What the blogosphere’s saying about bosses this week

• Good boss, bad boss, young boss? US News & World Report offers 7 tips for working with a young boss.

• Tula Connell at the AFL-CIO blog, introduces us to the book Can They Do That: Retaking our Fundamental Rights in the Workplace. The books author, Lewis Maltby,  president and founder of the National Workrights Institute (NWI), reminds us that “almost 20 percent of employers today require all employees to agree in advance not to go to court if the company violates their legal rights….If you don’t agree, you don’t get the job.” Connell thinks this book should be “part of every high school curricula.” We’ll get our hands on a copy and let you know what we think.

• Everyone’s talking about Brittain’s PM, Gordon Brown, being a big bully and that includes Hugh Cortazzi writing for The Japan Times Online. Like us, Cortazzi believes bullying in the workplace needs to be tackled seriously if abuses of power are to be kept in check.

• On Tuesday, amNY ran a post about tyrants in the workplace, and interviewed us for the piece. Check out the online version here.

On Tuesday reallybadboss.com, along with other experts in the field of workplace tyrants, was featured in an amNY piece by Lucy Cohen Blatter. The post, titled, Tyrants in the Workplace, touched on topics we’re all too familiar.

From the economy making it harder to do anything about bad bosses to a definition of bad bosses that includes anyone who is “mean, never compliments you, is harsh, has no flexibility and overworks people,” the post highlighted the problems with working for people whose sole purpose in life at times seems to be to undermine their employees.

However, there’s still hope. Blatter offers some tips for handling bad bosses, including a few of our own:

• Leave it at work. Try not to take negative feelings home with you.
• Don’t take it personally. The problem is with your boss’s management skills or his personality, not you.
• If all else fails, start looking for a new job. You don’t want to wait until things become unbearable or you risk being fired.

Read Blatter’s entire article here, at amNY.

Share some of your own tips for dealing with workplace tyrants in the comment section or tweet us @reallybadboss.

A couple had a “distracting” experience at the 9:40 pm showing of Shutter Island at the St. Croix Falls Cinema 8 in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Later that night, Mrs. Kohl-Leaf, shot off an email to the cinema owners complaining about, among other things, the theater not taking debit or credit cards, the ATM being out of cash and the 20 minutes theater staff spent wandering through the theater in search of underage patrons.

The next morning, Kohl-Leaf awoke to this email from the company’s vice president.

Sarah,
Drive to White Bear Lake and also go f*** yourself. If you dont have money for entertainment, get a better job, and don’t pay for everything on your credit or check card. You can also shove your time and gas up your f*****g ass. Also, find better things to do with your time. This email is an absolute joke. We don’t care to have you as a customer. Let me know if you need directions to white bear lake.
Steven
Steven J. Payne – Vice President
Evergreen Entertainment
929 Old Highway 8 NW
Suite 200
New Brighton, MN 55112
Phone – (651) 636-1417
Fax – (651) 636-1418

Geez! Can you imagine what this jackass must be like to work for? If there are any employees of Evergreen Entertainment who want to (anonymously of course) tell me what this gem of a VP is like to work for, please email me at denised@reallybadboss.com or leave a comment below.  By the way, as is often the case of businesses behaving badly, there’s now a boycott against them on Facebook. Check it out here.

Gender preconceptions impact the way we view bosses

Vicky Oliver, author of “Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers and Other Office Idiots,” says she’s observed the differences between how male and female bosses are perceived in the office.  While a male boss who freely gives his opinion is perceived as someone who “tells it like it is,” the same behavior in a female counterpart is seen as a lack of tact. Aggressiveness in males in business is expected, even lauded, in women, it’s seen as being bitchy.

The truth is, bad boss behavior is oftentimes perceived as much worse when it comes from a woman. That might be due in part to the belief that some hold that women are the gentler, more caring sex. Seeing them behaving in an aggressive, “bossy”  manner is disconcerting for some.

