They might smile at you when expected and engage in small talk with you. But what if your boss has deep-down hatred for you? How do you really know your boss actually despises you?
In today’s modern workplace we have rigorous bullying and harassment policies ensuring everyone interacts with each other in a civil and mostly pleasant manner. Managers are not able to truly show just how they feel about their direct reports. How are we, as their workers, ever able to know just how they truly feel when they are paid to suppress and hide their true views and feelings?
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The following signs could be the smoking gun.
- You have a gut feeling
If you feel they treat you differently to everyone else in their team, then it may be an easy initial sign. Keep exploring to see if there are any other signs. - They exclude you
When your boss wants to make important decisions, they exclude you from discussions, either formal or informal. - They huff and moan
When reviewing your work, they may be unable to refrain from verbalising their frustration but hearing a moan or a huff, could be the sign. It’s impossible to substantiate a moan or huff in court so many managers freely do this. - When they smile at you, it’s forced and unnatural
Don’t think that just because your boss smiles at you on-cue that they actually like you. If it comes across as forced or fake, it probably is. - They micromanage you
Although some bosses micromanage out of personal insecurity, many also do it because they don’t trust you. It may also be used as an outlet for their anger and frustration toward you. - They avoid you
In the cafeteria, they always prefer to go and speak to someone else other than you - They ignore you
Your boss has poor hearing? Unlikely. They are probably just struggling to conjure up the energy to fake they they like you. - They’re short and blunt with you
Once again, if they hate you, it takes a lot of energy and effort to fake being nice. If emails are shorter and more blunt to you, then it’s likely that there is underlying frustration present. - Hostile body language
Arms crossed, eye rolls, don’t look away from their computer when you come to speak to them. - They are impersonal
If they opt to only communicate via email or instant messenger then the prospect of a face-to-face conversation may occur as too much for them. - No feedback offered
If they give no feedback, either positive or negative. It’s likely that they have absolutely no interest in your future. They probably hate you. - They humiliate you
Although this is very unprofessional and could make them liable to litigation. Humiliating you in front of colleagues or clients could be a strong sign that they loathe you. - They reassign work
This is an advanced sign, and could even indicate that they are about to make you redundant. However, if there is little business benefit to reassign a high profile project away from you, then it could be a subtle sign your hating boss want to make tour work life less tolerable.
