Workers in Singapore are frequent job hoppers. According to the Randstad Workmonitor survey in 2014, more than 70% of employees in Singapore would change jobs immediately. Another survey in 2014 by human resources consultancy firm Hudson revealed that 74.3% of workers in Singapore would reject a job if they felt that the boss wasn’t a good one.

That says something: boss is the main factor for employees to consider leaving or staying in a job.

That’s because dealing with a terrible boss on a daily basis can be the most exhausting task. It will lead to frustration and anxiety.

What makes for a terrible boss? If you spot these signs in your boss, then it’s time for you to move on:

1. He thinks he owns you

No one likes the feeling of being treated as a slave. If your boss thinks he owns you, dictates everything in your job and wants to be in absolute control of your time, you are doomed in that workplace. That will get worse because your personal life will be affected too.

Senario: When you have planned a big day out to spend some time with your loved ones, a call or a message jumps out of your phone demanding your immediate attention, and then you have to spend some serious time thinking about how to respond and in some cases, how to finish the work without disrupting your plan. You won’t enjoy any bit of it, no matter how much you like your work.

Pay attention to the boss who is not only your immediate supervisor, but also the owner of the business and the paymaster of every employee. In that position, he has a stronger tendency to dictate everything (and he can). That will make your life miserable.

2. He is never wrong and never sorry

People make mistakes sometimes. It’s a natural way for us to learn and progress as long as we are willing to admit the mistakes and correct them. That should apply to both employees and bosses.

But if your boss always makes an exception for himself, while you get punched for any tiny little error, you know you are in a place you shouldn’t be.

3. He has no regard for your personal feelings

Having worked at big companies with thousands of employees, I’ve learned how to deal with people with different personalities. I tried not to let my emotions get in the way and stay level-headed in any situation. If you work together with professionals, you can tell they are trying to do the same.

But no matter how hard you try, your emotions will be affected in the workplace. It’s only normal. Emotions are what make us human.

Sometimes, you can’t prevent people from agitating your emotions. When the emotional assault comes from your colleagues, you can fight back. But when it comes from your boss, you mostly likely will have to suck it up and let it boil inside.

The worst boss takes advantage of it, showing no respect for you as an equal human being and hurt your feelings without any remorse. You can let it go once or twice, but you will feel diminished and forget your worth.

What do employees expect from a good boss?

There are many reasons for people to stay with the same company, even these days. If employees are treated well and their efforts are appreciated, they will feel motivated, satisfied and stick around.

In my opinion and based on the feedback from some of my colleagues, we as employees will appreciate a boss who is:

1. Flexible

Employees are not working robots. We all have a life and once in a while, we will need to be away to take care of our personal business. No one likes the feeling that he’s owned by his boss and doesn’t have a say in how to spend his own time.

2. Willing to accept different opinions

Every individual is different and everyone does things differently. There isn’t a right or wrong way of doing a job. Impose his own ideas and force his employees to work the way he wants will only make employees resentful.

Recognize our contributions. It doesn’t have to be compliments, praises or a big sum of bonus – though that would be great. But some recognition of our work, encouragement for our efforts would be nice.

3. Respectful

This is the most important thing for most people. If we are not treated with respect in a job, there’s simply no reason for us to hang on to that job.