Boss & Employee Relationships

The boss and employee relationship is important to company productivity. A relationship that is built on trust and understanding can make the employee and manager more efficient. A poor relationship that lacks cohesiveness will dampen productivity and can lead to high rates of employee turnover. There are several elements that make up a boss and employee relationship that need to be understood by both parties for the relationship to be effective.

Teamwork

Both the boss and employee need to commit to the concept of teamwork if a group is going to work together effectively. Additionally, the roles for each party need to be well-defined. The employee is expected to follow instructions, give input when needed, and meet or exceed performance measurement criteria. The manager is expected to provide the employee with the necessary resources and training to do the job, be the person who handles team administrative duties and provide leadership to meet company goals. If either side of the boss and employee relationship does not hold up their end of the teamwork requirements, then productivity suffers and teamwork cannot be established.

Company Guidelines

Many companies have policies on personal relationships within the organization. While friendships are allowed, and even encouraged, romantic relationships are sometimes forbidden by a company and there are good reasons for this. If the relationship goes bad, then the employee can claim sexual harassment on the manager and say that the manager was asking personal favors in exchange for keeping the staff member employed. If the rest of the staff finds out about the relationship, then the manager can be accused of favoritism and morale will suffer. In small, family-owned businesses, however, the boss and employee relationship can offer a different dynamic. Regardless, any boss and employee duo should be discouraged from getting involved in a romantic relationship while employed with the company.

Mentoring

A boss can become an employee's mentor, which can be a help to both the company and the employee. When a boss mentors an employee, she offers daily advice and career training that the company may not normally be able to provide. This insures that future company managers will adhere to the same vision and maintain the same company culture that currently exists. The employee gets the benefit of personalized manager training and receives important career development guidance.

Cronysim

When a manager hires friends or family members who are not qualified for the positions they are filling, that is known as cronyism. This differs from hiring a friend who is qualified for the position because, ideally, that candidate offers positive value to the company. Cronyism can lead to a drop in productivity because the new employees do not possess the skills to do their jobs. It can also lead to a drop in morale as other employees find out that some staff members were hired just because they were friends with the manager. One way of preventing cronyism is to support a committee approach to interviewing that requires the input of several managers or key employees before a candidate can be hired.