From Buddy To Boss: Workers Don't Want To Supervise Their Friends

36% Of 525 participants in a recent Badbossology.com survey sponsored by Development Dimensions International said that managing their friends and/or former peers would make them more apprehensive about being promoted to the boss than being perceived as incompetent, feeling unprepared for the responsibility, or fear of an overwhelming workload.

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) May 5, 2005 -- Based on a recent Badbossology.com survey sponsored by Development Dimensions International (http://www.ddiworld.com), more people would be afraid of managing friends and former peers than being perceived as incompetent, feeling unprepared, or of having a high workload if they were promoted to their boss' position.

"Some new leaders experience whiplash when they transition from associate to leader, especially when they are managing the people they were commiserating with the week before." said Rich Wellins, Senior Vice President, DDI. "Now they have to gain the respect of these people to be trusted as their supervisor and coach."

Specifically, when asked what would make them the most apprehensive if they were promoted to their boss' position tomorrow, of the 525 people who completed Badbossology.com's survey: 36% said it would be managing friends and/or former peers; 22% were more worried about not being perceived as competent; 24% said they would feel unprepared for the responsibility; and only 16% worried about an overwhelming workload.

A follow-up survey question, also sponsored by Development Dimensions International - a global human resource consulting firm - asks, "If you switched roles with your boss tomorrow, what's the first thing that you would do?" The question's four potential answers along with results to date are available at: http://www.badbossology.com.

Difficult bosses are a big problem in Corporate America. Other surveys indicate that approximately 40% of employees have had to deal with a bad boss, and a Gallup Organization study of over 1,000,000 employees found that if a company is losing good people, more than any other single reason, the cause is their immediate supervisor: Gallup also found poorly managed workgroups are an average of 50% less productive and 44% less profitable than well managed groups.

Badbossology.com itself is designed to protect both people and companies from bad bosses, and all of its content and services are available without any fees. It provides continually updated material in an intuitive, blog-style user interface. It takes a responsible balanced approach, devoid of ranting and 'Boss from Hell' stories, and also provides key resources for bosses, executives and board members (http://www.badbossology.com/c68). A "Vault" or secure repository is provided so visitors can bookmark items along with personal notes for fast reference. And material is drawn from sources such as The Chicago Tribune, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, The Harvard Business School, and the Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com.

About DDI: Since 1970, Development Dimensions International, a global human resource consulting firm specializing in leadership and selection, has worked with some of the world's most successful organizations. With more than 1,000 associates in 75 offices in 26 countries around the world and headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., DDI advises businesses of all sizes-including half of the Fortune 500-on the selection, development and retention of their workforces and helping them realize business success. For more information go to http://www.ddiworld.com/aboutddi.

For further information, please contact pr@badbossology.com, visit http://www.badbossology.com or call Gary Lahey at 416-201-9730.

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