The next time you’re feeling especially frustrated in a situation where a female boss is laying down the law, ask yourself what’s really bothering you about what’s happening. Is your boss really behaving badly, and if she were a he, would your reaction be the same? Bad boss behavior, regardless of who it’s coming from, is unacceptable, but reacting differently to a man’s bad behavior than to a woman’s is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

For more on the topic, check out Anthony Balderrama’s article, Gender Benders article on AOL.

What’s been your experience with male and female bosses? Have you seen a real difference in management style, or have the differences been more a result of your own preconceived notions? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Thus starts an email sent to a 17 year old high school student – by his teacher. “Good night baby! I’ll meet you in our dreams. I miss you baby! Muaah!” is how the email ended.

Last spring, Dallas school investigators found that Skyline High School teacher Leslie Michel Finch behaved inappropriately with her 17 year old student for over a year. Despite that fact, ten months after the district concluded its investigation, Finch was still working at the school before resigning in January. It gets worse. Finch is now a substitute teacher in another Texas school district.

The really bad behavior in this one goes so deep, it’s difficult to know where to begin. But lets start with the obvious. Teachers are not supposed to be having “sexual relations” with their students. Period. The fact that school officials determined that inappropriate behavior took place, yet Finch was allowed to continue teaching in the same school is baffling? If this had been a male teacher involved in a sexual relationship with a female student, would he have been allowed to continue teaching? I doubt it. Furthermore, I’m guessing criminal charges would have been filed against him.

The story is being reported by the Dallas Morning News who reviewed 20 cases involving sex allegations against teachers between 2005 and 2009. The review found that in half of the cases, educators suspected of having inappropriate relationships with students were allowed to resign and maintain clean criminal records, allowing them to pursue other jobs working around children.

Sex offenders are not limited to scary men lurking in the dark at children’s playgrounds. When adults placed in a position of authority, abuse that authority by behaving inappropriately with children – no matter how old those children are – they should be punished, severely. The other guilty party in this scenario? The school system that allowed Finch to continue teaching at the school and left the door open for her to keep working with children. Really bad all around.

I’ve had several requests to reissue the Really Bad Boss APB for Good Management. In light of the relentless stream of idiocy displayed by the really bad bosses around us, I thought today would be a good day to reissue that APB:

Authorities issue an APB for Good Management. Missing for years from thousands of offices around the world, Good Management appears to be gone forever and authorities are not optimistic about locating it.  For starters, since really bad bosses rarely display good management sense, employees have been unable to provide an accurate description.  As far as authorities have been able to ascertain, good management may never have been in really bad boss’ possession, as no one can remember ever seeing him utilize it.  Common Sense, a close friend of Good Management, is also said to be missing from the ranks of managers worldwide and was last seen…well…no details are available on the last time Common Sense was seen in management.

Authorities are currently questioning the human resources manager, who has long been suspected of hiring the really bad boss in question, despite having prior knowledge that he had never possessed nor utilized good management or common sense.  The HR manager, when questioned about her own lack of management sense, refused to answer, citing preparation for an upcoming company potluck (the company’s 12th this week) as her top priority. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including her DNA found on ridiculous decisions strewn recklessly around the office, the HR manager still maintains that she is doing an exceptional job.  Upon hearing this, authorities immediately questioned her sanity and her understanding of the word “exceptional.”

Authorities ask that concerned employees and constituents be on the lookout for anything remotely resembling good management. To some, it might look like not paying bonuses to executives who suck.  To others it may look more like valuing employees input and fostering a nurturing environment.  Still others might see fleeting glimpses of Good Management in managers who refuse to take pay increases while laying off employees. Good management was last seen hanging out with Common Sense and Decency.  The trio, while difficult to find, might be the combination of characteristics that ultimately saves big business and politics.  If you see signs that your really bad boss is exhibiting any of these characteristics, contact authorities immediately and then bundle up. Hell is about to freeze over.

Update: Immediately following the potluck luncheon, the HR Manager was taken into custody on suspicion of being the world’s biggest idiot. At the time of this writing, the HR Manager was still maintaining her innocence and preparing to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day throughout the office. Employees have been on the lookout for a hand big enough to slap some sense into her.

This APB was originally issue in 6/09.