Work woes | Signs that your workers secretly hate you

Being disliked is never easy. Whilst it’s your duty to, on occasion, pull rank and make executive decisions that you know to be correct, that doesn’t mean that others are obliged to respect that decision or agree with you.

It takes very little for an overly zealous employee to overstep their position and as such, the onus is on you to step in. And this isn’t the only factor that can cause resentment and dislike to proliferate in your employees; you may well be making mistakes that affect them poorly, you may have to make staff redundant or settle on difficult conclusions, and in some cases, employees simply resent their boss for nothing more than being their boss – which leads to dislike.

You may well be contented by the belief that you’ve witnessed no hostility from your employees, yet as Lynn Taylor, workplace culture expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behaviour and Thrive in Your Job recently told the Independent: “Most co-workers won’t overtly show their disdain for you so as not to cause trouble or jeopardise their own careers. They may make life difficult for you, but they’ll probably try to stay under the radar. Still, there are subtle red flags that they’re not out for your best interests.”

Are you aiming to be liked? 

Simply put, no. You shouldn’t be aiming to be liked, but you should recognise what you’re doing that is causing bad feeling between you and your employee. This will help you navigate your future relationship, ensure that you’re informing your staff why you’re making certain decisions and ultimately, help your own career.