Bad bosses can be a big problem — to the tune of $360 billion in lost productivity. Beefs with bad bosses also take a big bite out of Procurement and Purchasing quality time — an estimated 20 hours per month for each disenfranchised worker, says a study in Human Resource Executive magazine.

(Bosses already feel like they “don’t get no respect” — see ProcurementAlert Oct. 9 posting “Ouch! Bosses are Hurtin’.)

Bottom line: Bad bosses can be hazardous to your health and your company’s well-being.

Hazardous to your health?

A bad boss can push the employees to the point where 30% of them become more likely to develop coronary disease, compared with their well-directed peers. A study from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health followed employees for 15 years and even took into account the usual lifestyle factors, smoking, overweight, etc.

It hurts your company’s well-being because it seems that good people will come to work for good companies companies, but they’ll leave because of bad bosses.

One big reason for this is because managers often find themselves caught between two approaches to doing the job.

On one hand, no one wants to be known as a micro-manager. Having your boss shadow and question every move is a recipe for alienation and failure.

So what’s evolved from that, at the other extreme, is a method known as “seagull management.”

What does that mean?

A manager stays at a distance, watching what unfolds. He or she generally gets involved only when there’s a fire that needs to be doused.

That usually results in a manager swooping in at the last minute — a la seagull — and squawking, pecking and occasionally leaving a “deposit.”

To be an effective boss, try doing what “seagull managers” don’t do:

• Get the facts straights
• work with people and alongside people, and
• seek and consider feedback.

Tags: managers, procurement, purchasing