How to deal with a bad boss
The uncontested, number-one reason why people are unhappy at work is bad management. Nothing has more power to turn a good work situation bad than a bad boss. Sadly there are quite a lot of them around. A recent British study accused 1 in 4 bosses of being bad, while a Norwegian study said 1 in 5.
According to workplace researchers Sharon Jordan-Evans and Beverly Kaye, when people quit, they don’t leave a company, they leave a bad boss. Surveys show that up to 75% of employees who leave their jobs do so at least in part because of their manager. In the exit interview dutifully performed by HR, employees may say that they got a higher salary or a shorter commute out of the switch, but in anonymous surveys the truth comes out: My bad boss drove me away.
The reason that having a bad manager is so bad for us is that managers have power over us. Managers can change our work situation, give us good or bad tasks, and, ultimately, fire us. This power imbalance is why a good relationship with your manager is so important.
The good news is that you are not powerless. You don’t need to quietly accept a bad boss – quite the contrary. If your boss is not treating you and your co-workers right, you have a responsibility to do something! And in many, many cases, bosses long for feedback from their employees – they want to know what they can do better.
Here are the steps you must take, to deal with a bad boss.
1: Assume no bad intentions.
While some of the things your boss does may make you unhappy at work, it is probably not why they do it. Until proven otherwise, assume that they mean well and are simply unaware of the effects of their actions.
2: Classify your boss
Which of these three categories does your bad boss fall into?
- Doesn’t know he’s bad.
- Knows he’s bad and wants to improve.
- Doesn’t want to know he’s bad or doesn’t care.
Most managers who make their employees unhappy are simply unaware of this fact—nobody has ever told them that what they do isn’t working. Some managers know that what they’re doing is wrong and are trying to improve—these people need our support and good advice in order to do better.
Paul’s new boss was constantly critical and never showed any appreciation for a job well done. In weekly status meetings, he would only comment on deviations from the budgets and demand explanations and actions plans.
Well, Paul doesn’t stand for that kind of thing. He kindly but firmly let his new boss know that in order to be motivated he also needed positive recognition for the things he did well. The result: Over the course of three months, the boss has come around and now freely and happily comments on the great results Paul is getting. At their last status meeting before Christmas, the boss even spent five minutes praising Paul’s department for the work they’ve done and the results they’ve achieved.
But this may not always work.
I used to be the Public Relations Coordinator and Editor for a local non-profit organization. A couple of months before I threw in the towel my grandmother became very ill. After a phone call from a family member I was told to come to her bedside, as death was imminent.
I told my boss that I needed to leave for a family emergency and explained the situation and how close I was to my grandmother. My boss replied, “Well, she’s not dead yet, so I don’t have to grant your leave.�? And, I was told to complete my workday. Suffice to say I did not finish my workday. (source)
There’s also the third category of boss: Those who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that they’re bad leaders, or who revel in the fact that they make people unhappy at work. These managers are usually beyond helping and may never learn and improve. Get away from them as fast as you can.
3: Let your boss know what they could do better
Presuming your boss is in category 1 or 2, you must let them know what they can improve. This can be scary because of the power imbalance between managers and employees, but it needs to be done. Managers aren’t mind readers, and they need honest, constructive feedback.
4: Do it sooner rather than later.
If you have a bad relationship with your boss it’s vitally important that you do something about it as soon as possible. It can be tempting to wait, thinking that it might get better on its own, or that your boss might be promoted, transferred or leave. Don’t wait – sooner is better.
5: Choose the right time to talk.
In the middle of a meeting or as a casual hallway chat are not the best ways to approach the subject. Make sure you’re in a quiet undisturbed place and have time to talk about it fully.
6: Explain the effects on you and the effects on your work.
Be specific and tell your manager, “When you do X it makes me do Y, which results in Z.�? If you can show how his actions reduce motivation, hurt business, or increase expenses, you’re more likely to convince him that this is a serious issue.
7: Suggest alternatives.
If you can, explain what they could do instead and why that would be better. Suggesting specific alternatives makes it easier to make positive changes.
8: Make a plan and follow up.
Agree to follow up at a later date, to evaluate the new situation.
9: Praise your manager when he gets it right.
When your boss gets it right, remember to praise them. Many managers never receive praise because people mistakenly believe that praise should only flow from managers to employees.
You may be nervous about approaching your manager and giving them advice, but good managers are truly grateful for constructive, useful feedback, and will appreciate any opportunity they get to learn how to do a better job.
10: If all else fails: Get out of Dodge
If you’ve tried to make it work and can’t, it’s time to get away. You can go for another job inside the company (with someone you know to be a great boss), or in another organization.
And you?
What about you? Have you ever dealt with a bad boss? How did you do it? Write a comment, I’d really like to know!
This post is an excerpt from my new book Happy Hour is 9 to 5, which is all about making yourself, your co-workers and your workplace happy.
