Understanding Boss and Employee Roles for a Productive Workplace

Syed Asad Jamal

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Boss vs. Employee: Knowledge of the Dynamic to Effectiveness at Work

A conflict between a boss and an employee is essential for workplace organization and motivation. What looks like the cliched ‘boss vs employee battle’ is much more complex than that. When these dynamics are well understood and managed, this is the basis on which a healthy organization will be premised. So, let’s dig deep and discuss major distinctions, issues, and approaches surrounding the boss-employee relationship.

The Key Differences: Boss vs. Employee

1. Roles and Responsibilities

A boss works on the management level, is responsible for a team and its performance regarding the goals of an organization. While on the other hand, employees are expected to simply perform activities and accomplish these broad goals. They are the people who turn the direction the boss is facing into reality; they are the engine of the operation.

2. Decision-Making Power

While decision making rests with management, subordinates give their opinion and knowledge. Such a disparity of power can lead to conflicts between the two if only the subordinate party will not openly ignore or disrespect the authority of the other.

3. Perspective

A boss looks at the big picture and consequently focuses on resources, threats and organizational objectives and goals. Workers pay much attention to their responsibilities, or the objectives of the department or division they belong to. These are two distinct views of the world and they can quickly begin to diverge if the alignment of these two strategies is not periodically monitored. These include:

Recent Issues In The Boss-Employee Dynamics

• Communication Gaps

These are the usual challenges; and they include difference in expectations, lack of a clear purpose / objective and communication or lack of feedback. These situations may look like this: The perception is that bosses know it is expected from such organizations while on the opposite, the subordinates may feel that support is no longer forthcoming or never existed in the first place.

• Power Dynamics

On the one hand, subordinates can be overpowered by authority bestowed upon the heads of teams, departments and organizations while on the other hand, the heads of teams, departments and organizations may find it difficult to tread between the power within the organization and friendship with some of the colleagues they supervise.

Values & Perceptions of Life: Dynamic for Work Place Success

The boss and employee relationship is an important foundation of any organization’s efficiency and organizational culture. What’s more it is portrayed as “boss against the employee” when in actual sense it is somewhere middle. However, when the dynamics of the relationship are well managed, this relationship is the bedrock of a strong organization. Time has come to look at main distinctions, issues, and ways to cultivate a constructive relationship between the boss and an employee.

How to Bridge the Gap: Building a Productive Relationship

Open and Honest Communication

There has to be direct communication and no lapses. Employers should always encourage and correct their workers while always offering clear goals and objectives. People within organizations should not experience nasty behaviors from superiors for reporting ideas or things they do not like in an organization.

Mutual Respect

There is also the need to recognize the input that each of the roles to be played comes with. Employees are happy when they are appreciated and bosses are happy when subordinates are productive.

Empowerment and Trust

Micromanaging suffocates creativity and stifle the morale of the employees; this is evident with the recipe shown above. Managers should map out what should be done and allow subordinates to do it on their own while subordinates should go ahead and do a task on their own but if they encounter any problem on the way they should consult the manager.

Education as a Positive Concept: Emphasizing its importance, Continuity and Flexibility

It is suggested that bosses can improve by gaining knowledge of leadership techniques, but employees should gain knowledge of skills. Altogether, they are capable to work in acceptable ways according to the changes in the industry and the need of the organization.

When Conflict Arises: Boss vs. Employee

Inevitably, conflicts occur. The issue, of course, is how they are dealt with — and the answer to that is in a constructive manner. A boss should learn how to listen, and an employee should act corporate even when angry with his or her superior. Taking responsibility and shifting the emphasis from an assignment of guilt makes people find the problem’s solution and improves relationships.

Conclusion

Decide on your stance: Are you on the boss’s team or the employee’s team” Obviously, it doesn’t have to be a case of good guy/bad guy. Namely, they should understand their roles and responsibilities, be able to communicate effectively with each other and appreciate the work input provided by the other party for achieving the organizational goals.

Valuable contributions come from both the employer and the employee across the board be it in a team, company or organization; so therefore, conflicts are counterproductive. Thus, giving a call to bridge it, ensures that organizational objectives are met innated alongside a workplace that nourishes each and every employee.

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