Six Ways to Tell that Your Employer Sucks

History is repeating itself in terms of my work history. 

My last position seemed a perfect fit for me.  It was working in an industry that I had a lot of experience and was very knowledgeable.  It was a management position so I was able to attend conferences and talk about a topic in which I had much passion.  The pay and benefits were pretty good too.  All in all, I thought I would be in the job for years and would retire from it one day.

But just as pretty much every job in the last 15 years since my own business tanked, the reality of the situation was vastly different than the vision.

Don't get me wrong, I like to work.  I want to be productive.  I like being part of a team and helping make things run smoothly and efficiently.  Before my son was born, I worked in administrative support roles and always excelled.  But after my son was born and after he was diagnosed with special needs and after the successful business I ran with my ex-husband no longer generated the income I needed to survive, I didn't have the ability to work the type of job that I used do so well.  Having a child with special needs means you have to be available to drive to doctor and therapy appointments.  You have to meet with teachers and administrators.  You have to be available to pick up your child from school, sometimes at a moment's notice, if things are not going well.  Employers need reliable employees, and as a single mother of a child with special needs, I was no longer that employee.  I needed a flexible schedule, and the types of jobs that were best suited for my skill sets.  And because I was my sole support without any financial help from my ex, my parents, or my son's weathly grandfrather, it was left to me to support both my son and I.  And in a city like Los Angeles, the cost of living is pretty high, so to say this was a challenge is putting it mildly.

So, in looking back over the last 15 years of jobs in which I thought I could commit but that not ultimately pan out, it's been a varied lot of experiences in a variety of industries.  There was the job at a company that imported Teak furniture; turns out the gal that started the company, though very nice, had no clue on how to run a business in spite of her Stanford law degree.  Turned out that most of the furniture that got delivered to it's customers was damaged in transit or was so terribly manufactured that a majority of the merchandise returned, replaced, or refunded.  There was an office job that was located right down the street from my apartment.  It was a nice place to work, but my boss was difficult and was roundly disliked by all of my co-workers.  There were a couple jobs as  personal assistants, but the hours were too few and the pay not enough to survive.  There was the job as Principal of a school for special needs children where the founder pretty much lied pretty much everything.  Except for my last position, none of the salaries were just enough to get by.  Out of necessity, I learned how to be good at selling stuff on Ebay, Craig's List, and yard sales or doing whatever freelance work I could find.   Luckily I manged, but it was a long and many times exhausting journey just to keep a roof over my head, fill the gas tank, or and put food on the table. 

Am I sorry that none of my promising jobs panned out into a career that would sustain me until I was ready to retire?  Maybe a little.  What's meant to be is meant to be, so possibly the journey and these failures were meant to be so I could be where I am today.  I guess the most valuable lesson I learned out of all of this is that unless an organization has a strong people at the top that know what they are doing and understand how to run a business, that company is not be a good fit for me.  For a job to be a good fit, I need to know that the people that report to are competent, good managers, and know how to set long-term goals that help a company grow and prosper.  I know that I'vd learned a lot along the way, and I learned very well what doesn't work when running a company.  And that usually starts at the top with the person is running everything. 

So, here it is, the 6 ways in which you know your boss sucks:

1)  Your boss doesn't answer your emails

Especially for a small business, the owner of the company really needs to be calling the shots.  It's their experience and their money that is guiding and keeping the company afloat, so they better be investing in making sure the people they've hired to run their business knows what to do.  A response by the end of the day should be the norm, so when your boss just flat-out ignores your emails, it's probably an indication that the company is a sinking ship and you're about to go down with it.

2)  No one likes your boss

Yes, it's easy to complain and to see faults with the people at the top, and sometimes it's good to vent to your co-workers just to get whatever is bugging you off your chest.  But when all of your colleagues express their unhappiness about they are being treating or how screwed up your national office does thing, it's a pretty clear sign that your boss isn't a good manager.

3)  Promises are made but not kept

The owner of the school really sold me on the company.  There would be a lot more students and my salary would increase.  I could help with fundraising and get a percentage of what was made.  The company would expand and there would be additional opportunities down the road.  What really happened?  Read my previous blog "I'm Glad That's Over" to find out how that turned out.

4)  You work crazy long hours just to get everything done

Unless you are the top executive or the owner of your own business, working a normal amount of hours for any job should be the norm.  Because I have a can-do attitude, I've always assumed that I needed to do whatever it took to get the job done.  Unfortunately, this is sure fire way to burn out on your work.  If your company is not supporting you in a way that makes your job easier or adding work that detracts from you being able to focus on the big picture, then it's a pretty sure thing that the company is not run in a way that will ensure your long term success.

5)  There is no budget for routine expenses

It's very frustrating when you are managing a business and every single routine expense has to be approved.  For ordinary expenses like office supplies or cleaning materials, you should know how much money you can spend or you spend a lot of time sending emails and waiting for an approval just to place a simple order for paper, pens or paper towels.  If your company can't give you a set amount on what you can spend on recurring expenses, it's a sure fire way to tell that your boss is micromanaging the wrong stuff.

6)  Training is minimal or non-existent

Policies and procedures are essential for the smooth operation of any business, and when I was employed at startup companies, I always developed a manual on office and facilities administration so there would be a routine on how things were done.  For established companies, especially ones that have been in business for years, these should already be developed years ago.  Learning by doing is essential, but your company should also have written guidelines on how they do things so their employees know how to implement everything according to the company's standards.  If an established business does not have a standard policy and procedures manual or a start up is in the process of developing one, it's a sure sign that the people at the top don't truly understand how to efficiently manage a business.

I'm sure there are more instances of signs of sucky bosses, so feel free to add to the list.