If you enjoyed this post, I’m pretty sure you’ll also like these:
John Wesley Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Thanks for the great suggestions. Fortunately my boss is very good anyways.
Gerardo Amaya Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
I used to have the greatest boss ever (Alexander and I already talk about that) but life is all about equilibrium, My next Job I had the worst Boss ever, and it falls in number 3 category. Definitely all employees knew(and still know) that She has no experience whatsoever managing people, but she always though she can, still does. I get out of there as soon as possible. I must say that the job was one of the best jobs I ever had, but that doesn’t matter. My boss always transform this beautiful work into a nightmare.
I like to share something that I have seen in bad bosses all over my country(I think will apply worldwide). I like to use the term “Artificial Crisis”. Usually this people lack of knowledge and don’t have any experience in the position they are working on, so what do they do to remind the top chiefs in the company that they need this people. They create “Artificial Crissis”.
Usually when my former Boss came back from a trip, she was expecting problems, The group was so good that we can took care of ourselves while she was away, I guess she feel some sort of threat(completely immature I know) so she started reporting to her boss that while she was away the complete group was a mess, that nothing was done and that they need to take actions immediately.
Most of my colleagues were scared to tell that all was fake. They fear of being fired. I try to talk to her about how she can change they way she manages, and she once told me “You and your colleagues don’t know what you want or what to do, I’ll tell you”. What!!? I was speachless
I tried to talk to her boss and explain the situation, but guess what, He was from the same kind :(
As Alexander said, when nothing can be done, you can’t let yourself be absorbed by this kind of negative and bad influence. I leave the company right away. Since that day( and thanks to this website) I started looking for happiness at work, I haven’t reach the end, but I’m already happy and enjoying every step of the journey!! :)
Uninspired » Blog Archive » A Must Read Article from The Chief Happiness Officer Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
[...] Check out this article from The Chief Happiness Officer on How to Deal with a Bad Boss. [...]
Theo Tonca Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
I think a great way to empower people and even the “power balance” as you were talking about is to allow people to fire their managers! Perhaps not from the company as a whole, but just fire them from being their manager or alternatively you can just not have any managers at all, which is what we are going to do at my startup soon.
P.S. When i was in the corporate world i had plenty of bad bosses and i usually just left the company due to my low tolerance threshold for negative or ignorant people :)
Sarah Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
My situation is a little unique. My staff loves the way i manage and i have great relationships with everyone who reports to me. I am #2 in command for the organization as a whole. My only superior is the Executive Director of the organization. She feels so threatened by the loyalty and happiness my team shows on a daily basis that she barates me for my management style and tries to ‘teach me through example’ that being forceful and rude are better tactics than what i use.
In our relationship we have weekly meetings that are supposed to be me relating my team’s work to her and getting her feedback and advise. Instead these sessions are based around what she feels she would have done differently than i am doing, and why her way is right. Normally i am confident enough to get through this sort of thing without worrying, but she made it personal by not allowing me to get to my prenatal doctor appoitments, calling my staff into her office so they could hear her tell me how i messed up, and a slew of other inappropriate things.
When i confronted my manager she told me she was working on being less abrasive, but i need to learn her ways and use them. Honestly, if i was not pregnant and needing health insurance i would have left a while back, but sometimes life gets in the way of your plans in a sense.
I also stay because my staff would be managed by her if i left, and i do not feel right about putting them in that situation. We work as a team, build off each other’s successes, and respond to both the good and bad almost like a family.
Adriana Said,
January 23, 2007 @ 10:02 pm
At the beginning of my working life I had a bad boss. He was so bad to be funny! When I decided to leave, it was because I found a better job.
How to deal with a bad boss - lifehack.org Said,
January 25, 2007 @ 12:59 am
[...] How to deal with a bad boss – [The Chief Happiness Officer] Author: Kyle Pott Posted: Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 7:00 pm Tags: attitude, conflict+resolution, management, work Bookmark/Share This! Leave a Reply [...]
Recruitment types and the pursuit of happiness « AccMan Said,
January 25, 2007 @ 8:33 am
[...] Do partners know whether they make good bosses? [...]
karen Said,
January 26, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Is George W. Bush a bad boss who doesn’t know he’s bad, or a bad boss that doesn’t care? Either way, I believe the U.S. has gone through steps 1-9 listed here to deal with our bad boss. I guess it’s time for me to “Get out of Dodge”.
Kent Blumberg Said,
January 26, 2007 @ 9:25 pm
Bad Boss Resources
At one time or another, all of us will have to deal with a bad boss. Perhaps you have been a bad boss yourself once or twice. Here are some resources for dealing with bad bosses and avoiding bad boss
Tim Ebl Said,
January 27, 2007 @ 1:11 am
I think one of the key points here is that, most of the time, your boss is not out to ruin your life. They may not have thought through how their actions are percceived, and they may have a lot of different things demanding attention. The only way to get around this problem is communication, not confrontation or complaining. I have found that every time I make an attempt to fix a situation with my superiors at work, by approaching them and explaining how the workers see it, the problems were alleviated and a couple of times I even got promoted!
