A boss has recently gone viral after sharing a list of things he’s “sick of hearing” from employees.
Being a boss is sort of like a parent – you have to get the balance right.
One day you might be the cool boss everyone knows and loves, but the next, you’re being forced to put your foot down on a decision that could upset your team.
But hey, that’s the nature of the role.
Recently, one man shocked the internet after he decided to share a list of things he was “sick of hearing” from his employees.
Rob Dance – the founder of Rock, one of the UK’s largest IT consultancies – took to both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to flaunt his provocative list on a whiteboard in his office – and let’s just say he doesn’t seem to be winning any brownie points with this one.
“Things I’m sick of hearing from my employees,” he wrote in the caption alongside an image of him smiling while holding the list on a board.
“Can I leave early today,” was number one, followed by “I’ll be late in the morning.”
Then we swiftly move on to number three which is: “My child is sick, can I rush off,” which is closely followed by: “I’ve got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, is that okay[?]”
And the last one is: “I’m going to be late back from lunch, I’ve got some things to sort.”
The caption ended with three simple, but impactful words: “I don’t care.”
On the board, the message added: “I hired you for a job and I trust you [to] get it done.”
I mean, let’s start off by stating the obvious; these are all very valid reasons things you may have to bring up to your boss from time to time. After all, we’re all humans, not robots. As such, some social media users quickly – emphasis on quickly – took to the comments section to vent.
“‘I’m a douchebag’ requires fewer words than all that,” wrote one user while another added: “No tolerance means employees will eventually leave and you’ll pay to retrain someone else. Need flexibility, especially either young families and kids.”
Thankfully Dance also agreed, and went on to elaborate on what he meant by the comments on his white board – and it’s safe to say that some people judged him far too quickly.
“I hired you for a job and I fully TRUST you to get it done,” the tech entrepreneur wrote in a follow-up comment. I don’t need you to account for every single hour. Times have changed, and the workplace is different these days.
“People are sick of being treated like children. All that should matter is that everyone is happy, and that the work gets done.”
He then added some advice for other bosses at other companies.
“Treat your staff like adults,” he stated. “That’s it, that’s the big secret. Give them autonomy. Respect that they have lives outside of work. Don’t gaslight them into being grateful for not being fired every day.”
“Output should always trump hours,” Dance concluded.
ou could say that had us all in the first half there.
After reading the entire post, users finally understood the message.
“You successfully triggered me. Luckily I waited for the post to fully load! We need more employers developing your mindset. Unfortunately a lot of employers hire people without doing the hard work of defining expectations. Poor leadership creates poor employee performance.”
And that is the secret to becoming a great boss, ladies and gentlemen.