Belittling, lying and other bad-boss traits

Cutting down workers in public is about the worst thing a boss can do if he or she wants to retain employees.

That's the lesson of a new report from the authors of workplace management book "Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay." An online survey they're conducting about which bad-boss behaviors would make an employee leave their job has found the following "worst offenses:"

1. Belittles people in front of others (identified by 40.5 percent of the respondents)

2. Lies (34.2 percent)

3. Condescends or demeans (31.5 percent)

4. Humiliates and embarrasses others (23.9 percent)

5. Micromanages (21.9 percent)

The results are based on more than 2,000 responses to the survey so far.

Given the male-dominance of the computer profession, the rankings could be a bit different if the results were screened for tech workers.

According to the report, males cited micromanaging more often than females, while females were more intolerant of "humiliates and embarrasses."