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Bad Boss Transparency

Published Jul 25 2007 Updated Jul 25 2007

This has been a rough year for lousy bosses. First we were empowered by Robert Sutton’s book, The No Asshole Rule, then we were amused by Stanley Bing’s Crazy Bosses, and now there’s a website called eBossWatch that allows us to call out the bastards.

What do these works have in common? Call it bad boss transparency.

Bing, the Fortune columnist with a light touch, has a funny quiz about crazy bosses, too.

Asher Adelman, the brains behind the recently launched eBossWatch, believes “Nobody should have to work with a jerk.” That’s the appealing tagline of eBossWatch and pretty much the high point of the implementation thus far.

I love the idea of telling on bad bosses. Not telling their mothers, of course, but warning future employees - watch out! Adelman’s site allows you to rate your bosses - by name.

The site was inspired by Adelman’s “painful experience” several years ago in which he lost a job after confronting an abusive boss about his behavior.

I asked him via e-mail (he was in Israel) about some of his policies regarding the rating system. What happens, for instance, if a boss wants to appeal a terrible rating? “No,” says Adelman. “It is extremely difficult to monitor thousands of comments for accuracy or even to verify that the comments were indeed submitted by the bosses themselves (and not by someone impersonating the boss).”

I take issue with Adelman’s logic, starting with the lack of verification that the boss even exists or that his or her name is spelled correctly. The site doesn’t allow comments, some of which might add good context to a rating.

Just one review is enough to earn a manager a place in the database, says Adelman. “If the rating is negative, then it would be a good idea for the job-seeker to inquire further about the negative rating,” he says, “and maybe also to speak with some current or former employees to make sure that this person is a good manager.”

Rating a boss sounds therapeutic and it’s free. A Boss Report is $3.99, which is a reasonable investment if you’re worried that your next boss might be a jerk. The rating of one employee might be a tad skewed, except of course if it’s by you or me.

Join The Discussion

  1. Comment 01 on Bad Boss Transparency
    Caren Benjamin
    Thursday, Jul 26, 2007 at 8:21am

    Hi all. Just wanted to let you know about our second annual Bad Boss contest -
    us being Working America - the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Turns out
    that having been tortured, abused and otherwise misused by your boss may finally
    pay off - in the form of a free vacation. In the “My Bad Boss” contest, you
    write in with your Bad Boss story, people vote for the best ones (or is that
    worst?) and two lucky winners get excellent vacation packages. It’s at
    www.workingamerica.org/badboss/ While you’re there, check out the Name that Bad
    Boss quiz - and some other funny stuff on the site. Enjoy. Caren

  2. Comment 02 on Bad Boss Transparency
    mel
    Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 at 11:27pm

    My mom needs to tell her boss that “abuse is not the way to run an organization”…but unfortunately she is afraid of losing her job so she just remains a “Doormat”. How do your employees feel about you? Are a good boss or bad boss? Ck out dailycents.com at http://blogs.dailycents.com/?p=824

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