.LMB spoke to a number of people about what they hate or hated the most about their job. We spoke to employees and to employers to get a balanced perspective. We changed their names to keep it anonymous and some of the participants certainly didn't hold back with their opinions! Let’s have a look at what they said and see whether you relate to the experiences conveyed in this primary research.

What the Employees Said

Striking A Balance

“The saddest thing when working together is servility towards superiors and arrogance towards inferiors. To produce valid results it takes respect, dignity, commitment and a joyful spirit of collaboration.” Alessandro, Italy

Finding the balance in the workplace is the secret solution to a positive and productive workforce. You want workers to feel relaxed but not so relaxed that they are not working hard enough. Employees need to be made to feel valued and appreciated. In many cases this is just as important as money.

 If you create a stressful work environment based on fear and not trust with a lack of unity and poor communication, it will dampen the spirit of innovation. In contrast, a positive and collaborative atmosphere will inspire your team to be productive and to contribute to the innovation of the company in terms of products and processes.

Clocking in Culture 

“More looking back to when I was younger but it is still relevant in the workplace, I don't like presenteeism i.e. clocking in culture where workers are judged by time spent at work rather than actual productivity (sometimes they are different things).” Sophie, UK. 

This is the bane for many workers. Clocking in can erode trust and made you feel like a prisoner or just another cog in the machine. Building trust with the workforce leads to long-term trust. Clocking in is perhaps an outdated and old fashioned approach, especially with many firms calling for shorter working hours. Richard Branson is a big believer in shorter working hours and longer weekends. He believes that by showing workers more trust, you will get the best out of them. 

Politics and Backstabbing

“For me the thing I hated most was politics. All the gossip, the backstabbing and the insincerity of people. I really enjoyed my job but some of the people I wouldn’t ever choose to socialise with. So many people were fake, they just wore a mask, a veneer to cover who they really were. That really sucked!” Ahmed, UK

Workplace politics can turn a fabulous job into a nightmare where you dread going to work. You don’t have to be best friends with your workmates, but you at least expect a little sincerity. Unfortunately, a lot of people do wear masks at work and you find out the hard way their priorities and objectives often mean using people to get power and promotion. 

What The Employers/Managers Said

Seeing things from both sides of the coin is a very useful exercise. In the first part of the article we saw contributions from employees. Now let’s find out what employers and managers hate most about their jobs:

If You Want Something Done Properly....

“The thing I hated most about being a manager was that you could set people a task to do and then they would mess it up due to their own incompetence. However, they would blame it on me their manager to deflect from them taking responsibility.”  Tom, UK

The age old adage of 'if you want something done properly, do it yourself' can ring true. It is also the reason why many managers and employers are afraid to delegate tasks because they are not sure the employee will get it right. However, delegating to the right staff members builds trust and shows you value them. It will lead to a productive and reliable workforce in the long-term. After all, you simply cannot do everything yourself. A successful manager or entrepreneur will always delegate to the right people and selecting talented workers is a great ability to have.

Two-faced Backstabbing

“The thing I hated most was the people you helped the most or needed most help were sometimes the ones that were usually two-faced and would backstab you. I remember one worker who asked for time off and understanding due to stress and anxiety. This staff member was given lots of support and help. Then a little later on she was the one to lodge a complaint against me about being disorganised and yet I had gone the extra mile to help her. That level of backstabbing is despicable.” Sarah, UK

This anecdote shows the need to keep a professional distance in relations with staff if you are a manager or employer. Sometimes the people you help the most and/or develop friendships with may be the ones to turn on you. A successful manager will be impartial and treat everyone equally abiding by the company rules. If any disciplinary action or grievances occur, by maintaining a professional distance with staff, it makes it easier to deal with such situations. 

Employer’s Rant About Staff

This frank rant came from a former business owner in the West Midlands. He started off by saying this:

“STAFF they’re ********, all of them. They think you’re taking all the money and are rich when most of the time, especially in the early days, you’re the first in and still working at midnight ploughing everything into the business, missing your family grow and paying yourself a pittance well below minimum wage just for them to TEXT, not even phone to tell you their girlfriends Nan’s cat has died so I’m dropping you in it today!!! ********* I tell ya!!!”. Rob, UK

Staff often neglect to realise the sacrifice that the business owner puts in, in terms of money and time. The business owner will sometimes be just breaking even and earning less than staff in some instances, especially with a start-up. However, staff are not always going to care about this. Mostly, they just want to do their job and then go home and forget about work.

Employer’s Rant Continued

The same business owner continued with his complaint about former staff and clients:

“They have no idea how much things cost!!! They see 3 guys turn up and see £1000 and think they are entitled to more than they’ve paid for. They don’t realise that the office staff need paying, the materials need paying for, as well as insurance and as an employer you pay additional employers national insurance. 

Any vehicles that are run and electricity, internet phones etc all need to be paid for and you’ve got some snotty nosed ***** screwing you down on the price thinking they’re getting a great deal!!! I did a job for one of the head men at a top Brand, I shipped their stuff to Florida and they screwed me down so much then insisted on so much free stuff I made £30 profit on 3 days work!!!” Rob, UK

This is a typical scenario where staff don’t appreciate the costs and pressures that their boss is under. But then again, they are not paid to burden those financial pressures. This particular boss sold his company eventually, but you can see the annoyance he felt about the lack of empathy and understanding from his workers.

Being ripped off by an executive at a top brand is a very poor example of someone in a position of power exploiting another. The problem with that kind of action is that it destroys trust and will not lead to long term business relationships. It is always best to go for win-win negotiations in business deals so both parties are happy.

What is the solution if you hate your Job?

If you are a disgruntled employee who is fed up with your job, you should consider starting your own automated and fully managed business to bring in passive income. If you’re an employer or manager fed up of running your own business, you could do the same to escape the stresses of daily work life.

With an automated and fully managed business, you don’t need to worry about managing staff, you just invest the money at the start and help with the set up. After that a team will run the business for you. These types of business models are what we at LMB recommend, as a way to achieve financial freedom away from the traditional ‘rat race’ model of being an employee or employer