1 in 3 Americans have seen their boss insult or humiliate an employee

Yahoo

28-03-2025

A new study that surveyed Americans in several of the country's largest cities reveals the alarming prevalence of toxic management across the U.S..
According to learning platform Preply, almost one-third of American workers have witnessed their boss publicly insulting or humiliating an employee.
And that's not all. One in four Americans have considered quitting their job to get away from their boss, and again, one in four say their boss has cussed out people in the workplace.
An equal proportion describe their workplace environment as fundamentally toxic.
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Bad bosses are ubiquitous; one in nine Americans reported experiencing frequent mistreatment from their management.
As well as uncovering the types of toxic management employees are experiencing, the research also uncovered the most-commonly cited cities for mean bosses.
Its researchers discovered that Chicago, IL was the city where mean managers were encountered most frequently. Furthermore, employees in this city are the most likely to claim that their manager has cussed at people in the workplace.
In terms of mean boss metropolises, the Windy City is followed by Virginia Beach, VA, and Las Vegas, NV, in second and third place.
Nearly two in five workers in Sin City say they have seen their boss insult or humiliate an employee in front of others, and one in four Las Vegas workers consider their job to be in a toxic workplace.
Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, CA, came in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Completing the top ten are Baltimore, MD, Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland, OH, Atlanta, GA, and Seattle, WA.
On the flip side, the five cities with the kindest bosses were also found.
Wichita, KS, is the kindest, with one in two workers saying their boss is never mean to them.
Omaha, NE, is in second place, where 67 percent of respondents said their boss never uses harsh language.
While in Philadelphia, PA, one in four workers say their boss positively impacts their mental health.
Minneapolis MN, and Oklahoma City, OK, complete the top five kindest boss cities.
Certain industries demonstrate more pronounced challenges.
Food services, construction, and manufacturing consistently ranked as sectors with the most aggressive management styles, though food services is by far and away the worst with a mean boss score of 99.47.
Construction scored 90.48, and manufacturing sits at 70.96.
Retail, media, entertainment and creative arts, engineering, hospitality and tourism, healthcare, government, professional services, and technology and information all ranked in the sixties.
While ranking in the fifties were science and research, transportation, child and elder care, education and training, and finance and insurance.
The nonprofit sector was the only industry with below fifty on the mean boss index, at 46.08.
Workers earning less than $45,000 annually, and Gen Z employees appear particularly vulnerable to workplace mistreatment.
Survey researchers also asked employees about their managers' communication styles.
Some 37.15 percent said their boss was blunt, 26.29 percent said critical, and 25.58 percent said sarcastic.
A further 14.92 percent said their manager was aggressive, while 12.33 percent said their boss was demeaning.
Though over a third (34.21percent) said their manager was none of the above.
These findings underscore the critical need for comprehensive reviews of workplace communication, and where necessary, leadership training.
Tackling toxic management practices is essential for maintaining both individual wellbeing, and organizational productivity, so if your company is lacking, do speak to HR, and start putting change in motion.Or you might be better off finding something new. If that's the case, visit The Hill's Job Board today, which is updated daily.
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