Muhammad Adnan’s Post

At the end of the interview process, I ask the interviewer to define the culture of the company. Coming from American Airlines and Con-way, culture is vitally important to me. For me, it needs to embrace employee involvement, employee suggestions, and have defined policies and values. Values define the management of the company. Employee suggestion policy shows that, regardless of position, we want to hear your suggestions for company, service and operational improvements. If the interviewer cannot explain and concisely define the culture, then it says that they are probably dealing with a revolving door and self inflicted employee issues and probably not a place I would stay at long term, regardless of the pay.

It’s always difficult to know what culture or environment you are getting yourself into from just an interview because every company sells themselves to you.

I happen to think that having a bad boss can still be beneficial in some ways. While it’s true that a good boss can make a huge difference, working under a difficult one teaches you how to adapt and grow in challenging circumstances. You learn resilience, how to navigate difficult situations, and how to develop your character. There's truly no such thing as a "bad" experience—it's all about perspective. You can choose to see your glass as half empty or half full, and that mindset can shape your growth. Embrace a growth mindset and don’t set limitations on yourself just because of troubling circumstances. Every experience can be an opportunity to learn and grow.

Ah but a bad boss also offers development . I once had a line manager who proved to be a serial bully and well practiced in what turned out to be psychological violence . I was victim four out of five . Everyone else transferred out or took early retirement . I thought the grievance procedure existed to protect the employee . I was wrong . A process that should have taken 5 weeks took 18 months . Although I was ill for 4 months and on light duties for 9 I learnt a lot from dealing with that predator . The staff that me and my colleagues had the privelige of supervising actually got rid of the person concerned in the end when the volume of privately brought civil prosecutions reached 30 and became too big for HR to ignore . Tread carefully folks . Monsters are real .

During my 42 year career, I worked for 24 different managers. I would say only 2 were truly great bosses. On the other end of the spectrum, 2 were truly horrible and I suffered greatly under them. The other 20 ranged from acceptable to very good. In most cases, I didn't choose them. I would start under one and they would accept a transfer or promotion and then you get assigned to another. You just have to accept it if you want to keep your job. Otherwise, no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to stay. I was blessed to have one of the 2 great ones for 15 years. I wasn't that crazy about the job, the company or my long commute, but having that great boss was enough to keep me there a long time.

I agree, but when we signed our contract, we had only just met the boss during the final selection process. At that point, it was impossible to determine whether he was good or bad. It’s only after spending a couple of months in the company that we realized what a big mistake we had made. During the initial meetings, everyone presents themselves well to create a positive impression. After all, it’s very difficult to find a situation where everything is perfect.

I had a great interview with a leader at a previous company. I thought he would be the greatest boss I ever would have (he was one of the worse!) He was very manipulative. My current leader is truly a gem. I love working with them and the other people at our site. HOWEVER< I am barely making ends meet with the salary - so I have to disagree. A salary matters if you are the sole provider for a family and your salary should reflect your experience, education, and skills, not some fantastical number someone in Total Rewards deems okay for the scope of role. If you are way more qualified for a role, you should get paid for it as there are numerous reasons someone my take a role they are over-qualified for like relocation

No. I work for wonderful bosses who work for people within a system in place well above the company level. And this is why the company has so few advancement opportunities. The people who are actually in charge don’t have to respond to any worker concerns at all or not in a way that moves the needle toward a decent life. And no they don’t have to even skill workers up or do anything toward better worker outlook or quality of life. i mean. I would love to write something positive about your opinion and I wish I could agree. But no. It might be true after reaching a certain level of livelihood. But not before then.

It's hard to gauge if your direct report is a "Good Boss" just based on your interview and the 2 weeks you have been interviewing with them. They could present themselves as someone you admire, respect and could get along with, but as soon as you have that contract signed, they will turn, and then what do you do? Of course the hiring managers and your direct reports will say that the culture is fantastic, the team are all great, the environment is relaxed etc, because no one in their right mind will try hire talented employees by first telling them that it's all tragic. So with that, I would say that better compensation is more important than a Good Boss initially, because only time will tell you what kind of manager you have, so you might as well be properly compensated in the meantime and not sell yourself short and devalue your abilities all based on the initial impression of the person you report to, but also, it is not unreasonable to expect a better salary, AND a good manager. Do your research, check the turnover rate, read the reviews, because that data isn't just there because of a few disgruntled staff members who were let go.