Jobless claims dropped 13,000 last week, according to the Labor Department, but still 623,000 pink slips were handed out last week.  Nobody feels that pain more than the people losing their jobs. But clearly this is a difficult time for a lot of managers.  Robert Sutton, of Stanford's Graduate School of Engineering, studies management and organizations, and he has an article in this month's Harvard Business Review on how to manage in tough times.  He writes that it is hard to be a good boss, even in good economic times:

It’s challenging in part because of an unfortunate dynamic that naturally arises in relationships of unequal power. Research confirms what many of us have long suspected: People who gain authority over others tend to become more self-centered and less mindful of what others need, do, and say. That would be bad enough, but the problem is compounded because a boss’s self-absorbed words and deeds are scrutinized so closely by his or her followers. 

And, as Sutton explains in this McKinsey Quarterly video, the dynamic gets even more toxic in bad economic times:

You can read a transcript of the interview here.  And read How to be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy here.