50 Examples Of Bad Bosses Who Probably Complain That “No One Wants To Work Anymore” (New Pics)

Hating your boss is not just material for stand-up or a topic for water cooler talk. For many workers, a stressful work environment perpetuated by their supervisors is a sad reality. The Toxic Workplace Trends Report 2025 by iHire revealed that 74.9% of American employees have experienced a toxic workplace.

They surveyed 1,781 workers and 504 employers across 57 industries in The U.S., and most respondents named "poor leadership/management" as the top characteristic of a toxic workplace. 71.9% of those respondents claimed that leaders are not accountable for their mistakes, and 65.5% believed they treat their employees with bias and favoritism.

Adjunct Assistant Professor for the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary, Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett, tells Bored Panda that high turnover is a tell-tale sign of an organization with poor leadership. If employees don't stay with the company for a long time, there's probably a reason for that.

Another, perhaps less obvious, sign is the number of employees taking medical leave. She notes that some of them might come from overwork, as burnout can result from having a toxic boss. In her recent research, Dr. Laura has found a significant relationship between toxic leadership behaviors and burnout across industries in North America.

In her research with colleagues conducted through the University of Calgary, Dr. Laura has interviewed employees about toxic leadership behaviors. These interviews helped the researchers identify some new toxic behaviors in addition to the previously recognized narcissistic, authoritarian, self-promoting, abusive, and unpredictable behaviors. They now believe that dishonesty, gaslighting, extreme control and micromanagement, unethical behavior, and corruption harm employees' well-being just as much.

Employee engagement scores are a great way to measure how good a company's leadership is. HR experts claim that the average score for an engagement survey should be above 70. Anything below that may signal poor management. Yet Dr. Laura notes that she's more of a fan of climate surveys. "[They] dig deeper into the organizational conditions at play, including bad leadership."

Are there any ways to deal with insufferable superiors? Of course, and, just like when dealing with narcissists and entitled people in general, setting boundaries is crucial. "Although if your boss is truly toxic or narcissistic, this will not be a long-term solution," Dr. Laura cautions. "Your best solution is to begin crafting your 'exit plan,' which could mean moving within your organization to report to a better boss or leaving the organization altogether."

What Dr. Laura and colleagues have found in their research makes them urge people to have as low a tolerance for toxic bosses as possible. "The longer you report to a toxic leader, the more you lose your energy and confidence, making it more challenging to actively pursue a new role," she tells Bored Panda. "The earlier you can begin crafting and implementing your exit plan, the better!"