Al Sacco Said,
February 1, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
I’m a writer with CIO.com and we’ve assembled a handy guide to boss relations, including a section on how to deal with a “toxic” boss. Though aimed mostly at the IT exec, the guide also includes valuable insights for non-tech staffers, including articles on how to tell your boss you’re overworked, how to read his facial expressions–or anyone else’s–and a piece on how to tell you’re about to get fired.
http://www.cio.com/specialreports/bossandyou/index.html
Alexander Said,
February 2, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
John: Glad you liked it. Too bad your boss is nice, so you couldn’t apply the tips!
Gerardo: Artificial crisis. I like it! And if you try hard enough, you can make a crisis out of anything
Theo: I agree. Semco let their employees choose which manager to work for, so bad bosses are quickly left without people to manage.
Sarah: That’s horrible! And her insistence that her way is right and yours is wrong is terrible. I admire you for staying
I wonder if there is some way to approach her about this that would make her realize that your leadership style is more efficient. I mean, results have to matter to her, and you get better results!
But if the root issue here is her insecurity because you’re a better leader, then it becomes difficult to tackle.
Adriana: I like that – when bosses are that bad, a good defense is to laugh at them. Some of them do get pretty funny!
Karen: It seems like GWB has been insulated from the very notion, that there could be something wrong with anything he’s ever done.
Tim: Exactly. How will they know that they’re making mistakes, if no one ever tells them. Telepathy is not a part of most leadership training :o)
Al: Thanks for the tip – that’s a great resource!
More interviews with me Said,
February 16, 2007 @ 10:04 am
[...] Also, 2 weeks ago, I was the guest on a radio program on national Danish radio. A panel consisting of three members of parliament and yours truly had a discussion on workplace stress and bad management, based on two of my previous posts, namely 5 myths about workplace stress and How to deal with a bad boss. [...]
Dave Copeland » Blog Archive » Friday’s links: Washingtonian.com: Gladwell’s Bra… Said,
March 4, 2007 @ 8:28 am
[...] Chief Happiness Officer: How To Deal With A Bad Boss “The uncontested, number-one reason why people are unhappy at work is bad management. Nothing has more power to turn a good work situation bad than a bad boss. Sadly there are quite a lot of them around. A recent British study accused 1 in 4 bosses of being bad, while a Norwegian study said 1 in 5.” [...]
Lynne Said,
April 13, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
I had a very unsuccessful battle with a bad boss. A new managment team came in and after 15 years of reporting straight to the Director of my Unit, I was now reporting to a new manager, who reported to the Director. My new manager was a woman and the new Director was a man (both were with the organization for a few years, just not with my Unit). This new manager would never meet with me, never ask me a question (would always just go to my staff) and spent a total of 10 minutes going over the one performance review she had to do on me (which was favorable). I went to the Director (who had an open door policy) who basically said that I needed to schedule meetings with her and she was not the chatty type. He further stated that she could be nervous about being in the new position and could feel threatened by me because she had never managed a staff larger than three people before and these three were office clerks. Nothing got better and after a year and a half I was laid off. I pursued legal action but was told it would cost me a lot of money for iffy results.
I like to think that Karma is out there and will wreak havoc on those that deserve it.
Wells Fargo Former Employee Said,
April 22, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
Thanks for putting up a website like this, perhaps this can be can be an avenue to post bad bosses names, and warn others not to work for them.
At Wells Fargo, the bad bosses include Sylvia Reynolds and Deb Wall and Nancie Shelden – NEVER WORK FOR ANY OF THESE PEOPLE.
Before accepting a new job, ask the hiring manager if you can talk to one of thier staff, so you may gain a better knowledge about the person you’re about to work for.
Pablo Durissimo Said,
May 6, 2007 @ 1:34 am
This website is a great idea but I’d like to propose another idea: Let’s suppose I am in the process of looking for a job and I am looking at one of the branches of Wells Fargo in Los Angeles as a future employer. And let’s suppose I don’t know anyone in the company and so I cannot find out who are the bad bosses, who do I need to stay away from, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice, if I could go to a website where the “bad bosses” would be listed by company and where their subordinates could post specific comments about these pathetic individuals? (There would have to be some guidelines about the language used and requirement to write specifics, so that employees could not misuse the site by badmouthing someone for no good reason). Not only would a site like this help the potential job seekers, but if the site or link would become known, guess who else would read the postings there? Upper management! In essence, the “bad boss” would get a report card from the subordinates and that could be hazardous to his/her career! Eventually the employees could in essence make the “bad boss” irrelevant by leaving and/or not applying for a position if that person is in charge.
