Coping With A Moody Boss
Moody bosses can be the bane of many people's working
life. "Grumpy", "crabby", "sullen" and "crusty" may be
adjectives for these mercurial managers.
Besides being difficult to work with, a temperamental
leader's behaviour can be contagious.
Researchers Thomas Sy at California State University,
Stephane Cote at the University of Toronto and Richard
Saavedra at the University of Michigan, noted that moody
leaders can "infect" their subordinates with their moods.
Their recently published study in The Journal of Applied
Psychology indicated a manager's mood can enhance or
lessen employee performance.
Moodiness is not depression. Moody people may also be
depressed, but moods are typically general, low-intensity
states (those not connected to a specific, intense emotion,
like acute fear, for instance) and have no identifiable cause.
They aren't always negative. Some moods include
enthusiasm, excitement and elation.
Sometimes it can be difficult to identify whether you are
working for a moody leader. And knowing what to expect
from them can be tricky too.
Subtle signs can indicate whether your boss is moody. For
example, do you sometimes feel down at work and don't
know why? Some people slip into a funk when they arrive,
or dread walking in the door - but can't pinpoint the cause of
their malaise.
You may find yourself trying to reduce the amount of time
spent in your manager's presence. Often, staff who work
with moody supervisors find it hard to discover what pleases
the manager.
Staff may increasingly doubt and blame themselves,
wondering, "What have I done to put him in such a rotten
mood?" or, "May be it's me, may be she's grumpy because
of something I did." or, "If I can find the right way of relating,
the mood may lift."
You may feel unusually tense when working for a moody
manager and notice that when the manager is absent the
tone at work is lighter, less stressed and more collegial.
Identifying a moody boss is only half the battle.
Understanding what to expect when working for such a
leader is important, too.
The researchers found that in the short term, team effort
increases for a moody boss. People will try to please him or
her by putting more time into a project or task, believing the
leader's cranky tone indicates he or she feels not enough
progress is being made. By putting in more effort, staff hope
to improve the leader's mood. When the leader seems
enthused or excited, employees feel they are on the right
track.
Staff keep a close eye on their leaders, scanning for
indications of approval regarding their job performance.
Moody leaders may inadvertently convey a sense of urgency
or unease because their glum countenance signals things
aren't going well.
When staff infer they are not living up to expectations, they
tend to work in a less co-operative, collegial fashion. Moody
leaders reduce worker collaboration. According to the
researchers, teams function less effectively under a grumpy
manager. Staff find they communicate with each other less
and don't seem to get along as well as they could. Time
gets wasted under temperamental supervisors.
Along with a tense work environment and poorer staff co-
operation, employees can expect to arrive home after work
in a bad mood themselves.
Leaders tend to affect subordinates more than subordinates
affect leaders. Grumpy workers may have less impact on
their leaders, but manager moods are amplified because of
their power role. For that reason, leaders must regulate their
moods at work.
While leaders seem to be more contagious than their
subordinates in transmitting negative moods, staff can still
"inoculate" themselves. Workers are wise to refrain from
taking leader moodiness personally. Knowing you work for a
touchy boss can help. Labeling your boss's behaviour is
also important. By identifying the mood you see (grouchy,
melancholy or moping) and remembering it's the boss's
feeling - not yours - helps you keep your distance.
Remember, your efforts won't necessarily change the boss's
moodiness. Only the leader can accomplish this.
Concentrate on nurturing your own upbeat outlook.
While moods are generally not associated with a particular
situation or event - most often there is no cause - you can
look for patterns. Is your boss moodier at certain times of
the year? Does he become truculent over particular kinds of
jobs?
Knowing that your boss is ultimately in charge of his or her
mood and can take steps to change it will help staff keep
their balance.
In the end, those who can manage their own emotions well
and who understand that their mood influences effective
teamwork will see an increase in performance and
enthusiasm from their staff. Those who don't will notice a
decline in their own quality of life and find their staff groups
confused, tense, wary and less productive in the long term.
Dr. Jennifer Newman and Dr. Darryl Grigg are registered
psychologists and directors of Newman & Grigg Psychological and
Consulting Services Ltd., a Vancouver-based corporate training and
development partnership. They can be contacted at sunmail@newmangrigg.com
Identifying information in cases cited has been changed to
protect confidentiality.