Horrible Bosses: Why Having a Bad Boss Breeds Burnout

Audio Deep Dive — 18:06

Why Having a Bad Boss Breeds Burnout

I remember the moment well. I sat down in their office, trying to wear a brave face while quietly fighting off nerves that were tormenting and twisting my intestines into knots. “You asked to meet with me. I have five minutes. What’s up?” my boss said to me.

Before I tell you what I said, here’s a quick recap of how I landed in my boss’s office, preparing to quit a job I had been working for five and a half years and, if I’m being honest, was prepared to work the rest of my life at. Six weeks prior, there had been a changing of the guard. The CEO I had worked for from the start was being replaced by someone with little industry credibility, questionable ethics, and a knack for getting under people’s skin using snide comments and aggression. They also had some bad leadership habits they brought into the system. Let’s just say micromanagement is relaxed compared to how they managed.

Ultimately, the culture and team we had developed since I started in this role were quickly dismantled in a short 6-week window. Six weeks in, and I am one of the last people standing from the remaining crew who had all either quit or had been fired.

It was now my turn to leave.

Now, back to their office. “I’ve decided to accept a position somewhere else, “I sheepishly blurted.

Silence. Silence. Silence. More Silence. The pulse in my neck was actually hurting my ear from beating so violently.

“Okay, why? Because I tell the truth around here?” they responded.

I was so confused by this response. Tell the truth? “What are you talking about?!” I wanted to shout. However, I responded in the most politically correct way possible, “Unfortunately, I believe I’ve reached my capacity here and have an offer that I, simply, cannot pass up.”

I chickened out of telling the truth, just like the rest of my former teammates did. Why? I was afraid of retaliation.

Truthfully, I’m grateful for this experience because it ignited in me the urge to begin studying leadership. And you know what I found? I’m not alone in my experience. In fact, a recent survey and report by BambooHR was just released (2025), and the data tells an interesting tale, particularly when combined with other research, of just why having a bad boss is called “toxic.”

Breaking Down the Recent Report

BambooHR (2025) surveyed over 1,000 employees to better understand how employees feel their boss affects them. The results led BambooHR to release what they’re calling the “Bad Boss Index.” Here are some of the key findings:

70% of respondents felt their boss had a positive impact on job satisfaction, while 53% said their boss influenced their decision to leave.
More than half (59%) of respondents worry about retaliation when providing feedback or reporting issues with their manager.
“Bad bosses” seem to outnumber the good, with 70% of respondents saying it was somewhat or very common to encounter bad bosses at work.

These statistics had me curious and wondering how people were defining a “bad boss.” According to the report, the behavioral characteristics of bad bosses that were most highly reported were:

Overworking the team/unrealistic expectations (54%)
Being hypercritical (54%)
Being unethical (62%)

Other behaviors we’re described as “top dealbreakers” like the ones above were, but were described as “pet peeves” that frustrated employees:

Disorganized (33%)
Micromanaging (29%)
Unapproachable, inflexible (27%)

Some of the data related to retention and employees leaving positions or the company altogether is interesting as well. As mentioned, 53% of employees noted that their boss was an influential factor in their decision to leave a position. The top reasons for a boss-related departure were:

Unpleasant interpersonal interactions (47%)
Favoritism of other employees (36%)
Micromanagement (33%)

It should be noted again that 70% of employees feel their boss had a significant or somewhat significant positive impact on their overall job satisfaction, which tells us that having a good boss plays a large role in employee satisfaction.

The last section worth discussing is the section on retaliation. The report states that more than 3 out of 4 employees reported experiencing some type of retaliation for speaking out against their manager. The types of retaliation that were most common were:

Receiving an inaccurate performance evaluation that is lower than it should be (31%)
Being reprimanded (30%)
Experiencing increased scrutiny (28%)
Being subjected to more difficult work conditions (25%)
Physical or verbal abuse (21%)
Being a victim of false rumors spread by the manager (18%)

How Much Do Bosses Influence Job Satisfaction and Retention?

Even though most employees report a positive influence from their manager, over half say their boss affects their decision to leave.

How Much Do Bosses Influence Job Satisfaction and Retention?

Ethical concerns and overworking the team top the list, but even “pet peeves” like disorganization and micromanagement frustrate employees.

Top Boss-Related Reasons Employees Leave Their Jobs

Relationship friction and unfair treatment are the biggest drivers of turnover.

