10 things a boss should never do

This week’s viral video of an employee allegedly being assaulted by his boss has got us thinking about other lines a boss should never cross.

The job of a boss, among everything else, is to nurture, encourage and grow his staff to benefit the business. Sometimes bosses understands this, but other times they might go too far when trying to manage employees.

Here are 10 things we think a boss should never do:

1. Talk about your salary with co-workersThis will only lead to envy and other problems between employees who might be getting paid more or less than someone else.

2. Swear at or verbally abuse employeesA boss should never berate and belittle you in front of others. Any problem should be dealt with privately and in a civil tone3. Share too much informationIf you know the details of your boss’s sex life, they’re probably sharing a lot more than they should with you.

4. Give you a task they know is impossible for you to completeThe only purpose of this is to humiliate you.

5. Act inappropriatelyComments about your looks, what you’re wearing or your gender all border on sexual harassment. If this happens, go straight to HR.

6. Take these actions further than commentsIf those inappropriate comments cross the line into physical touching, it’s definitely sexual harassment.

7. Discriminate against youWhile there are no solid workplace discrimination laws in Singapore, if your boss says your gender, religion or sexual orientation affects your ability in your job, you’ll have a pretty good case to take to HR.

8. Take credit for your workThis is generally a sign your boss is incapable of his or her job, and basically not a nice person.

9. Guilt you into working late or on weekendsSure, there are times this needs to happen, but if the sentence, “Where you were on Saturday? I was here, but you weren’t” is all too familiar, then your boss is putting unnecessary pressure on (probably) already overworked staff.

10. Say, “You have to do what I say because I pay your salary”Playing up power and acting like a dictator is no way to win over employees.