SURVEY SAYS – Does Your Boss Care About What You Do?

During the course of our conversation he posed what I thought was a provocative question – and one that, with some modification, this week, I’d like to ask you;

“Does your boss care about what you do?”

Also – “When was the last time your boss told you that you were doing a good job?”

The survey is closed – but the answers can be found HERE

All responses are confidential, of course.

Recently I was having breakfast with a former colleague (and former boss), and during the course of our conversation he posed what I thought was a provocative question - and one that, with some modification, I asked readers this week - " Does your boss care about what you do?"

For most of this week's respondents, the answer is "yes" - in fact, 44% said so.   More impressively, (another) nearly 12% said "yes, passionately!"   Of course, that included readers such as the one who noted, "She cares, but if she didn't it would make my job a LOT easier." 

Another said, "I would say Yes, passionately but I can't quite make that reach. My boss is fully invested in the HR dept, however she's a CFO and I don't think she's quite allowed to be passionate about HR issues except for the financial side of them. 🙂 However, she truly understands the value HR brings to the table and treats the entire HR team as business partners. I know we are very lucky to be so valued by our boss and our company."

That's the good news.   Just over 14% said their boss cared, "but because he/she has to."   Meanwhile, one-in-ten said it was "hard to tell," while 6% said "not really", 3.7% said they "didn't think so", and 3% - "weren't sure."

As for the rest, another 3.7% said "not at all!", and 3% simply responded "no."

There were a lot of interesting perspectives - both positive and negative:

"Only when it's billable."

"Only when I have to report some error that will cost the company some money."

"Good big picture people leave the hows to the whos and know enough that they can't load a camera. Does my boss care about what I do, no as long as it's done."

"But only so she can pick apart anything I do to see if there were any oversights or omissions."

"Because if I didn't do it, he would have to!"

"More importantly, he cares about whether or not I care about what I do. Even better, he does not seem to care much about how I do what I do -- he doesn't micro-manage -- as long as I continue to do my work well."

"As long as payroll, benefits, legal, insurance, and employee issues never get out of control, he could care less."

"Of course he cares what we do, it reflects on him! But he also cares on a personal level. We are a small group and work as a team constantly. It's a lot like a family. We have to work at it to keep our little family running smoothly and harmoniously. We depend on each other."

"She doesn't know what I do most of the time and as long as I meet my reporting commitments and she doesn't get called on the carpet by her boss for what I did or didn't do, she pretty much leaves me alone."

"It depends on your definition of the word "care". She doesn't care about me and what I do, but spends too much time caring about how I do it, when I do it etc."

"Clearly he wants everything done right, at the lowest possible cost, with no problems from the Benefits area, but I don't see much evidence that he cares about what I do. Employee Benefits are increasingly viewed as a liability of the company, and not as an important retention and recruiting tool. "If we could just get rid of these benefits expenses, our earnings would be much improved...".

"Doesn't know what I do most of the time. If we have 3 or 4 meetings per year, it's big. Knows I negotiate and administer benefits, that I recruit and hire, and negotiate the collective bargaining agreement. Other than that, he has no clue what my job entails. Does not want to know."

"She goes to bat for us all the time and is not afraid to stand up to others and challenge the long-standing internal ways of doing things if our group feels a new process would be better. She also truly cares about helping each of us develop to our full potential and offers us resources and tools to do so."

"Only in a Monday-morning quarterback capacity."

"Yes, and he's very glad he has me doing it. He doesn't want to deal with details at the level found in benefits and I love them so we are a good match. He doesn't tell me I'm doing a good job all the time but then don't need to hear it all the time. He comes through when I really need him. The rest of the time he just let's me do my job. It doesn't get much better than that."

But this week's Editor's Choice goes to the reader who said, "I think my boss does care about what I do, but I know he also does a good job of hiding that fact!"

Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey!

Now, while I was on the topic of caring bosses, I also asked when was the last time your boss told you that you were doing a good job.   Once again, this week's respondents (or perhaps more precisely, their bosses) seemed to be a good crew.   Nearly one-in-four ( 23.6% ) said they had been affirmed in the past week, while 7.6% had been told so in the past 24 hours.  

Just over one-in-five ( 20.1% ) had heard that "good job" message in the past month, and for 12.5% , it had been "sometime in 2009."

On the other hand, for 13.2% , it had been "sometime in 2008", just over one-in-twenty ( 5.6% ) said it had been "sometime…surely", and 9.7% said they couldn't remember when.   Still, that was better than the remaining 7.6% who said their boss "never has" told them they had done a good job.

There were a number of interesting, humorous - and painful comments this week.   Here's a sampling;

"She told me during my annual review earlier this month. Otherwise I might have a different answer."

"My boss is continually providing feedback to the whole team by relaying compliments, his praise for our work, etc. -- and it is always off the top of his head. He always gives the impression he's thinking of our team before anything else he does."

"I've had more positive, and helpful critical feedback from my boss on my performance in the one year that she has been with us than I've had in the prior 23 years of my career from other bosses.

"You know those people who have to look for your errors to feel good about themselves???...that's my boss. I constantly receive recognition and praise from the people I serve, our employees, but unfortunately, the person holding the pen that writes my evaluation does not share in that opinion. I love the work I do, but the job is killing me!"

"Not only does he tell me when I do a good job, he also tells me when I don't. Fair enough !!! The good thing is he says that when I retire and/or move on, he will too!!!!"

"He starts every staff meeting by telling us how much he appreciates what we do for him and for the company."

"There is no recognition, no motivation, no understanding of what I do or what it takes to do what I do. This is why HR shouldn't report to the CFO... I forget, why am I still here? Oh, yeah, it's that bad economy and the high unemployment rate."

"My boss often tells me and my staff that we're doing a great job. Though she more often tells us how valued we are. I like being valued more than someone simply saying I've done a great job. Even though my boss is a CFO she truly "gets" HR and ensures me and my staff know we are business partners in the organization."

"I think it was in August last year when I negotiated a good health insurance renewal...via e-mail he said "good job". I do not get performance reviews, even though it is our company practice. His view is no news is good news and if there is a problem I'll let you know. For a high achiever who takes pride in her work, it's not enough."

"The management at the company I work for is very concerned about the employees. There are lots of little added things that go on around here, like periodic lunch outings, payment of continuing education and certifications, in-house training on a regular basis, ability to flex your work schedule, ... This is a nice little company to work for."

"I was doing a task (making copies) that was way below my job description for a project that had an immediate deadline. My boss recognized this and thanked me for doing the copying."

  "After many years working for less than competent managers, tyrants and there but not there managers, it is so refreshing to work with a manager who not only works right along with me but appreciates my input, regularly pats my back for a job well done, and enthusiastically champions my work and ideas. Her boss is also a great manager. He is regularly seen in the department saying kind words of encouragement and will pull everyone together to announce a small or large project completed with accolades to all who participated. I guess that is what they mean when they say that you have to pay your dues. I don't know how long this position will last, but while I'm on this ride, I will enjoy every blissful minute. I am grateful for the experience."

"She frequently tells me I'm doing a good job, however my salary doesn't reflect it."

But this week's Bonus Question Editor's Choice goes to the reader who said, "I have 25 bosses. Some days it's just hard to keep track of anything they say."

Thanks to everyone who participated in our bonus question survey!