Types of Retaliation Employees Report After Speaking Up

More than 3 out of 4 employees reported experiencing some form of retaliation. This illustrates how critical psychological safety is in the workplace.

BambooHR’s (2025) report makes it clear that a good or bad boss impacts the workplace and how people feel about their jobs. A boss can either create satisfaction or cause people to feel fear and want to leave their role. The report also makes it clear how important autonomy, respect, psychological safety, and open feedback systems are.

Now, given that Spirence is a platform designed for helping everyone achieve whole-person-mastery through engaging, relevant content focused on mental health and leadership skills development, I wanted to dive a bit further into some existing research to see what other effects having a “bad boss” might have on a person’s well-being, motivation, and more.

Bad Bosses and Burnout, Motivation, Engagement, and Mental Health

The BambooHR (2025) study discussed employee dissatisfaction when a “bad boss” looms over employees, and that dissatisfaction could be a motivating factor for people to seek work elsewhere. What I wanted to know is what happens before a person reaches the point of quitting? How are they affected personally and professionally?

Well, it turns out, they are affected quite a bit. In a study by Wolor et al. (2022), the authors found a statistically significant negative effect on work motivation among those exposed to toxic leaders. In other words, they found that the more “toxic” a leader is, the less motivated employees are to get their work done. To add to this, a Gallup (2020) survey found that 70% of people’s level of work engagement was determined solely by who was managing them.

Burnout is on everyone’s minds right now, with a recent survey revealing that over 78% of folks in the U.S. report symptoms of burnout. It turns out, having a “bad boss” can make burnout more likely, according to McKinsey’s (2022) survey of 14,509 people. They found that toxic workplace behavior was the single biggest predictor of burnout symptoms. Combine that with a recent survey from the American Psychological Association (2023) that found that workers who reported a toxic workplace were more than three times as likely to report harm to their mental health compared to those in a healthy workplace, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Sure, BambooHR’s (2025) “Bad Boss Index” cites job satisfaction declines due to “bad bosses,” but what might actually be going on, if we want to explain the dissatisfaction based on the other research we found, is rising burnout, declining mental health, lower employee engagement, and reduced motivational drive. All concerns that are not only detrimental to business, but they are also detrimental to our humanity.

All is Not Lost

If anything, the “Bad Boss Index” sheds light on something we already know: the impact of leadership – good or bad – cannot be ignored.

Now, I believe very few people wake up as a boss and say, “I want to ruin the lives of my teammates today and destroy the company in the process.” Chances are, most people engaging in “bad boss” behavior haven’t been trained appropriately. It’s not that they are bad people. They’ve been put into a role and now have the responsibility of helping others do their jobs well, meeting KPIs, coping with pressure from above, and performing well themselves.

Awareness is the first step to change. It’s important for leaders to engage in a reflective practice. Ask ourselves:

How am I showing up today?
What emotional baggage am I carrying into my role?
How are other people receiving me?
What kind of leader do I want to be?

Thanks to the recent BambooHR (2025) report discussed above, we now know some behaviors to avoid. Are we engaging in any of them? If so, why? What does it look like if you tried a different approach?

Spirence is uniquely equipped to help as well. The Spirence platform offers several expert-driven leadership seminars, courses, and coaching sessions on various aspects of leadership and well-being, and both are equally important here. So, whether you want to learn about Transformational Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Trauma, Stress Management, Developing Communication Skills, or any other of the dozens of choices on the platform, it’s built to uniquely serve you in achieving whole-person mastery inside and outside of the workplace.

No one likes a “bad boss.” Not at work, and not at home.

The good news is, just because you may have some bad habits as a boss now, you can always grow, develop, and change if you have the desire to do so. Spirence is here to help you do so.

Leading others always begins with leading ourselves. Remember that.

Cheers!

Blake Cohen | PsyD(c)

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIST

References:

American Psychological Association. (2023). 2023 work in America survey. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america

BambooHR. (2025). The hostile, the unfair, and the toxic: Bad boss index 2025. https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/guides/bad-boss-index

Gallup. (2020). What is employee engagement and how do you improve it? https://www.gallup.com/workplace/285674/improve-employee-engagement-workplace.aspx

McKinsey Health Institute. (2022). Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem? McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/addressing-employee-burnout-are-you-solving-the-right-problem

Wolor, C. W., Ardiansyah, A., Rofaida, R., Nurkhin, A., & Rababah, M. A. (2022). Impact of Toxic Leadership on Employee Performance. Health psychology research, 10(4), 57551. https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.57551