Vee Fish Said,
June 16, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
The person who is head of where I work is the worst boss I have every seen. He acts like a baby. If someone doesn’t agree with him, he just doesn’t speak. (sometimes for as long as six months) What is worse, he is one man among a group of woman who have worked with him for years, and they all baby him. When someone behaves professionally and acts like a grown up, he doesn’t like it. Even though 99% of the employees agree he is bad, he is in class 3, doesn’t want to know and doesn’t care.
Jennie Campbell Said,
June 18, 2007 @ 4:22 pm
After 9 years of having a strong but fair supervisor at a job I felt very rewarding, the bank sold. The acquiring bank had different views on the structure of the lending department, which required to change companies. My current supervisor is someone I knew from my previous employment. We worked well together, but she was not in a supervisory capacity. She contacted me when my current came available. My current position was the “my dream job”. This is what I have 30 years in banking for. Unfortunately, my supervisor is very abrasive in her actions. There are two other loan officers that she does not treat like this, however I am who she attacks on a daily basis. I am actively looking for different employment outside of banking. I am very disappointed with how it has turned out. This is work I have worked towards for 30 years. I achieve my goals, finally, and I end up with someone who if she has a bad morning, I receive the blunt of it. Discussing it with her does not good, this is a situation that requires to “GET OUT OF DODGE”. My overall performance has suffered from her style of management. Every Sunday afternoon, I have knots in my stomach knowing that Monday morning I have to enter into this negative workplace one more time.
Shelly Said,
July 4, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
I work for a boss who is respectful to only certain people. She is very materialistic. She is rude and unfair to the new people and kisses up to the doctors. She thinks because she comes from another country that she is the only one who has worked hard and suffered to get where she is at. She won’t tell you or show you how anything is done because she is afraid you will know more that her and may get her job. She is so insececure about her position. She says that the big boss calls her in to work because they couldn’t find anyone else, but the truth of the matter is because she wants everyone else to stay untrained so she will be the only one to know her position. She gets the doctors coffee and babies them. Where here in America, we seldom do this. It is so difficult for me as most women have worked hard to overcome years of opression and, well, she continues to live the way she does here in America. She is so unfair. I confronted her the other day about some things, but It has not changed anything. She will continue to be the same. I have talked about it, read about it, prayed about it, and I’m not sure excactly what is next. I am afraid of not having a decent job with good insurance. The job itself is with good benefits and pay.
Michelle (London) Said,
July 5, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
I have just had a really bad day at work with a really bad boss & this site has cheered me up no end !!
This guy that is my “bad boss” is new to the Company & hasn’t quite grasped the concept that he isn’t a Consultant anymore, he is a permanent employee & we are also not Consultant Droids from Accenture & at his beck & call. In a nutshell we have a life !!
He hasn’t quite picked up on the work culture at our Company, we work hard but we don’t have to be at our desk from dawn to dusk to be productive….
He has been there 6 months & has certainly made an impact the team in that it is turning over at a rate of knots, people are resigning or asking to be moved weekly…….
& he just doesn’t seem to know WHAT he is talking about….he has the memory of a goldfish !! & you really wonder how someone so senior got past HR !!
I am hoping that Karma plays it’s part & that he gets what is coming to him……eventually I am sure he will !! Bad Hire…Bad Hire !!!
chiefscribe Said,
August 22, 2007 @ 10:15 am
Michelle (London) are you sure that he isn’t one of my many bad bosses from Australia.
Why is it that when a new boss arrives he/her has just invented all the RIGHT ways on how things HAVE to be done to ensure a good end result. Out comes his or her broom to sweep the Office clean!!
Give me strength! Don’t these dip sticks remember when new bosses appeared in their work places and did the very same thing! I find all it does is turns one off and doing the basics to achieve very poor output results.
I have also work with Bosses who have a go at you if you leave the workplace in the afternoon before them. So all that achieves is for one to bludge most of the day, and as soon as the Boss locks his/her door at 5.45 pm you are exactly 10 seconds behind him/her.
Am I missing something in the BIGGER picture??
eagle with vultures Said,
March 2, 2008 @ 8:37 am
I have a special relationship with my supervisor. On his first day he went on to tell me how he did not like working with engineers even though he is one as well. Later, the next week, he told me (ordered) to stop certain essential activities – I protested. My immediate manager had retired and I was acting – I went on to explain our processes and procedures. He was silent and then replied in writing that he would be reorganizing the Division. His first evaluation of me was very bad and soon he announced that a new manager would be hired for my section.
His new man was a perfect fit for the perfect engineer manager except for the fact that he had NO EXPERIENCE in our field. I ended up doing my job and the new guy’s job. After about two years the new guy was caught for behaviour unbecoming in terms of bad money usage – never for the other things that all occured and would of landed anyone else in major trouble. He left under a black cloud that affected all in the Division.
Guess what, I was acting again and even with working extra and working new initiatives and producing more outputs then the guy who got dumped – and I received yet another bad review. Again, a new competition was set-up for the manager’s job. This supervisor had reduced the experience requirements to four years only and removed the professional standing equired for thise position that manages three other engineers.
