10 Signs You're the Boss Everyone Hates

Everybody wants to be a boss. Whether you're a CEO, President, or a lower-level manager, the inherent desire for power remains a big incentive for employees amongst all industries. However, being a boss isn't all it's cracked up to be. It requires a high level of social skills, transparency, and self-awareness to be a successful leader.

Conversely, there are plenty of ways a boss can fail to motivate their employees. In fact, they're prime to do the opposite—drive them away. There are plenty of instances in which a boss or manager doesn't even realize there is a mutiny going on in the workplace, and at that point, it's already too late. Good bosses can nip any of these potential problems in the bud. If you're not sure where you fall in between good boss and bad, here are a few signs you're the boss everyone hates.

You have a gut feeling.

First things first, if you have a gut feeling that your employees aren't enthralled by your management style, chances are, they aren't. Sometimes, there are some subtle signs that you can pick up on right away, and you shouldn't simply write them off. Personality clashes are a common thing in the work force, so identifying them sooner, rather than later, can be instrumental in appeasing relations with your staff. After all, you don't want your employees asking, "Is my boss psycho or supportive?"

Your staff has poor body language.

While some simply correlate poor body language with lack of sleep or a person's overall sentiment towards work in general, this isn't always the case. Poor body language can serve as a key indicator as to whether or not your workers respect you as a boss. Whether it's an eye roll or they are constantly situated in a slumped position, there are ways to tell, just via casual body language, that your workers are miffed. There are certainly ways to cope when you hate your boss, but that doesn't mean your disdain is not apparent.

Employees can't make eye contact with you.

This sort of builds off of body language, but on more of a psychological level. If your employees generally avoid making eye contact you—and not with others—then it's pretty safe to say they're not one of your biggest fans. This could be a product of the fact that they're not comfortable looking you in the eye because of all the things they've said behind your back, or they're afraid that you can detect the general hostility they gave off. Either way, it's not a good sign.

They generally avoid you.

Another telltale sign your employees are dissatisfied with your leadership is when they try to avoid you like the plague. Team members that refuse to be in your presence aren't necessarily intimidated by you—oftentimes, they simply don't like you. Their inability to communicate in-person can be a big hinderance to the company's day-to-day function, so it's a pretty good idea to get this sorted out before it's too late. Sometimes, it's hard to accept the signs you're a bad boss, but a sense of self awareness is crucial in any successful operation.

They clam up/stop talking when you enter the room.

Just because you are the boss, doesn't mean you can't joke and make small talk with your employees. If your team, on the other hand, doesn't enjoy doing this with you, yet have no problem acting natural when you're not around, then there could be a serious issue at hand. Once employees stiffen up when you're in the room, there's a good chance you have lost them. Or, at the very least, lost their trust.

Your employees seem disinterested in their work.

If your employees—who were once highly passionate about doing a good job—begin to tail off and become disinterested, then there is a huge chance that you're the root of the problem. Bad morale, for the most place, comes down to the boss's actions. While it is not always fair to pin company morale on one person and one person only, an unlikeable boss is, surprisingly, one of the largest factors in a company's lack of success. Once you lose touch with your employees, they begin to get less and less work done, considering they no longer want to fight for you. Make sure you don't do anything to strain your relationships with your staff, or it can have much bigger implications than just an awkward day-to-day in the office.

They only talk to you via email.

Again, this sort of builds off of the "avoids you at all costs" segment, but it relates more to how you communicate. Obviously, your employees can't go all day without talking to their superior, so in these cases, it's typically done through email. With that said though, if your employees have no problem communicating to their coworkers or direct superiors in person and only email, then there is clearly a problem festering.

You don't get invited to after-work social events.

Another big red flag actually comes after work hours. If most of, or maybe all of, your staff is going out for drinks or a meal after work and you're not invited, chances are, they are not very fond of you. Granted, they could just be a little intimated by the fact that their boss is sitting right across from them at a social gathering, but the fact of the matter is any amount of discomfort is too much discomfort. You should, for the most part, be approachable to your employees both in and out of the work place if you're a good boss.

People frequently call out sick.

Calling out is another sign that your employees may be fed up with you as a boss for almost no apparent reason. Obviously, don't get too paranoid now—they may actually be sick or on vacation. However, if they're calling out for "stress-related reasons," are cutting back their work hours, or with just no explanation at all, then there is a chance that they're just plain unhappy.

They resign without a legitimate reason.

A high turnover rate is a key indicator of an overall dissatisfaction at a job. Even more so, it's a direct indicator of the person in charge. Again, it's unfair to pin everything on the boss, but most people who quit their job cite their superior as the key reason for them leaving. If people keep quitting and can't give a specific reason as to why they are doing so, there is a good chance it's because, quite frankly, they hate their boss.

So these are just some of the signs you're the boss everyone hates. If you happened to notice one or more, you might want to make changes accordingly—before it's too late.