DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports Events Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
  1. DZone
  2. Culture and Methodologies
  3. Career Development
  4. The Effects Of Working With A Lazy Manager

The Effects Of Working With A Lazy Manager

Having a manager who is workshy is not only outwardly problematic but can have some serious implications for team members.

Adi Gaskell user avatar by
Adi Gaskell
·
Nov. 07, 18 · Analysis
Like (2)
Save
Tweet
Share
6.64K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

it's often said that we leave jobs in large part because of the bosses we worked under. there are many things about a bad manager that can prompt our wrath, but perhaps the foremost sin is to be workshy. new research from the university of exeter highlights just how pernicious working under a lazy manager can be to our well-being and productivity.

the researchers wanted to examine the impact of having a lazy boss on the team working under them, both in terms of their mentality and productivity. the analysis revealed that leaders who regularly procrastinate both in doing tasks and making decisions result in lower commitment levels among employees. more worryingly, it also saw an increase in mendacious behaviors among staff.

for instance, unnecessary sick days rose, as did acts of theft and general slacking off themselves.

"we have found procrastination from managers can be really detrimental to their staff and companies need to take action to ensure there are better relationships between bosses and employees," the authors say. "when bosses fail to do their work, knowing this will cause problems for others, it causes their staff to become frustrated and leaves them less committed to their employer."

poor role models

the findings emerged after an analysis of nearly 300 employees, with a specific focus on how the behavior of their leader impacted their own workplace behaviors. each employee was asked to rate the efficiency of their manager, using questions such as, "my manager delays making decisions until it's too late."

staff were also asked to rate their relationships with their manager, with the managers in turn asked to rate their staff on measures such as commitment to the company and workplace deviance.

the data suggests that procrastination from bosses leads to deviance in staff. the researchers believe that a degree of "managing up" should be deployed, with staff seeking to learn why their managers procrastinate, and to take a more active role in decision making.

"we found employees are less likely to be frustrated by their leader's procrastination if they had a good relationship with that leader," the researchers conclude. "encouraging feedback sessions, such as 360-degree feedback, may help leaders to become more aware of their own behavior, and sharing leadership could reduce the effect of a procrastinating leader."

Productivity IT workplace career Efficiency (statistics) Measure (physics) Task (computing) Data (computing) teams Session (web analytics)

Published at DZone with permission of Adi Gaskell, DZone MVB. See the original article here.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • Tech Layoffs [Comic]
  • The 12 Biggest Android App Development Trends in 2023
  • API Design Patterns Review
  • Top 5 PHP REST API Frameworks

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends: