It's hard for authority figures to be unanimously adored by those who work under them. Whether it's just because of political differences, personal friction, or even just random dislike, nobody will be completely liked by every subordinate all the time. To make an enemy out of every person below you, though, is a feat in and of itself, and that's what this trope is about.
When an authority figure is hated by every person they have authority over, whether it's just the staff at their Burger Fool or the entirety of The Empire, it usually cements that figure as a villain, or at least a massive Jerkass. Even a Hero with Bad Publicity couldn't be despised so completely. These leaders are often the kind to be a Mean Boss or a Bad Boss, who treat their underlings harshly and can't tolerate dissent or insubordination. They might be competent enough to keep themselves in power, but it's usually through shutting down any "rebellion" before it can grow and getting rid of their rivals for the role. They can have an army of Mooks at their beck-and-call, if they're that powerful, but that doesn't mean the individual mooks will actually enjoy working for them. Their authority will be based on bullying, fearmongering, and abuse of the rules, which keeps them in power, but also explains why they're hated by everyone else.
This serves a pragmatic reason for writers in terms of keeping things morally justified for our heroes because if they were taking out an emperor who was popular with the people or who had done good work for the country under their control for a (usually) personal vendetta, they wouldn't seem that much like heroes at all! Then again, it happens sometimes, and then you have people Rooting for the Empire.
If a 0% Approval Rating really bothers a sufficiently powerful ruler but they don't care to better themselves, there's always the option of Brainwashing, playing god and creating lifeforms loyal from birth, or singling out a couple of people and turn them into Les Collaborateurs. The Evil Overlord who wants to work at it can try Bread and Circuses. If the person has a plan that requires all of their underlings to hate them, then it's a Zero-Approval Gambit.
No Real Life Examples, Please!. Not only is it near impossible for any political figures to have a zero percent popularity rating (no, not even the most contentious ones), as they would've been removed or overthrown long before they hit the 0% mark, we aren't here to discuss how hated real-life people are. In fact, there is a study that shows someone needs at least 3.5% of the population to control the government of a region, so a zero percent popularity would be impossible even in theory.
Subtrope to Hated by All, which deals with any character, not just authority figures, being hated by everyone else in the story. Compare Hate Sink, where a character is solely designed to be hated by the audience and Karmic Shunning, when a person's loved ones no longer want anything to do with them. Contrast Universally Beloved Leader, for an authority figure who is beloved by all. Has nothing to do with the certain films that get this unlucky score on a certain website, though it might be named by it. —-
