What the blogosphere’s saying about bad bosses this week…

• New York Post columnist Cindy Adams thinks that female victims of workplace sexual harassment should just deal with it, bad bosses and all…

• Quite a few people at the Huff Post disagree.

• Yahoo Shine suggests 5 ways to make work better when you hate your job and your bad boss. No, not working isn’t one of the suggestions.

• So, your boss is a jerk, so what? Over at  Career Woman, Inc., Lisa Quast answers that question by introducing you to four fictional bad boss types.

• When mean girls go to work – Ella L.J, Edmonndson Bell, Ph.D examines views on women bosses and notes women, especially white women, are sometimes stereotyped as super competitive, while black women, are often labeled as “angry.”

We’re down to number five of my series, The Five Bad Bosses I’ll never forget. And when it comes to bad bosses, The Absolutely- bat crazy- bad boss (BCBB) is the big Kahuna. This mad man or woman wreaks havoc on the lives of everyone they come into contact with. Telltale signs you might have an absolutely bat crazy bad boss (based on first hand experience):

• He has no inside voice – A large percentage of this bad boss’ day is spent screaming at people above levels that are considered normal by most. Just to add a little more crazy to the mix, BCBBs pepper their outbursts with the foulest words in the English language and hurl them indiscriminately at whoever might have the misfortune of walking down the hallway at the peak of their meltdown.
• He suggests – no insists – that everyone in the company “drink the kool-aid” despite being advised that the first time something like that happened, it ended with everyone dying. To confirm his lunacy, he’ll repeat the suggestion, ad nauseum, to anyone within ear shot.
• He tells you that it’s ok to go $500,000 over budget – even while the company is hemorrhaging money. He’s got no plan or strategy to back up the bold request, but has given up all hope and wants company under that bus he’s just thrown himself under.
• He wears a clown nose and hat to the national sales meeting which is attended by board members. He is also still drunk from the night before.
• Her mood swings are so epic, the mere thought of approaching her sends shivers down everyone’s spine. She often goes days without speaking to anyone in the office. The opposite is also true – on some days she reveals way too much of the intimate details of her personal life. She is also the head of human resources.

BCBBs are as dangerous as they get. And while some of them might really have a problem that requires medication, many of them are just plain mean, rude and don’t give a damn. Whatever the cause, the effect is the same – employees walking on eggshells, low morale, and the feeling that at any moment, your BCBB could snap. My advice, get out of dodge as fast as possible.

If you have, or have had a bad boss that fits in any of the five categories, share your stories in the comment section or email them to me at denised@reallybadboss.com.

Over the past few days I’ve introduced you to The Five Bad Bosses I’ll Never Forget. First there was the Power-tripper bad boss – the one with no real authority but who felt the need to lord over everything and everyone. WOTHs – Way Over Their Heads represented the most clueless bad boss I’ve had the misfortune of working with. Armed with a degree and little else, she wreaked havoc over an entire company for years. Yesterday I introduced you to the Glory Hound. In my case the Glory Hound literally could not share the stage.

Today we’ll meet the Going Through the Motions Bad Boss (GTMs). While less reviled than the others, these bad bosses are dangerous because their behavior negatively impacts your career growth and development. I hate to play the government mismanagement card again – but you guessed it. That’s where I found the worst of the bunch. Armed with a pension and a guaranteed job for life despite giving the minimum effort necessary, GTMs are quite content surfing through their work days and will resist any attempt on your part to go above and beyond your pay grade.

In my case, my repeated suggestions at streamlining efforts and improving efficiency were met with glares and expressions that said “who does she think she is?” The last thing a GTM wants to deal with is a “low-level” employee who’s rocking the boat.  Listening to one might actually mean they’d have to expand their minds and…gasp, work harder and smarter.

If you’re faced with a determined GTM, repeatedly suggesting improvements will only lead to resentment. In my case, I was even threatened with being “written up” for not following protocol. So, while the instinct might be to relax around a slacker bad boss, ultimately, if you work with one for years, your career will be the one to suffer, while the GTM buys his or her time until retirement.

Last week I began the series, The five bad bosses I’ll never forget. This week I’ll conclude by discussing The Glory Hound, The Going Through the Motions Bad Boss and my all time, least favorite, The Absolutely- bat crazy- Bad Boss.

My trip down memory lane began last week with the Powerless Power-trippers I was unfortunate enough to work for during my stint with the government. Any business that rewards longevity over efficiency and productivity is destined to churn out a slew of really bad bosses. As far as I’m concerned, governments hold the record in this area.

Then there were the WOTH – Way Over Their Heads, aka Clueless. My former head of HR, and bad boss, was a card carrying member of the WOTHs and belonged to the most powerful chapter – the chapter that holds advanced degrees. Armed with her degree of “questionable origin”, she was allowed to wreak havoc on the entire staff for years before finally being terminated (fired not destroyed.)