So during the competition screening he vetted me out saying that I did not have enough experience running the office??????? I informed him that I had three years of management experience from my previous job and that in this Division I had over two years of experience while acting. I went on the remind him that his last hire was a thief and useless and that chopping me out of the competition was an insult and that it was time to approach the president. Later I found out that the new candidate had ZERO EXPERIENCE and no credentials — so the gloves came off.
Needless to say I clicked to my already made arrangements for a new job but I made a gutsy but unique decision to got after this idiot. I made inquiries with the union, lawyers for me, potential lawyers for him, the president and others on the board of directors. I continued with a job review through channels to emphasize the engineering aspect of the job and the need for the experience that was unique to the Division. I went to the engineer’s association and the national engineer’s college to check out both this supervisor, the new candidate and the president and the moron who was on the committee that hired the idiot supervisor who was fired in the first place.
It was a special feeling when after the news was out, the human resources person for my section approached me and made a strong suggestion that I should apply for a training position. A what????
Obviously when I asked what the position was that I would be training for – it was the same position that I was already in. Some surprise for some people but not for this guy when I brought my application letter in. He did make a lot of noise about my performance review, especially the one that he submitted that was bad. I replied that I have reviewed my personnel file and made my own entries – he was not happy at all saying that I have a responsibility to inform him and any such activity.
So here we are almost a year later and two more bad reviews that have been forwarded to my personnel file and I was told that they were both routine and okay. Lucky for me I have a stronger relationahsip with the HR section then with this supervisor and I am sure that he would made a solid example of me in that I can also have a working responsibility to myself but working for him I should not be able to check my own file………..
Needless to say – I am now lining up those same lawyers and my appointment with the union is next Tuesday. I have also sent out several resumes but no calls so far.
I will let you know how things work out.
GOSEGO Said,
March 4, 2008 @ 11:05 am
i have been working in this company for 6 months now.but when i got hired my boss told me that i will be on probition 3 months and atfer 3 months they will increase my salary.until now my salary is still the same they didnt increase it.so how do i approch my boss about this.because he is not a very goodperson .
Carla Said,
March 21, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
Yeah my promised a raise half way through the year of 2007 and we are in 08 now. He treats me like crap and doesn’t really care about any of the employees!! Do I even talk to him about it?
Jaded Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 9:40 am
this website caught my attention as i was searching for “how to deal with useless boss”. the new Director has came in with high hopes, but after 3-months, not only our sales target failed to meet, but also our works been dragged down by his direction-less leadership.
We don’t know where we are going and even worse, we’re doing his job. attending conferences with him (because he have no idea what’s going on and unwilling to learn!); planning slaes & marketing strategies for him (which he needs to present to his boss) whenever he accompanies our sales manager to meeting the clients, all he do is just “hi, i’m xxx, the Director of xxx, feel free to contact me if you require assistance”. without helping to closing the deal, even get confused with the products we’re selling. All he often does is to brag to others of his position and in stead of using “I”, he use “Your boss me”, the whole team is just soooo fed up with his egoistic attitude, we can bear with such boss IF he’s really that powerful and worths the respect, but now we only want to throw up! As he’s such a ignorant guy, we think it’s useless to talk to him about the situation, should we go directly to his boss and express the real situation in our team? Of cos this is a huge risks doing this but i really enjoy what we’re doing (except being annoyed by this boss) and dun wanna leave or tolerate such situation (some of us already looking for new job) before he come, we’re such a great team, already stick together even without a leader.
now we only feel depressed and the team morale is sooo low, it damages the harmony of the work and the productivity, what can we do? Please advise.
chiefscribe Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 10:05 am
Going over your immediate Boss’ head will achieve nothing but your demise. Bosses stick together no matter how useless they are. They will make excuses for the hopeless Boss and blame the employees for not giving the Boss support. My advice is change jobs or put up with it. Don’t accompany him to meeting or conferences. or if you are forced to go do not talk let him swim around in his uselessness and be shown to be a fool. GOOD luck cause you need it.
Mark Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 11:13 am
Jaded: I’ve been here! We all have bosses and they have to be managed! You don’t sound like a self pitying soul – which is geat. Work through your options and decide a plan. Complaining without helping is negative. If you manage to change things, good, if you don’t, you still have options; so count your blessings, and don’t get bitter about the boss, he’s just an insecure man doing what he thinks will get him approval. You’re in a bad place but have a good attitude, best of luck.
Mark Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 11:19 am
p.s. I can’t agree with chiefscribe .. withdrawing your contribution to the team is a negative act which would feed your own sense of helplessness, damage the business, and possibly destroy your reputation.
Help to resolve the situation for yourself, and maybe others, you’ll be, and feel empowered!
chiefscribe Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 3:28 pm
Mark
As our English friends would says at a time lke this “Bollocks”!!!
You are talking thru your bum.
