Survey Finds 6 in 10 American Workers Suffer Under a Toxic Boss, and It Sent More Than Half to Therapy
70% of surveyed workers have had a toxic boss at some point in their career, and almost half said that their behavior causes significant stress.
May 6 2026, Published 2:20 p.m. ET
Even if you have your dream job at your dream company, a toxic manager can make your days miserable. Unfortunately, a survey found that 6 in 10 Americans are working under a toxic boss, as of April 2026.
The Harris Poll Thought Survey defined a toxic boss as someone who "exhibits harmful workplace behaviors, including unfair preferential treatment, lack of recognition, blame-shifting, unnecessary micromanagement, unreasonable expectations, being unapproachable, taking credit for others’ ideas, acting unprofessionally, or discriminating against employees based on personal characteristics."
How was the toxic boss survey conducted?
The toxic boss survey was issued online by The Harris Poll. They surveyed a "nationally representative" sample of 1,334 American adults from April 16 to 18, 2026. The sample consisted of 229 Gen Z folks, 568 Millennials, 408 Gen X folks, and 129 Boomers. The survey was conducted online.
What do the toxic boss survey results say?
Generally, the survey found that many Americans are suffering or have suffered from a toxic boss, which often caused financial or emotional losses. Six in 10 American adults surveyed reported currently having a toxic boss, and 70% said that they've had a toxic boss at some point during their career. That number rose to 75% for people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Almost half of Americans surveyed (47%) said that their toxic boss caused them stress, burnout, or mental health decline, according to Fast Company. A third said that having a toxic boss resulted in financial losses, either from missed bonuses, commissions, or other financial rewards. 33% said they missed out on promotions.
How do surveyed Americans cope with toxic bosses?
Many workers (66% of those surveyed) said that they work on weekends or days off because of a toxic boss. 53% attend therapy to cope, and 66% switched jobs because of the issue.
As for responding to toxic behavior, many workers said that they stayed quiet to avoid being seen as "too sensitive or not a team player." 61% reported limiting their visibility at work to avoid toxic behaviors from their boss.
Only 55% of all employees surveyed said they pushed back against a toxic boss's behavior, but 73% percent of Gen Z workers reported pushing back. Millenials are leading the charge in terms of setting firm boundaries, taking medical/mental health leave, and asking for feedback in writing.
However, Gen Z is ahead of the pack when it comes to raising issues with HR. 18% of all demographics surveyed said they escalated toxic behaviors to HR, and 28% of Gen Z workers said they did the same.
After reporting toxic behavior to HR, 45% of workers reported that their complaint was found to be valid. 40% reported that disciplinary action was taken against the toxic employee, and 40% said they were offered support as a result of the complaint. However, 38%, or nearly four in 10 workers, experienced retaliation as a result of reporting an issue.
Most workers said that better management training would help combat the issue of toxic bosses in the workplace.