‘Master-baiters’ are the bosses unwittingly making your work life a misery

One minute you’re sitting at your desk at work, minding your own business, the next your manager is looming over you with a phrase guaranteed to fill you with dread: ‘Can I have a word?’
Immediately, you go into panic mode.

What have you done?

What grave mistake could you have made?

With your hands now slack with sweat, you compose yourself as you follow your boss into their office.

Then, they turn to you with a smile and say: ‘Great, can you sign Jeanette’s leaving card?’
As the colour returns to your face, you can’t help but wonder: ‘What kind of psychopath am I working for?’
You’ve just come face-to-face with a ‘master baiter’ – a boss who can bait you into thinking you’re in deep trouble, when actually, it’s all rosy.

They’re the master of the bait and switch, and it’s a reminder to you of who’s in charge.

Other classic phrases used by ‘master-baiters’ include: ‘I need to chat for a few minutes,’ and ‘come into my office… now.’
In a recent Reddit thread, @Fellowes321 reveals he dealt with a ‘master-baiting’ manager.

‘We needed to work together on some projects… he would come into the office, stand next to me and say “I need a word”.

It put me on edge every time’.

Another user, @badlydressedigirl, added: ‘My old manager said to me once, “could you come up to the office and have a chat” and the look on on my face must have betrayed my white, hot anxiety because she immediately said, “it’s not bad”!’

Why are ‘master-baiters’ so stressful?

While the use of vague or non-specific language is often totally harmless, career coach Hannah Salton says we find ‘master-baiters’ so stressful because of our fear of the unknown.

‘When a manager asks for a quick word out of nowhere, we have no idea what’s coming,’ Hannah tells Metro.

‘Our minds tend to jump straight to the worst-case scenario.’
Hannah also says that given the fact that many of us feel like an imposter at some point in our careers, an unexpected tap on the shoulder feeds into that fear of being “found out”.

She continues: ‘Ultimately, it says more about the employee’s state of mind than whether they’ve actually made any kind of mistake.

‘You could have done absolutely nothing wrong and still spiral.

POLL

Have you ever had a manager who was a 'master-baiter'?

• All of my bosses are like this, it's a nightmare!

• No, I'm lucky to have had communicative managers

‘For someone already feeling a bit on edge or prone to imposter syndrome, an unexpected “can I have a word” can really tip them over.’
If you struggle with imposter syndrome, it might be comforting to know that you’re not alone.

Connar Walford, student success lead at targetjobs, previously told Metro that ‘Gen Z has come into the workforce at a difficult time where most of the work is remote-based, job insecurity has increased, and the economy is unstable.

These all worsen anxieties around proving yourself’.

Do managers ever ‘master-bait’ employees on purpose?

In Hannah’s opinion, ‘99% of the time, managers aren’t trying to cause panic – they’re just not aware of the impact their words can have’.

It often feels like such a small, insignificant thing on their end, which means they don’t always predict how unsettling it can be for someone who has no idea what the conversation is about.

Although Hannah does warn: ‘Occasionally some managers do use ambiguity to keep people on their toes – whether consciously or not’.

Are you a ‘master-baiter’?

For senior leaders wanting to avoid being labelled a ‘master-baiter’, the key is context.

Including just a few small details can provide immense clarity for the employee.

‘It costs very little and makes a big difference’.

Hannah concludes: ‘Generally, the more that managers can normalise open, two-way communication with their teams day to day, the less loaded a simple “can I have a word” becomes in the first place.

‘We aren’t bracing ourselves for the worst-case scenario as we have more trust in the relationship’.

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.