- Former Amazon VP Ethan Evans explained why complaints about bad managers often go unaddressed
- Leaders weigh three burdens: firing, hiring, and workload absorption when acting on complaints
- Complaints are dismissed as oversensitivity, shifting blame from managers to employees
In a podcast, a former Amazon vice president explained why complaints against ineffective managers often fail to lead to action. Speaking on The Peterman Pod, Ethan Evans revealed that bad managers often stay in their roles not because leadership is unaware of issues but because acting on complaints comes with hidden costs that many leaders would rather avoid. According to Evans, when senior leaders receive complaints about a problematic manager, they subconsciously weigh what he calls the "three problems," which make inaction the easier choice.
He noted that, in many cases, the simplest conclusion for leaders is to view the complainant as "overly sensitive" or "high maintenance," effectively shifting scrutiny away from the manager. If the employee eventually quits, the burden of replacing them falls on the manager, not the skip-level leader. Evans added that escalating the issue directly with the manager is also problematic, as employees don't want to be ratted out.
However, if a senior leader agrees with the complainant and decides to remove the manager, they immediately inherit three significant burdens:
The Three Problems of Firing a Manager
- Managing them out: The leader must handle the difficult, time-consuming process of firing or transitioning the manager out of the role.
- Hiring and training: The leader then has to spend energy finding, interviewing, hiring, and training a replacement.
- Doing the work: While the role is vacant, the senior leader often has to absorb the bad manager's workload themselves.
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Because these options are inconvenient, leaders may resort to dismissing the complaint instead, Evans said. His remarks quickly gained traction online, resonating with many who said the explanation mirrored their own workplace experiences. One user wrote, "This is what poor leadership looks like at the top."
Another said, "And 4: They'd have to admit they made a hiring mistake."
A third wrote, "Classic toxic management of “if you come to me with a problem, it's easier for me to assume that YOU are the problem”. High performance is not rewarded but punished"
A fourth added, "This is why it's almost guaranteed that a good employee should leave if he/she has a problem with the manager. Complaining only puts you in their crosshairs- whether you are listened to or not."
