11 Signs Your Boss Is Turning Toxic (And How to Deal With It)

Having a toxic boss can make your work life miserable and isn’t likely to lower your financial stress in the future. However, recognizing when management is toxic isn’t always easy. After all, the worst bosses might make you think you’re the one to blame.

Here are some signs to watch for and how to handle the situation if you find yourself with a toxic superior.

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Toxic bosses may not encourage professional growth, and even try to prevent it. Supportive bosses help you work toward professional goals, give you the tools to perform better at your job, and possibly even encourage advancement within the company.

If your boss isn’t doing these things, you could have a toxic manager on your hands.

Does your boss wave off every concern you raise? They might have an excuse for why something is the way it is and can’t change, or perhaps they make justifications for problems within the company or management.

Good bosses should validate your concerns and help find ways to address them. Of course, that doesn’t always mean they’ll have the answer you’d like, but they shouldn’t dismiss them.

When you perform well, it makes your boss look good, but that doesn’t mean they should take credit for your work.

In fact, supportive bosses should praise a job well done and ensure other managers are informed about your accomplishments.

Toxic people in general often think they’re always correct, even when they aren’t. And bosses are no exception. Their way is always the best way, and they refuse to acknowledge when they’ve made a mistake.

Not all criticism is bad. Constructive criticism can help foster professional growth, but toxic bosses might not offer criticism in a constructive way. Instead, they might only point out your mistakes.

It works the other way, too. Toxic bosses might give no feedback at all, leaving subordinates to wonder what they did right and where they could improve. This can hurt your career later and prevent you from landing promotions and bonuses.

If your boss talks with you about other coworkers behind their backs, it’s likely they're talking about you with others, too.

So, while it might feel like you’re two friends gossiping over coffee, chances are that your manager just likes to gossip and find fault with others.

Toxic managers often find a way to blame subordinates for their mistakes and are often very good at convincing others that they’re the ones at fault.

For example, they might provide you with the wrong information, causing you to perform the job incorrectly, and then blame you for failing.

While bosses often work closely with new hires, they should eventually trust you to perform tasks with less supervision.

If you’ve already proven yourself, there’s probably no reason for your boss to check in every five minutes or provide reminders about things they’re aware you already know.

Some jobs require long hours, but that doesn’t mean your boss should make unreasonable demands that negatively affect your home life.

Your boss should understand when you need the occasional personal day, and they shouldn’t expect you to answer emails after hours (unless that was a clear expectation when you accepted the job.)

Does your boss act one way around you but differently around their own managers? That could mean they know the way they treat you isn’t acceptable, and they don’t want their bosses to know.

Perhaps your boss speaks kindly to you in meetings but yells at you when no one is around, or maybe they constantly threaten to fire you but make you seem like a valuable employee when speaking to superiors. Either situation could indicate a toxic boss.

While some jobs come with high expectations, they should be reasonable. If your boss expects you to work on your days off or constantly assigns projects with unreasonable deadlines, that’s a red flag.

Of course, it could be possible that your boss doesn’t understand how unreasonable expectations are. So, if it’s something simple, such as too-short deadlines, it’s probably best to communicate with them directly before labeling them as toxic.

One way to deal with a toxic boss is to simply leave your job and find another one (which can sometimes be the most effective way to make money moves), but that doesn’t always mean that’s the best course of action.

If you decide to stay with your company, consider speaking with your boss, and if that doesn’t work, you can always go to human resources. It’s also a good idea to document both negative interactions with your boss and your accomplishments. That way, you can prove your value to the company if needed in the future.