You are obviously a God fearing Christian lost in being good to every fool or you are a Boss!!
Which is it??
Mark Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
Very perceptive; I’m both mate.
As for you – you’re frustrated and angry about everyone elses studipity, but can’t get everyone to dedicate themselves to behaving in a way that makes you happy, so you’re stuck? correct?
Techman Said,
April 11, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
I am, unfortunately, at the end of my rope with my manager. As a recent graduate when I hired in, I was expected to perform at a level well beyond my experience. This created an adversarial relationship on day one. I worked twice as hard to rise to those expectations. My manager however only focused on any and all mistakes I made along the way. These diminished as I gained experience, but those gains were ignored.
We had meetings with HR on a regular schedule to “check my progression”, but usually ended up with my manager recounting my initial “lack of experience” as though no gains in performance had been achieved. When I defended myself, my manager would launch into a tyraid.
I have recently received the national registration in my field and, as there is a lack of personel in my field, am currently taking a part time position with another facility concurrently with my full-time job in order to turn it into a full-time job (then leaving the old job) if the management is of a higher caliber.
If my manager had his/her way, I would be jobless. However the professionals that use my work to perform thier jobs have had no complaints about my work, as well, HR has found no grounds for dismissal and has arranged it for me to work opposite shifts from my manager- to be assesed by others not associated with our department to see where the problem lies.
I however, have come to the end of my patience with this manager, knowing full well that once it is cleared up, I will have to work with him/her again. As wide open as my field is, I refuse to subject myself to any exposure to this manager again. Relocation is preferable to that.
Steve Pendlebury Said,
May 18, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
I submit this as a warning to Bosses and Workers alike. I’m 41 and now disabled for the rest of my life Bad Bosses are to blame for a large part of this.
I am one of a dying breed I suppose – an honest working man. Unfortuately I fell into the hands of people who wanted my skills but not me. I am an Enginner by trade – Radio, TV, Computers (including Linux), PMR, Mobile Phones…. I can fix anything it seems. And design upgrades too.
I trained at the BBC, Then worked for Motorola Storno. Storno had just been bought out by Motorola, and I was the first Motorola employee in a Storno depot. I did 2 jobs at one point, but despite this, and with me doing most of the work, I was constanlty sniped at and called rude names. It was a small place and I was seen as an intruder. Period.I was soon the only person in the building without a car, the only one who had to buy his own tools (the rest were bought by the company, not me. The boss lost my request!) and given the nasty jobs to do and given all the abuse while everybody else got the praise.
I left after 2.5 years and went to another firm. Great boss, same work but not as much basic wage. I made this up on a bonus scheme though, and was happy for 2 years. The new boss, after the old one left, was an person who decided that anybody who had been there 2 years was to be got rid of, and as I was over this, I was to be got rid of. Anything I did was criticized, and I was subjected to a daily bollocking. Often for Nothing or because a customer wanted me to break the law and I refused. One example was when I left a door open because it was hot. He complained. Next day he complained bacause the same door was closed and it was hot in the workshop.
I left as soon as I could.
The company I went to was into Cable TV, and for 4 years I was greatly in demand by everyone because I had the answers. Lots of people got on, using my skills to do so, but I kept the faith and thought that my turn would come. One thing I wouldn’t do, however, was help the new boss and his colleagues sack another employee. I was working in Speke, Liverpool but he went off to see his dog in a pound and never came back. I could do the job on my own, so I let him go. Favours for friends, etc.
The supervisor turned up for something. I was finishing the job and my colleague was nowhere in sight. I was never a good liar, and he guessed what had happened. I had to make a statement, but the messages on my phone were ‘lost’ shall we say. He was severely bollocked though and took this out on me.
I started to feel quite ill and I had an Umbilical Hernia. So I rang the company health scheme, and they would have done it but for my blood pressure being 200/140. This was due to a kindey problem. I was signed off immediately while it was sorted. I had Polycystic Kidney Disease and would eventually (60s) need dialysis. When I went back, not yet having had an operation on the hernia, everyone was different towards me. Two months later I was called to their head office and sacked for being late for work on a regular basis. I had a 2 hour trip to work, and I had been about 5 minutes late a few times. So had everyone else, but they used this on me.
I went to another firm, but the boss here was a known bastard. He set me something impossible to do, and although I nearly did it (apart from Software) I was on my way again.
Then I went to a TV shop as an Engineer. Or, as I found out soon afterwards, cabin boy. The workshop was non existent, and I did everything the sales staff didn’t want to do. Fetching, Carrying, Making Tea, Carting 30 inch TV’s on my own as well as repairs. When I didn’t get paid on time I got a little cross. The boss said ‘So What?’.
I then went to a radio comms firm, and everything was great until the supervisor’s second in command sent me on the roof without a safety harness. The phrase he used was ‘Get up there or I’ll have you sacked.’ Minus the ‘F’ words that is. I went up and came down through the roof. Landed on my already dodgy kidneys. Could have been killed the ambulance man said. I returned 3 months later to the Sack.
