8 June 2026 – New research from LiveCareer UK®, a leading career and CV-building platform, surveyed employed professionals across Europe to uncover the real business and personal costs of toxic leadership.
The findings presented in The Bad Bosses Report reveal a troubling reality: companies are losing the battle against toxic leadership. The data highlights a systemic lack of accountability, where poor management is often tolerated or even rewarded. This leadership gap is driving a talent exodus, with 60% of workers reporting they have either quit or seriously considered leaving due to a bad boss.
Key Findings
- The bad boss-provoked exodus is real: 19% of employees have already left a job because of a bad manager, and another 41% have seriously considered it.
- Toxic management is the norm: Over three-quarters (76%) of employees believe bad managers are a common fixture – or even unavoidable – in today’s workplaces.
- Toxic leaders “fail up”: Nearly half (48%) of bad managers receive promotions despite poor leadership or stay in place without consequences. Only 6% actually improve through coaching.
- Tolerance for brilliant jerks: 66% of employees believe businesses are likely to tolerate a high-performing but toxic manager.
- The “open door” policy is failing: 54% of employees do not feel safe escalating issues to HR, viewing it as a risky or unsafe move for their careers.
The Good Manager Paradox
The line between effective leadership and toxic behaviour can be subjective, often depending on individual work styles. However, the overwhelming consensus is that toxic management is widespread. Even those who have had positive experiences with leadership recognize how prevalent bad managers are across the workforce.
How employees rate the managers they’ve worked with in their career:
- Good – 49%
- Mixed (good and bad in equal measure) – 39%
- Poor – 12%
How common employees think bad managers are:
- Common – 73%
- Rare – 24%
- Unavoidable – 3%
Toxic Leadership in Practice
When looking at specific toxic traits of bad managers, employees pointed to a lack of integrity rather than just poor technical skills. The data shows that “credit thieves” and managers who play favourites are incredibly common. Behaviors employees have personally experienced from a manager include:
- Rewarding favourites – 36%
- Claiming others’ wins – 30%
- Changing expectations midstream – 26%
- Dodging responsibility – 20%
- Controlling every detail – 19%
- Shrugging off burnout – 19%
- Humiliating people publicly – 18%
- Not knowing what they were doing – 18%
- Running everything as a fire drill – 16%
- Making it feel hostile or unsafe – 15%
The Snowball Effect on Teams and Performance
Poor management doesn’t just create isolated problems – it triggers a ripple effect that slowly damages team dynamics and business results. What starts as team conflict can grow into disengagement, burnout, and eventually missed targets. The outcomes most commonly linked to bad management include:
- Conflict and tension in the team – 52%
- People leaving (high turnover) – 41%
- Poor performance and missed goals – 35%
- Declining mental health (stress/anxiety) – 34%
- Low trust and low psychological safety – 33%
- Disengagement / “quiet quitting” – 30%
- Burnout and exhaustion – 27%
- Career stagnation / people stopping growth – 22%
- None of the above – 9%
Bad Managers: The Leading Catalyst for Turnover
LiveCareer UK’s data demonstrates that management quality plays a significant role in an employee’s decision to leave. When asked whether they have ever considered leaving a job because of a bad manager, respondents said:
- Yes, I left a job because of a manager – 19%
- Yes, I seriously considered leaving – 41%
- No, I was frustrated, but didn’t consider leaving – 20%
- No, I never considered it – 20%
Reporting Bad Management Feels Unsafe
More than half of surveyed employees don’t feel safe formally reporting or escalating a bad manager. This may reflect a workplace culture where many employees still fear negative consequences for speaking up. Here’s how safe employees feel formally reporting or escalating a bad manager:
- Risky or unsafe – 54%
- Safe – 46%
The Accountability Void
Despite the severe damage bad managers cause, companies rarely hold them accountable. High-performing toxic bosses are protected, and almost half (48%) of bad managers are either promoted or left in place without consequences. Genuine improvement is the exception rather than the rule – only 6% of respondents report seeing bad managers change their behaviour through coaching or training.
Here’s what most often happens to bad managers in the workplace:
- They get promoted anyway – 26%
- They get moved laterally – 22%
- Nothing changes, they stay in place – 22%
- They eventually leave on their own – 15%
- They’re fired – 9%
- They improve (coached / trained / warned) – 6%
Respondents were also asked how likely it is that a high-performing but toxic manager would be tolerated in the workplace. The results show:
- Likely – 66%
- Unlikely – 34%
“Bad management is no longer just an interpersonal issue; it’s a profound operational failure,” said Dr. Jasmine Escalera, career expert at LiveCareer UK. “And our data makes that impossible to ignore. Nearly half of employees say bad managers are either promoted or allowed to stay in place without consequences, while 60% report they’ve either left or seriously considered leaving a job because of toxic leadership. When companies tolerate these behaviors, they are actively choosing to sacrifice employee mental health, trust, and long-term retention. You cannot build a high-performing company when leadership behaviors are driving your best talent out the door.”
To view the full report, please visit https://www.livecareer.co.uk/career-advice/bad-bosses-report or contact Olga Knapinska at [email protected].
Methodology
The findings presented in the Bad Bosses Report are based on a survey conducted by LiveCareer in March 2026, collecting responses from 1,000 employed professionals across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain . Respondents answered a mix of single-selection and multiple-choice questions regarding experiences with management, the outcomes of toxic leadership, and perceptions of workplace accountability.
About LiveCareer
LiveCareer’s online CV builder is designed to empower its users to get better jobs and improve their job search. A one-stop shop among AI CV builder tools, LiveCareer features cutting-edge CV templates, a powerful cover letter builder, and extensive free career resources to support job candidates in reaching their professional goals. Used by over 28 million job seekers around the world, LiveCareer has been publishing expert advice from Certified Professional Resume Writers since 2005. LiveCareer’s career tips have been featured in renowned media outlets, including Bloomberg, Forbes, and Newsweek. Stay connected with LiveCareer’s latest updates to improve your job search on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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