Here Are The States Where People Dislike Their Boss The Most- And Why

Is your boss the worst?

You aren’t alone. While the majority of people don’t despise their current boss, most people have dealt with a bad boss before. In fact, the majority of people have had a boss so horrible they left their job to escape them.

We surveyed 2,000 workers to learn more about toxic employee-boss relationships, including what behaviors make some bosses so disliked in the first place!

Keep reading to see what drives workers crazy and where in the country the most people have a dart-board with their boss’ face on it, or skip to the bottom to see the full ranked list.

Other Findings

Micromanagement may be the biggest sin of bad bosses, but its closely followed by being unavailable and incompetence
New Mexico workers dislike their bosses the most- with 33% saying their boss is pretty bad
Where do people like their boss the most? Mississippi. In fact, no one would admit to hating their boss there. Or so they say.
While most states say their boss’ worst trait is micromanagement, there are outliers. Kentucky, for instance, is the land of gossipy bosses and people in Arkansas are sick of condescending bosses.
People who work 20-50 ft of their bosses are the pretty apathetic- they’re the most likely to say their boss isn’t the best or the worst

Why Do People Dislike Their Boss?

People’s #1 least favorite traits in a boss are micromanagement, unavailable, and incompetence. So, if you’re a boss wondering why your employees don’t like you… those are a pretty good place to start. In fact, you might want to do some soul searching about your management mistakes.

After all, if your employees are quitting because they can’t stand you, it’s a pretty big company expense and a lot of your time is probably spent replacing those pesky employees who hate you.

What other common reasons did people mention for disliking (or hating…) their boss?

Playing favorites
Poor hygiene (smell was mentioned a surprising amount!)
Nepotism
Racism/prejudice/sexism
Greedy
Narcissism
Too nice
Forgetful
Loud/obnoxious/Annoying

Well, don’t be too nice. Or to not nice. Or too present, or too unavailable. Seems simple enough? Right?

Of course, those are just the other common reasons. We left off some pretty out there reasons such as “too much perfume”, “attacked with shopping cart”, “manslaughter (!!!)”, “sat on my boyfriend’s lap”, and “captured a rat at work and brought it home.” Or at least we think these aren’t common reasons.

What Grinds Each State’s Gears The Most

We tallied up all the reasons people dislike their bosses (not just the #1 reason like above.) Over 24 states say their boss’ worst trait is micromanagement. Another 8 hate how unavailable their boss is. Maybe they can swap?

Of course, some states are outliers. Kentucky’s biggest management problem is bosses who love to gossip. And down in Arkansas people hate their condescending bosses. Other bad traits that states hate the most? Rudeness, incompetence, and lack of empathy.

Where You Sit May Impact How Positive You Feel Towards Your Boss

Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. At least not of your boss.

The people most likely to answer “My boss is excellent” sit next to their boss. Maybe the sharing of snacks, tidbits about your weekend, and all that face-to-face communication pays of. With the increase in people working remotely, this might have some worried they are losing synergy. However, it is worth noting, that while remote workers don’t love their bosses as much, they are the least likely to “strongly dislike” their employees.

The numbers level a bit after that. And the vast majority of workers “like” their boss or ambivalent towards them if not best friends. Is that so terrible?

METHODOLOGY

Zippia.com, a career resource website, conducted a study of 2,000 workers across the U.S. to learn more about employee and boss interactions.

Each respondent was asked a series of questions about their feelings on their boss and past bosses. To determine which state dislikes their boss the most, we added the number of people who said they “dislike their boss” and “strongly dislike their boss.” The higher percent of workers who responded this way, the more people in each state who dislike their boss.

Is Your Boss The Worst?

You can see the full ranked list of the amount of people in each state who think their boss is pretty crummy. Of course, there is some optimism in this story, because while most people have left a job due to a bad boss, most people don’t hate their current boss.

Hopefully you personally have a satisfactory, professional relationship with your boss. For better or worse, you spend eight hours a day in the same world as them. A bad boss can make 8 hours seem like eighty. While some of the reasons people said they disliked their boss were mild (cheesy jokes, too much perfume), others were profoundly serious (harassment, prejudice, and other toxic, degrading behaviors).

Every worker deserves a safe, welcoming environment. If your boss is in anyway violating or creating an uncomfortable environment, you should follow whatever channels are available to you, including HR intervention.

Of course, if you’re just over the Chanel No 5. and the dad jokes, it may be time to find a new job (and boss!) that’s more to your liking.

Rank	State	% Who Dislike Their Boss
1	New Mexico	33.3%
2	Oklahoma	32.3%
3	Alabama	24.1%
4	Michigan	22.4%
5	Iowa	20.8%
6	Ohio	19.1%
7	Georgia	18.7%
8	Arkansas	18.2%
9	Oregon	17.9%
10	Louisiana	17.6%
11	New York	17.1%
12	Rhode Island	16.7%
13	New Jersey	16.7%
13	Montana	16.7%
13	Maine	16.7%
16	Pennsylvania	16.5%
17	Maryland	16.1%
18	Indiana	15.7%
19	Virginia	15.3%
20	Missouri	14.6%
21	Idaho	14.3%
21	Connecticut	14.3%
23	Florida	14.0%
24	Colorado	14.0%
25	California	13.6%
26	Arizona	13.5%
27	Hawaii	13.3%
28	North Carolina	13.1%
29	Utah	12.9%
30	Tennessee	12.8%
31	South Dakota	12.5%
31	Delaware	12.5%
31	West Virginia	12.5%
31	New Hampshire	12.5%
35	Illinois	12.1%
36	Texas	11.4%
37	Wisconsin	11.1%
38	Wyoming	11.1%
39	Minnesota	10.3%
40	Nebraska	10.0%
40	South Carolina	10.0%
42	Washington	9.8%
43	North Dakota	8.3%
44	Vermont	7.7%
45	Alaska	5.0%
46	Kentucky	4.8%
46	Kansas	4.8%
48	Nevada	4.5%
49	Massachusetts	3.7%
50	Mississippi	0.0%

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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