Would You Be an Understanding Boss?

Job dissatisfaction is rampant these days, running as high as 70 percent in some industries. In a tight job market, the figure is probably even higher. Most of the time workers are disgruntled because they feel misunderstood by those in charge. Often, supervisors don’t accurately read the signals of workers who are growing progressively discontent with their work. Furthermore, because many supervisors are job-oriented rather than people-oriented, they sometimes lack the skills to react appropriately when they do spot employee unrest.

Chances are that if you work for a company, you’ve thought of leaving it a few times in the past year. Or perhaps you’ve had a fantasy or two of how you could run the whole corporation better than your president does. So let’s say that by some stroke of magic, you’re suddenly placed in charge of your department or company. How well would you fare? Would you be perceptive enough to identify symptoms of worker unrest before they eroded into labor-management chaos? Your judgments as manager would be influenced by how you perceive your workers and what you believe is important to them.

Below is a ten-statement quiz that relates to happiness on the job. How understanding a boss would you be?