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People are hard to please – especially if they’re working for you. When we picture a bad boss in our minds, we think of somebody who’s irrationally angry and driven towards money, somebody who shouts a lot and is mean to their staff. In reality, the bosses that we come to dislike aren’t necessarily fitting this stereotype; they can be too nice, too sly, too quiet, not empathetic enough. There are a variety of factors which can work towards making a bad impression, which is not something that you want … a happy working environment means happy employees which in turn makes better business sense for you.

Don’t Be Too Nice

You may not think it’s possible, but there is a chance that you can be too nice in a working environment. It’s unfortunate, but your employees can take advantage of this; if they are thinking that you don’t have a backbone to stand up to them, they’ll assume you are a pushover and you will watch performance decrease. It could be that they are constantly phoning in for days off, are consistently late for work or just aren’t doing what’s in their job description – but that’s fine, right? Because you’ll smile and say it’s okay. While you may think that being nice is getting people to like you, it can go in the opposite direction; respect can be lost with those who don’t enforce boundaries and limits.

Don’t Be Vague

This goes across many different boards. Don’t be vague on plans, don’t be vague on feedback, don’t be vague full stop. There are programs online to help if you can’t quite clarify information or work towards an achievement with your employees; if you can get expedited performance management and employee evaluations  ahead of when you meet with them in order to clarify what steps they need to take to achieving their potential,  you’re on track to giving them a clear route. If you are too wishy-washy with your words or only assume that your staff know what you’re doing, you may need to consider cutting out the small talk and getting down to the basics to ensure that everybody’s on the right page.

Don’t Be Too Demanding

Making your employees choose between their personal lives and work can work in some instances, but if you ever try and make them put work before their family you’re going to lose every time – both literally and morally. Put yourself into their shoes and ask yourself if what you’re requiring of them is fair and achievable. If it’s something that you wouldn’t do, or something that you know you would go home and feel upset about, you shouldn’t ever expect another person to do it – even if they are getting paid for it. Give your staff the respect that you would like to be treated with, and they will respect you in return; it is this respect which contributes massively towards creating a healthy, productive and immensely rewarding working relationship between you and your team.