Bad Boss Equals Bad Marriage Says New Study

Does going to work seem like marching off to war?  Is your boss the kind that delights in beating up employees (emotionally speaking)? Does your boss make you feel like you can’t do anything right?

Well, if you can say yes to any of the above questions you probably need to look for a different job – for your sake and for the sake of your family.

A new study suggests that having a “boss-from-hell” not only makes your work life more difficult, but also leads to problems in your home life.  The Baylor University researchers suggest having a bad boss can lead to problems with a person’s spouse and kids as well.  For younger couples this is an even greater problem than for couples that have been together for a longer period of time and can better survive the bad boss onslaught.

Warning To Businesses

The researchers suggest that employers need to more closely monitor their employees, particularly supervisors, to insure the work environment is not hostile and that supervisors are not rude, publicly criticize employees, or have all out fits in the work place.

Perhaps research such as this might change the corporate behavior.  Take for example the case of James Dolan, chairman of Madison Square Garden, who fired an employee for serving him flat Coke and fired someone because the employee didn’t recognize him.  Then again, there’s no shortage of bad bosses, as exemplified by the number of “bad boss” listings and blogs on the Internet.

In the Baylor study researchers found that as supervisor abuse heightens tension in the relationship, the employee is less motivated or able to engage in positive interactions with his or her partner and other family members.

Workers and Partners Interviewed

To reach their conclusions the researchers interviewed 280 workers and their partners.  Fifty-seven percent of the employees were male with an average of five years in their current job; 75 percent had children living with them. The average age for the employee and the partner was 36 years. The average length of their relationship was 10 years. Of the respondents, 46 percent supervised other employees in the workplace, 47 percent worked in a public organization, 40 percent worked in a private organization, nine percent worked for a non-profit organization and five percent were self-employed. Of the partner group, 43 percent were male with 78 percent of these individuals employed.  The employees were given a survey to complete.  When their survey was finished, their partners were asked to complete a separate survey that was linked bank to their partners’ survey.

The questions asked included, “How often does your supervisor use the following behaviors with you?” with example items being “Tells me my thoughts or feelings are stupid,” “Expresses anger at me when he/she is mad for another reason,” “Puts me down in front of others,” and “Tells me I’m incompetent.”  Their partners, on the other hand were asked questions such as, “During the past month, how often did you . . .” feel irritated or resentful about things your (husband/wife/partner) did or didn’t do” and “feel tense from fighting, arguing or disagreeing with your (husband/wife/partner).”

The study found that abusive supervision contributes to the experience of work-to-family conflict and tensions in the relationship.

So, the next time your boss is mean to you tell him or her that he/she is messing with your family life.  Will it help?  Probably not.

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