6 answers
Jane’s Answer
Abby, it is important to have a "good" boss. Nice is a relative term, but having a supervisor that will encourage you and help you to grow is more important. It is also important to have someone that you have confidence in as well as feeling like they have confidence in you.
R’s Answer
Abby,
Great question. I have worked for many many years. I have had good bosses and not so nice bosses. You may hear the phrase "People leave managers, not companies."Some will argue that the data does not totally support that. My experience has been that I have stayed at most companies for at least 5 years whether my boss is nice or not. I had a very not so good boss for five years. It was difficult to get excited about going to work and I am not sure it was very healthy to have stayed that long. It affected others around me too - like family. They new I was not that happy.
On the other hand, I have had wonderful bosses. People that were fair, supportive, and truly interested in my development professionally and personally. You never forget what they taught you and you will have deep respect for them. Also, working for them made me look forward to going to work and making an impact. Working for them for five years or so, felt like just a short time.
Good bosses may not always be “nice,” from the employee’s perspective. Managers have to make hard decisions and sometimes them being firm can come across as not so nice. But, a good manager will lead by example. They will be respectful and not demeaning. They will enjoy seeing you grow and develop. They will give you feedback and help guide you.
When you have a good boss, you will know it. And after having a not so nice boss, you will cherish having a good one.
When I make offers to people as a recruiter, I know the managers that the employee will be working for. I will tell them to consider the person they are working for and put a value on having a great boss when you are comparing our offer to others.
I really really value having a good boss.
Andrea E’s Answer
Hi. Your manager needs to be professional and supportive of you. They need to be honest, direct, and provide you the guidance that you need to do your job. Most managers are 'nice' when things are going well but are not particularly nice when things are going poorly and the work/business is suffering. You need to acknowledge that and not judge how they are acting at any one time.
That said, if you feel like you are consistently being treated unfairly, you should try to talk to the manager so that there is no misunderstanding between you. He/she may not be aware that their behavior is bothersome. You should also look at your own behavior, you may be part of the problem. If you can help improve a bad situation, you should try. It's important that you speak to your manager first before reaching out others.
If your manager did not handle your conversation well, or if after speaking to your manager about your concerns, there is no improvement in your working environment and how your manager is behaving, you should talk to Human Resources.
Debashree’s Answer
For your question: Yes. It is really important to have a nice boss. It is your boss who will encourage you to work in the particular company and be interested in what you are doing. If you feel that you dont have a nice boss, give him chance by going and talking to him personally about your aim. If he helps you grow in achieving it, that will lead you to your success. Its very important to differentiate between nice and bad, as it will affect your way of working.
Robert’s Answer
It certainly doesn't hurt to have a nice boss. I was lucky enough early in my career to have a great boss who was also nice. I was hired as temporary worker and was working on a project for him and he wanted me to look at the logic flow to make sure a claim would follow the proper path from start to finish. I had found an error and told him. He told me that his people had look at and there was no errors. I was strong in my conviction that the workflow missed a key step. He decided to run my observation back through his programmers. He came over to me the next day and handed me a stack of free lunch coupons and said that I could apply for permanent positions in the company. From that day forward some of things I look for in a boss is which he exemplified is: Is the boss knowledgeable about the job(s) I/we do? Is my boss someone I respect? Can or will my boss help me grow professionally? Does my boss respect me and the job I do? Some of these questions may help determine whether you should stay in a present position or seek a new job/company.
Ananya’s Answer
Great question Abby! Its absolutely important to have a nice boss. Think over it, you have to work for majority of your life, for a major time of your weekday. Now imagine the day starting with an update to an encouraging smile versus someone who is focused on only the negatives. Your work efficiency is directly related to to how good your boss is. A not so good boss not only leads to frustration, but also a slow career growth. Hope this helps.
Cheers!