How to lose an employee

A step-by-step Guide

Good pay, great benefits and flexible hours — the total package, right?

Think again, experts say.

Studies show that more people leave their jobs because of frustrations with their boss than for any other reason, said human resources practitioner and consultant Carl Jaskolski, who also teaches at Concordia University and Upper Iowa’s Milwaukee campus.

And if the boss has so much power over employee retention and satisfaction, it might be worth the time to identify a few of the traits managers should strive to avoid.

To that end, Jaskolski created a simple recipe for driving an employee to another company.

Start by sauntering up to an employee. Draw yourself up straight and puff out your chest. Then say, in an imperious tone if possible: “Listen to me. I’m the supervisor.” Perhaps you can follow up with a nice possessive phrase like, “As my employee, you must ...”

The instant those words come spilling out, all ability to manage the employee is lost.

AG Architecture's Carole Hopp and Eric Robert Harrmann visit in AG's offices.

Photo by Brian Ebner/Optic Nerve
“You say that, you are no longer a supervisor to that employee. The moment you have to use the title ...” Jaskolski said, his sentence trailing off into a bout of you-blew-it laughter.
Now that you’ve set a hierarchical tone to your workplace, you’ll want to follow up by, as quickly as possible, forgetting the shoes you used to walk in. That’s right, forget the joys and challenges you faced when doing the job those you supervise now do.

“If you see only your power and authority, it comes out as annoyance or lack of competence,” Jaskolski said.
Top off your work by being rigid and avoiding interaction with those you supervise.

“Communication and flexibility are necessary to work well with others,” Jaskolski said.

But what might be even worse than failing to interact with employees at all is speaking to them the wrong way. It’s something Jaskolski said happens far too often.

“The language many in management use toward them is rude, crude and demeaning — it’s confrontation, sexism, cursing or
calling individuals stupid,” he said.