Various jobs followed until I went to work for a firm doing door entry for David Lloyd sports centres. My kidneys were getting worse, but I carried on, going all over the UK mending the Door Entry and I.T. systems. I would get home at 3.AM (My own car, by the way), and have to be back at work for 10 next day. And weekends too.
Until I had a stroke and came round in hospital with half my body dead and kidney failure. That was in 2003. It’s now 2008, and I am sat here typing this with one hand, using a stick to walk now. I give advice on the net for free. Why should I go back to working after the way I was treated?
The Warning – There are a lot of bad bosses. Don’t stay working for one, it’s not worth it. You have one life. Don’t waste it the way I have.
Denda Said,
May 20, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
Something a little different. I worked for a company for 6 years, mostly enjoyed it, however my boss was the type of person that thought he could talk a good talk, but really made no sense. No one in the company respected him, as well as his own group. He always seemed to belittle people w/o knowing it. Micromanaged on stupid little tasks, but gave no support on large projects that guidance was needed quickly. I ended up leaving the job and after a year have been asked by him to come back. I did enjoy working there and I have been offered a very nice increase in my previous salary. I did ask if I could be regarded as an equal to him and not a subordinate and now he wants a reason why. I have no problem telling him, just do not know how to say it w/o really hurting his feelings. Any ideas?
Salim-Ur-Rahman Said,
October 25, 2008 @ 11:33 am
I am an advocate by profession having an experience of almost 13 years at the High Court Bar in Pakistan. Last year I was offered to be an in house legal advisor to one of the biggest power sector utility in Karachi. My recent boss has least experience of Pakistan Law and Court procedures. Quite often I have saved her from making a blunderios mistake on legal issues, yet there is no imrpovement. At times it is felt that i was better off back in filed as litigator.
chiefscribe Said,
October 25, 2008 @ 1:38 pm
New flash – Justice in Pakistan!!!!!
Now who is kidding who.
With the Government of Pakistan turning a blind eye to Terrorism & Madras making bombs, & you are worried about a female boss making you look bad.
Take a deep breath and look at the rubbish tip that you live in called Pakistan.
Mark 2 Said,
October 25, 2008 @ 1:57 pm
Hi chiefscribe,
You make of lot of cynical, angry and generalised posts, but are never constructive.
I must agree with Mark (and I note that you didn’t respond to his post!) when he said, and I quote:- ‘you’re frustrated and angry about everyone elses studipity, but can’t get everyone to dedicate themselves to behaving in a way that makes you happy, so you’re stuck? correct?’
Your strife is always someone elses fault isn’t it? You’re at the worlds mercy, but who’s going to save you?
You could do a lot worse than take a good look at yourself.
Mark 2
chiefscribe Said,
October 25, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
God fearing, tree hugging Boss kissers & you want me to LOOK at myself!! HELLO!!!!! I suppose all the yanks on here will vote for mcCain as well!!!!
And I ain’t your mate, Mate!!!
Frank Barela Said,
November 12, 2008 @ 6:40 am
Im an electrician working in North Carolina, and the bullshit is everywhere. Even in my field of work. Bosses, managers, foremen whatever you want to call em, sometimes are cool or can really suck. In my field of work when they throw a dog a bone stay away or else it’ll bite ya.
Sarah Said,
November 12, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
Great article…especially the point you make about praising your boss when they do something right. They need encouragement too and you can do it in a way that doesnt make you seem like a suck-up. You dont praise them, you just convey your gratitude towards certain behaviors. And dont be afraid to stand up to your boss either. Just remember to treat them like a child….when they do something inapproriate, try to take the stance of: it doesnt make them a bad person, its just the behavior that is bad. We cannot change people, but we can have some control over the behavior of others if we are willing to invest our time and thought into it.
My current boss is quite the micro-manager, but Im pretty sure she doesnt realize it. One day, she started going nuts on me for something that wasnt my fault (and man, if you wanna make me mad, accuse me of something i didnt do!)
So shes ranting and raving and im getting more upset because what happened #1- wasnt my fault, and #2- was in no WAY a big deal nor warrented such histerics. So as shes getting deeper into it, she can tell im getting more upset and i can tell she can tell im getting more upset, so finally i had to say, “look, i understand where you are coming from and that what happened was inconvienient to you, but when you come back here and start waving your arms around (which she was doing) and huffing and puffing (which she was also doing), I get real defensive because it makes me feel like its my fault or like ive done something wrong when i havent.”
i kinda cant believe that i had the gall to accuse my boss of getting “huffy puffy” to her face, but she promptly apologized, said she realized i didnt do anything wrong, and then she started joking around. and i swear, she was SUPREMELY nice to me over the next 3 weeks!
