By Kim Tong-hyung

Every employee can recall a boss from hell and it’s probably safe to say none of them ever wants to be one. This doesn’t keep them from barking at their lower-ranked coworkers and lament why kids these day’s can’t be more like them.

When asked who they think make the worst type of office leaders, more than half of some 600 workers polled by job information website, Career (www.career.co.kr), picked the quintessential kiss-up, kick-down manager. But when questioned about junior colleagues they despise the most, the same respondents overwhelmingly said it was the type of person who would take a stand.

Apparently, this self-contradiction is the hallmark of life as a “salaryman” here. As the old Korean saying goes, a frog will never remember its tadpole days.

``Our surveys show that employees want their office superiors to be open and embracing and have the ability to flexibly adjust to different situations. For lower-ranked coworkers, the employees were asking for manners and respect as well as work ethic,’’ said Choi Ji-yeon, who heads Career’s public relations team.

The survey required respondents to pick multiple answers. ``Those who are `yes men’ to superiors and always tormenting lower-ranked workers’’ was the most popular answer to the worst-boss question, picked by nearly 52 percent of the respondents.

The next most popular answers were bosses who lack direction (50.2 percent), failure to control their temper (44 percent), being selfish (50.2 percent), distrusting coworkers (42.2 percent), passively aggressive (41.4 percent) and frequently asking for personal favors (40.5 percent).

``Those who lack a sense of hierarchy’’ was the most popular answer for the worst-junior colleague question with 50.6 percent support. Workers also didn’t like lower-ranked coworkers who lack productivity (49.2 percent), being dishonest and irresponsible (44.9 percent), talking too much (40.5 percent) and having a bad work ethic (40.5 percent).

``Bosses who are reluctant to issue compliments or show a more personal side weren’t very popular either. Workers also didn’t like junior colleagues who butter them up too much, lack willingness in teamwork, are unproductive, and of course, those threatening to overtake them on the career path,’’ Choi said.