When we talk about workplace bullying, people often relate it to something physical and easily explainable but the truth is that workplace bullying is often emotional bullying done by an emotionally abusive boss.

“Gosh, so many people would never believe me if I told them that this guy was emotionally abusive.“

These things are hard to explain. Your close friends do not understand you or worse, they believe that the situation is not alarming enough.

Here, we will try to explain the cases where an emotionally abusive boss has the main role in hating your job. If you find more than 4 signs relatable to your situation, an alarm should ring in you and you should think about finding appropriate solutions, an emotionally abusive boss must be stopped.

#1 Your Boss Shames You When You Make a Mistake

Of course, a boss may become angry at you if you make a mess but if he treats you with disdain or disgust while keeping you around at the company, he might be emotionally abusive.

A boss should never cause you to feel deep personal shame or guilt. If he acts excessively cold, nonverbal, or even using hostile sarcasm, he is being ineffective and only encouraging you to question yourself.

#2 Your Boss Spreads Rumors

Gossip is something that comes naturally when working in a group of people. But your boss should not be spreading rumors since he is the one with the responsibility of keeping things clean and making a productive environment. 

If your boss tends to criticize your coworkers in one-on-one meetings with you, be sure he is doing the same thing to you with one-on-one meetings with your colleagues.

#3 Your Boss Makes You Feel Like Nothing Is Ever Good Enough

You may even be an obsessive perfectionist, but your boss is making you feel like nothing you do is ever good enough. No matter how detailed a report you have done or how much clients are satisfied with the service, your boss is never going to praise you for your work.  

#4 Your Boss Micromanages You

Another obvious sign of an emotionally abusive boss. Micromanagement communicates to the employee that he or she is not trustworthy. The employee treated this kind of way feels very undervalued and starts to diminish his/her own worth.

#5 Your Boss Makes You Doubt Yourself

This can actually be a form of emotional abuse. You feel broken at your current job but you don’t feel like changing the job because you are not sure if you would handle some new professional adventure. Your boss has succeeded in questioning your self-worth and now you are afraid of pursuing a new job.

#6 Your Boss Is Not Sharing All The Information With You

Toxic bosses love to have all the power to themselves. This basically means that if they know something will change in the office, they tend to keep the information all to themselves for as long as they can. This makes them (in their mind) very powerful. On the other hand, it makes you very vulnerable and leaves you with the feeling of being small and unimportant.

#7 Your Boss Is Ignoring You

We just can’t decide what is worse, the boss who is constantly stalking you or the boss who is constantly ignoring you. What do you think is worse?

Being ignored must exhaust you mentally, physically and emotionally all the time. Because, after all, no matter how hard you try, it spreads to your personal life as well and that is when things start to be serious. 

#8 Your Boss Is Obsessing Over You

This is the opposite of the point above but equally draining. If you are coming to work every morning with the notion that someone will be overlooking your every move and every thought you have in your head you must be dreading coming to work. This kind of behavior is typical of an emotionally abusive boss. 

#9 Your Boss Is Being Sarcastic 

There are many non-verbal signs which we have covered previously when a boss is being emotionally abusive.

But, there are those verbal signs which combined with the overall atmosphere in the room, make the job very dangerous. One definition of sarcasm is a “sharp and often satirical utterance designed to cut or give pain.” Some bosses use sarcasm as a means to humiliate and control their employees. The repeated use of sarcasm is unhealthy and can be a form of harassment in the workplace.

In case you liked this article, share it with someone who would find it useful too.

[gs-fb-comments]