Tom Said,
December 8, 2008 @ 3:55 am
I recently took a position as Maintenance lead at a Hotel. The owners had purchased this hotel about a month before I was hired and fired the previous maintenance staff of three (which they neglected to tell me that I was now going to be doing the job of three guys by myself), as they weren’t getting the repairs done, (this place is in terrible condition). Since day 1 on the job I have worked tirelessly to get the repairs completed to this place in a timely and cost effective manner and have found that the new owners (a husband and wife team in they’re mid to late twenties) do not trust any of the employees, show not respect for any of us and, in my case, due to them having a tight cash flow problem, expect me to spend money out of my own pocket to purchase parts/materials to complete repairs etc… in order to keep the place in running order! When I inquire about repayment of these funds they assure me they will pay me back but sometimes that might not happen for the better part of a month! I have been doing building maintenance for 30 years and when I bring to they’re attention a big ticket item in need of repair they ask me to see if I can fix it with, as I call them, “bandaid” repair techniques which I know will at some point cause someone to be injured. When I mention that someone could get injured if repairs are not correctly done they say that they don’t believe me, which insults me and my intelligence, and puts me in a tough position when the local authorities come to do a property inspection, I have to try to cover for the owners while at the same time cover myself and my reputation as a legit maintenance person, not an easy thing, or correct thing, to do! I have never ever worked for anyone like this before and while I try to communicate my concerns to them my concerns are dismissed by them since they don’t want any “waves” made since they are new. I guess I should end here as I could go on and on but it won’t change the way they are. Anyone ever work for anyone who was on such a power trip like these folks that safety and well being of the employees is second to they’re owners/bosses wants and needs? I’m looking at other job opportunities as I don’t see a way to improve this situation.
needhelp Said,
April 3, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
On March 3rd my boss came to my desk and inform me I am an acting supervior and get 10% of pay raise start from March 2nd (effective date) , and he said when this position is available you can apply for it, I will try my best to help you to fill this position but I can’t guarantee. I said thank you. After that I am working very hard and finished one project before the deadline. Until I got my last pay, I didn’t see any difference (10% pay raise), so I sent email to HR and HR told me they never got any request about my pay raise, so I sent email to my boss ask about it, he didn’t reply to me until the day after. He asked me to his office and said: oh, because you didn’t say yes you would like to take that position ( acting supervior ), then i said you have told me the effective date is March 2nd, that means I was an acting supervior since March 2nd. He then said right now no budget for the position, you have to wait until we have funding to give this position.
Do you guys think this is a big joke to me? He is a cheater! And now how can I deal with him? He is a bad boss I have never met!!
unhappy and in distress Said,
May 14, 2009 @ 3:09 pm
It feels comforting to know there are people in the same position as me. I know im not the only way, but I swear my director (of the company i work for) is the most unprofessional, most racist, sexist bully I have ever come across. I dont think ive hated anyone more.
Ive worked for my current company for over 2 years now. I got no training, but was thrown into customer services. Im the only person in my department, but cannot make any decisions. I would always have to go to the director. Hes not always in the office (thank god) but NEVER responded to his emails. I would have 2/3 customers screaming at me in the store, and he would still not reply. Half the employees are relatives/friends of his, who constantly patranise/undermine me.
I have complained on numberous occasions, as well as the customers, about their rude, unprofessional manner, but nothing happens. They pile so much work on me, by not doing things properly.
You have to walk on eggshells with the director. If hes having a bad day, he will scream and blame you for everything, making you feel so small. He called me in his office a month ago, he told me my attitude stinks (not true at all), and that I behave like a little school girl. He had no examples of when I acted this way, but theres no point trying to argue with him, he doesnt care. He blamed me for all the losses in the company (he breaches hundreds of customers contracts, but refuses to refund them, even when they take him to court, he has his people lying to the court/solicitors.) I offer the compensation to customers to keep them slightly happy, but what he wants is the customer to wait a 1 year (which has happened) and have no compensation. Most companies supply the products we sell within 8-12 max.
Ours are delayed because he cant be bothered to pay the suppliers. He makes every excuse not to pay them. He sets up different accounts, then goes ‘bankrupt’ once the suppliers have sent the goods to us.
Over 20 people have walked out in the past 2 years because of his bad management and policies. Ive seen him call his employees a c**t, his face was screwed up with disgust. Thing is, this bloke who took the abuse, has taken it since 2004 when he was an employee for his other company that went bust because there were so many problems. Hes opened up under another name (the one im with now, and facing same problems) but it seems he’ll always get away with it.
Weve had trading standards here, bailiffs, but nothing.
They dont abide by the law, but get away with it. The problem now, is that we havent even got our wages from april, and are being paid a third each week by cheque. Ive recently found out a guy, who really supported me (the only support I had) has walked out as the director sent people round his house threatening his wife and kids.
This man has ground our self esteem down to zero, I wouldnt wish my job on my worst enemy. I search frantically for a new job everyday, so I pray something will come up soon!