Things we want to say to our boss but don’t

Published in El Pais, 23 June 2018.

We all have a boss and if you tell me: “I do not, because I have my own business or work as a consultant” you are wrong because you still have clients who tell you what to do. Maybe you have some more freedom, but in the end they are like your boss. There is only one difference, you cannot get rid of your boss but if you can decide not to accept a client if you know it will be a headache.

Preparing my business administration classes I found an article from Forbes, October 2012 that says that 65% of Americans prefer to fire their boss instead of a salary increase. To be honest I can really imagine that here in Bolivia many probably also want to fire their boss, or at least yell at them about some things they do to “motivate” their employees.

An important aspect in business administration is creating an environment where people can work efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, many bosses misunderstand it and think that it means to put a ping pong table or give them a pizza once a month. And the rest of the month they do not listen or do not open up to solve the problems, or they do not take care of providing a good chair or machine to work with.

How many people also dream of telling their truth to their boss? Shout back when they are mistreated, or when forced to do impossible missions so that later they are guilty for reaching a bad result. But we do not do it for fear of losing our job. Unfortunately, in Bolivia the worker, despite having very good laws, is not well protected. Therefore, we decide to shut up when they shout at us, when there is a problem or when we do not agree with an idea of our boss.

We all must learn from this. Companies make so much effort of hiring the best professionals, but from the moment these people do not express themselves when they think something will go wrong, the resource that would prevent our company from going bad is lost. Encouraging an environment where people are afraid to express themselves reduces efficiency and effectiveness. I cannot imagine how many businesses in Bolivia lose money because their employees do not express their concerns about something. So, bosses, really listen to ideas, complaints, suggestions, etc. of your employees. And if they only say: “yes sir”, you know at what stage you are.