they are your arms that you need to get work delivered.  Employers should also be able to align the expectation of reward and performance consistently to their employees.

To be able to keep your employees and continue to work for you (happily) with continued performance, you must have the basic four MUST-Dos for your employees:

1. Align rewards and performance! – This is to be done explicitly and clearly.  Do not give them an airy fairy links of rewards and performance.  Give them realistic and clear indication of how their performance is linked to their rewards.  Of course, there is a need to be flexibility.  Draw the scope of work and reward boundaries but do not limit their ability to excel.
2. Be attentive! – Show you are always willing to listen to them.  Open the doors of your office.  Allow them to come in for a discussion about their concerns.  If you have the time, take a walk and hang around at the pantry.  Talk to them there (a place they are comfortable at).  Allow yourself to know them more instead of being the every so high and unapproachable authority.
3. Be receptive! – Show you are always willing to acknowledge their concerns and the value of what you hear.  Having an open door concept is not good enough with your ears and heart shut.  Your ears and heart must be opened too.  Empathetic listening.  Allow them to finish what they say and not interrupt them.  Most importantly, is not rejecting their views.
4. Be responsive! – Show you are always willing to take action.  After talking and listening and understanding their concerns.  It’s time to take action.  Being able to understand their concern is not enough for them.  You need to be decisive.  Of course, you need to be Mr. Nice Guy and respond all the concerns without putting a thought to it.  You have the right to reject their concerns if you deemed it unreasonable or unrealistic.