Some employees actually imagine killing their boss

That surprising nugget of information was discovered by Expert Market, which surveyed 2,200 Brits around job satisfaction. It turns out the more staff dislike their boss, the more inclined they are to leave the company – or become less enthused about work.

Some 52 per cent admitted they hated work specifically because of their boss. Pay rises would easily be turned down in exchange for the ability to fire a manager, one in five said.

Such was their displeasure with the company’s head honcho that 41 per cent would flat-out pretend not to notice them on the street. Others found joy in imagining the ways of killing their boss. At least, that’s according to one in ten respondents.

This murderous intent was particularly strong in the construction industry, where 22 per cent dreamed of ditching their boss. This number dropped to 15 per cent within the media sector. Only 14 per cent of science and technology staff were keen to let their imagination take over.

Employees within the hospitality sector – seven per cent – were less inclined to wish their boss an untimely death. Boasting the same figure was the health industry, as well as the administrative sector.

Expert Market was eager to find out why some thought of killing their boss. Employees that didn’t switch jobs were, amongst other reasons, passionate about their roles or the company itself, loved the culture or their colleagues, or simple needed a certain financial income. But they were unhappy about the way bosses managed those of lower rank.

The vast majority, 73 per cent, thought they could better manage a team – a figure which increased to 86 per cent for those in the energy sector. They cited employers’ inability to boost job satisfaction as their main reason for being discontent.

Bosses set far too many impossible tasks, claimed 44 per cent of workers. The same number felt they weren’t gaining recognition, while 45 per cent thought they were being ignored. Half exclaimed they had taken the fall for employer mistakes. Meanwhile, 48 per cent said the boss had taken credit for their work.

All in all, over a third of people dreaded going to work, said Hannah Whitfield, who headed up Expert Market’s research. A fifth even suggested they were overworked and underpaid for their efforts.

“The average cost of hiring a new employee has been calculated at a whopping £25,181, and rises each year,” Whitfield added. “Employees are said to leave bosses, not companies, so our survey paints a bleak picture for certain industries. If ‘horrible​ ​bosses’​ ​don’t​ ​up​ ​their​ ​game,​ ​they​ ​could​ ​end​ ​up​ ​costing​ ​companies​ ​thousands​ ​in​ ​hiring​ ​costs.”

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