Absence of empathy

One of the worst toxic manager attributes is a lack of empathy, which serves as the foundation for other harmful actions. A manager who fails to perceive his or her employees' feelings may not think twice about gossiping, yelling, or overworking his or her personnel. At its most extreme manifestation, this trait manifests as workplace abuse. More subtle instances of this tendency include bosses guilting staff into taking sick leave or displaying affluence in front of minimum wage workers.

These people also don't care, or don't appear to care, about the lives of their employees outside of the office or how extraneous issues may affect performance. While professionalism demands that employees not let personal issues interfere with their work, everyone is prone to having a terrible day. Major events such as death, illness, and delivery have a higher impact, and expecting the employee to demonstrate no impacts is unfair. Some managers treat their personnel more like machines than people.

How to fix it: Practice mindfulness and self-awareness. In times when you cannot show kindness, then give your employees space. Make an effort to observe and imagine other folks’ feelings. Search for the root of your lack of compassion. Trust yourself to draw the line between being nice and being taken advantage of.