Toxic Bosses Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

ToxicBoss.com gets lots of visits. Upset workers can e-mail complaints about their bosses.

"There are other people out there who are suffering the same problems, and we can share and vent together," says Dr. Chandra Louise, co-founder of ToxicBoss.com.

Workers share stories and their anger. Dr. Fred Smith, consultant for ToxicBoss.com, contends bad bosses create real physical illness among workers.

"This comes from the stress they feel at work that they internalize, develop symptoms and then talk about the symptoms when the problem is really the workplace itself," Smith says.

The Web site features a boss-o-meter showing varying degrees of boss toxicity. Some bad bosses yell and change moods quickly, and there is also another type.

"There is the more passive type that can be really, really sweet to you and then just stab you in the back behind your back, which I think is the worst," Louise says.

The tight Triangle job market gives dissatisfied workers a way out.

"It's easier just to shift jobs because they're out there," Smith says. "We see that a great amount of the migratory worker syndrome, if you will, is due to the fact that they're unhappy where they are."

The Web site offers thoughts for bosses too.

It says training and a realization that work is a two-way interaction is critical to successful relationships between managers and those who work for them.