Boss pattern statistics: what people report about their bosses
This page publishes once at least 30 people have completed the Boss Pattern Test in the current window. Until then the count is shown as below the reporting floor and no figures are published.
Once a cut reaches 30 completions, it shows which of the four patterns people report most (Absent, Controlling, Self Serving, Volatile), the mean friction on each dimension, and the same split for respondents who manage people themselves, reported first. Every figure describes what respondents experience. None describes what bosses are.
Current edition
Fewer than 30 completions in this cut. Nothing is published below that floor. Next refresh: 2026-10-12.
Collection started on 2026-09-22. This page is rewritten when a refresh runs; the change log below carries every edition.
What this page will report
So that no cut is chosen after seeing the data, here is what is published when n reaches 30, and nothing else:
- Type distribution
- Mean friction
- Mean score per dimension, 0 to 100
- Type distribution by role level
- Region
The floor rule
No cut is published with fewer than 30 completions. Where a cut falls below the floor, the chapter is published with the count and no figures. The floor is set before the edition and never lowered. Completions are counted, not people: the capture is anonymous and cookieless, so a returning visitor is not identifiable and is not de-duplicated. Ad blockers drop some events, so every count is a floor. The full rules are on the methodology page.
What this page will never publish
- Any percentage of bosses who are a label. The unit is a respondent's experience, never a boss.
- Any cut that names or could identify an employer.
- Any free text. None is collected.
- Any cut below 30 completions, or any cut that still contains the site's own test runs.
How to read it against other surveys
Two published numbers frame this one. In April 2026 the Harris Poll reported that 60 percent of employed US adults say they currently have a toxic boss, while Bennett Tepper of Ohio State, who counts behaviour, puts it at 15 to 20 percent (HRD Asia). This page sits between the two: it counts reported behaviours, and it reports the manager cut first so the figure can be read against what managers believe about themselves.
How to cite this page
Leaders ADAPT, Boss pattern statistics: what people report about their bosses, Workplace Reality Index, edition 2026-09-23, https://www.leadersadapt.com/boss-pattern-statistics/. Until a cut passes the floor there is no figure to cite; cite the method instead. Every published figure will carry its n, its window and its date on the same line.
Change log
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-22 | Page created with the tool. Collection begins. No figures published; n below floor. |
Take the tool
Every completion of the Boss Pattern Test: what kind of boss do you have joins this sample anonymously. More free tools are at the tools shelf.
The four results
Every completed run lands on one of these pages, with your own scores drawn from the link the tool gives you. Each one is readable without taking the tool.
- AbsentMost friction is direction. Usually untrained, rarely indifferent.
- ControllingMost friction is room. The how of your work is not yours.
- Self ServingMost friction is credit. Your name does not travel with your work.
- VolatileMost friction is steadiness. You manage a mood, not the work.
The other statistics pages
Every open tool on this site publishes its own statistics page under the same floor rule:
- AI job exposure statistics: how exposed people say their weekly tasks are
- Am I the problem at work? Statistics on self view and how others see you
- Golden handcuffs statistics: what people say keeps them in their jobs
- Job security statistics: the signals people report around their jobs
- Micromanaging statistics: how closely people say they are managed, and whether they know why
- Promotion block statistics: what stands between people and the next role
- Become a manager statistics: who wants the work, and who wants the title
- Should I quit statistics: what people asking are really leaving
- Toxic workplace statistics: four conditions at work, with the manager view first