Have you been noticing some conflicting behavior at the workplace which made you wonder if your boss is testing you or if it’s a different story?
The power dynamics in the workplace is quite a complex yet very frequent thing. Doesn’t matter to which country you belong and what work you do, the constant power plays between you and your seniors are an inevitable thing.
Sometimes, you may find yourself in a situation where it becomes ambiguous as to whether your boss is testing you or belittling you for gratification.
It may sound like a tedious task but you don’t need to worry as within the next few minutes, you’ll get a very clear idea about it and will see through the behavior of your boss.
So without wasting any time, let’s get started.
Signs Your Boss Is Testing You
There may be times when you would notice a seemingly unfair treatment from your boss and can’t figure out what it is. Maybe your boss is testing you and this is his way to do it.
So, let’s look further into this if that’s really the case. We have covered each point with the psychology involved so you will understand why your boss behaves in such a manner.
1. Mystery Mission – Deciphering the Tasks
This is one of the biggest signs your boss is testing you and is quite common as well. You will find your boss assigning you a task but not guiding you on how to get there.
It feels like an examination where a teacher gives you questions but doesn’t tell you how to reach the correct answers, that’s your job.
Similarly, you will feel as if you first have to figure out the solution and then execute it to complete the task.
Pro Tip
If your boss doesn’t want to instruct you for the sake of testing you and you approach him for guidance, he’ll most likely just giggle and change the topic or say, ‘That’s your job to find out’.
Let’s see why is it the case.
When you want to test someone’s skills in some manner, what will you do?
You’ll give them something and leave everything to them to see how they perform.
Basically, your boss wants to test your problem-solving skills and see how you perform under pressure. This is his way of differentiating between a laborious person and someone who can take the initiative.
2. Solo Ventures – A Task’s Silent Journey
A lot of people mess up this point and fail to see it while it lies in front of them.
This one is connected to the first point in principle but is quite subtle.Your boss will assign you a task but will act as if he completely forgot about it.
What most people mess up and I did it too is to start slacking off. Usually, when our boss isn’t keeping a close check on us or inquiring about our progress, we start becoming more lenient about it. And unfortunately, doing this means you failed the test.
There is a reason behind it.
When you assign someone something and want to test the diligence and sense of responsibility of a person, will you keep asking him about the progress or just sit back and see how he manages the situation?
Of course, the latter one, since it’s like removing all the influential factors from that person, now whatever he’ll do, it’s his true nature because everyone can put effort when forced but those who are naturally hardworking will do it regardless.
An Analogy
No one will steal cash under surveillance but the one who’s actually honest won’t do it despite being all alone and no one monitoring him. The one who is diligent will deliver his work without being forced or having someone keep a check on him.
The next time your boss seems to be very lenient and not checking on you after giving you an assignment, get working on it already as your boss is testing you.
3. The Challenge Gap
It’s so surprising that many misinterpret this sign and deceive themselves big time.
We often see people complaining about their bosses assigning them challenging tasks and having a negative perspective of the situation
What they fail to see is why are they being assigned a difficult task while their teammates aren’t. Because the boss sees something in them that he doesn’t see in their teammates.
Let’s see it from the psychological perspective.
When people are inducted into the workplace, not everyone is equal. Some have more temperament while others are average. A good manager notices it and wants to push the guys with potential to their limits.
He begins to give such people assignments and tasks, though hard in nature but designed to boost their growth and development.
It feels unfair to have yourself working hard while your teammates chilling, but it’s surely one of the clearest signs your boss is testing you.
4. A Seed for The Future
If your boss is delegating tasks to you and referring you to people needing resources from your team, then it’s a good sign your boss is testing you for your managerial skills.
Though being delegated tasks by your superiors is quite common, especially in the case of secretaries, does it mean your boss is testing you every time?
No. It is a test only when you are being delegated a task that your manager doesn’t know about your expertise.
It’s like, we need to get this task done. And along with it, we’ll also see if you have the expertise to pull this off.
And here is why it matters.
Delegating a task to someone means you trust that person that he can handle the situation well.
But delegating such a task to a person of which you don’t know about his expertise, is more than that.
It means that you trust that person due to his past achievements and now giving him another test to see how he performs in it.
If you find yourself in a similar situation with your boss, congratulations as you are in the good books of your boss and he keeps you in high regard.
5. Whispers Of Assessment: The Unseen Evaluation
This one acts like reinforcement and when accompanied by the previous makes it very clear that your boss has been testing you.
A person who wants to test your competence and temperament will not ask you directly, ‘Hey, how hardworking are you?’. Not only is this impractical but almost everyone is going to say they are hardworking.
What the boss will do is to ask other coworkers about your performance in addition to the points mentioned above.
You may find a coworker come and tell you, ‘Hey! The boss was asking about your performance’.
It means that your boss is sort of collecting evidence because he’s interested in knowing more about your performance.
Let’s have an interpretation.
Social proof is one of the most common methods to decide on something. You must have heard about, ‘if everyone is doing it, it must be right’. The human mind is hard-wired to believe and do things that other people are doing as well.
If your boss asks other people about your performance, it’s clear he wants to get more information about you. And it further solidifies the above-mentioned steps and makes it clear that your boss is testing you.
Difference Between the Testing and Belittling Behavior
This is very important to know since the testing and belittling behavior on the part of your boss can overlap.
But through the following cues, we can tell them apart:
if your boss is testing you | If your boss is belittling you |
---|---|
Will not make passive-aggressive remarks unless he’s testing your patience. | Will make passive-aggressive remarks. |
Will treat you well outside the work environment. | Will treat you poorly outside the work environment. |
Will not criticize you in front of everyone. | Will criticize you openly in public. |
Will uplift you when you deliver your assignment. | Will not appreciate your contribution. |
Will address your concern. | Will not address your concerns. |
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of this article. Now you know about the clearest signs your boss is testing you.
There’s no denying that such a situation can be difficult to navigate since you don’t know the origins of the behavior of your boss.
Sometimes your boss could be giving you a hard time to test you, while other times it could be his effort to belittle you for gratification.
There are cues however through which we can deduce what’s the real story.
We’ve covered all the signs your boss is testing you including the clues that will help you differentiate it from the belittling behavior.
Which of the signs you’ve faced in your work life? Let us know in the comments below!
Leave a Reply