Today I’m introducing you to The Glory Hound. The Glory Hound while found with great frequency in the government, can be found almost anywhere there’s work to do and glory to be stolen. In my case, after working for months on a major team project, with very little support and/or guidance, the evening finally came when district awards were being given. Our entire team was forced to be sitting together when our category was named. No sooner had our division’s name left the lips of the award presenter that my boss flew out of her chair and hurled herself toward the stage. When it was time for the photo op, she was front and center while I teetered on the edge of the narrow stage.

When the event was over and we’d all returned to the office the following week, the announcement was made that we’d won the award, and that the trophy would be on display in her office. No mention was ever made of my efforts – not once. By definition, Glory Hounds won’t acknowledge your efforts and they won’t share the stage. Ever. And, if they’re really bad they won’t even thank you in private. My glory hound never did, and I’m sure she never will.

Tomorrow: The – Just Going Through The Motions Bad Boss

What the blogosphere’s saying about bosses this week…

Exploitation or deportation – which would you choose? An editorial in The New York Times discusses the awful options some immigrant guest workers are faced with when working for a bad boss.

How not to buy into the brainwashing and get over your bad boss blues. The column’s advice, “the sooner you can let go of the anger and resentment, the better shape your head will be in.” We couldn’t agree more.

Interesting take on the whole bailout, accounting scandal fiasco.  The article in FINS, part of the Wall Street Journal’s digital network, suggests that authoritarian bosses who demand total submission from employees mired in bureaucracy might be at the root of the problem.

When lunch becomes the highlight of your day – a funny rant on the blog, Living Dilbert, about how bad bosses cause carb cravings. I can relate!

Women MBAs make less right out of school than their male counterparts, and are more likely to leave their first jobs because of a bad boss. Research conducted by Nancy Carter and Christine Silva of Catalyst, found that women leaving first jobs were averaging $4,600 lower pay than male counterparts. And because subsequent jobs are usually tied to the salary held at a previous position, the pay gap continues to widen from there. Read a great article on the topic at Clear Admit’s blog.

WOTH – Way over their head. I introduced you to the WOTH bad boss on Monday when I described the five bad bosses I’ll never forget. WOTHs know just enough to make them dangerous – very dangerous, and can also be referred to simply as ‘clueless.’

Mary has to be the all time best example of a WOTH bad boss I’ve ever had. I’ve written a lot about Mary – my clueless former head of HR/boss. While she was officially the HR Director, because the office was so small, in many ways she was essentially the one we often reported to. Mary’s cluelessness was legendary. As office turnover skyrocketed, she was best known for staging monthly potluck luncheons and celebrating ridiculous holidays like National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. I liken it to the forest burning down and a scout leader encouraging her troop to toast marshmallows instead of running for cover. She just didn’t get it. And while on paper she seemed to understand the basics of her job – what posters to post in the break room and the correct paperwork for new hires to complete – at her core she was clueless about proper work conduct and employee management.

Mary would frequently discuss employees with other employees. She’d also share intimate details of her personal life with anyone who would listen. And at other times she’d go entire days without speaking to a soul. Worse than her questionable office behavior, was her refusal to acknowledge that as far as HR Management went, she was horrible. Even with employee turnover and dissatisfaction at an all time high, Mary took no responsibility. She blamed her bad hires on the economy, a lack of a good hiring pool, and bad luck.

There was one occasion where I sat with a new hire on his first day of the job familiarizing him with my duties and how they fit into the office’s work flow. Within 10 minutes he fell asleep. Granted, a list of my duties isn’t the most exciting topic, but as a new employee, it should take nothing short of sleeping gas to put you to sleep on your first day of work. As the weeks progressed, colleagues shared similar stories of this new hire sleeping on the job. Ostensibly this guy couldn’t stay awake for 30 minutes straight. How then did he make it through two rounds of interviews with HR, without falling asleep? Were there absolutely no signs? I find that hard to believe.

In another instance, a job candidate showed up for his interview in a suit that looked like he’d just unrolled it from the trunk of his car. Those of us who saw him walking around the office were shocked when we learned he’d made it to the second round of interviews. Long story short, on the first day of work, he asked a colleague how long he’d have to work before he could ask for time off.  A week later we saw him stealing food from the fridge. A week after that, he went out for lunch and never came back. The two incidences happened within weeks of each other, and yet Mary still bragged about being an exceptional HR Manager. In her case, calling her clueless is an understatement.

Next Week: The Glory Hound and how she almost pushed me off the stage

Yesterday I wrote about The five bad bosses I’ll never forget. Today I’m introducing you to number one on the list, my Powerless Power-tripping bad boss. The title should read My Powerless Power-tripping Bad Bosses because I’ve had two of these. Interestingly enough I worked for both while employed with the government. And while I know the government (allegedly) has many capable, qualified bosses, having worked at both the state and federal levels of government for years, I’ve found that layers of bureaucracy, a policy of promoting from within and a ‘stay here until I die’ mentality have left the government with more than its fair share of bad bosses – particularly those of the powerless power-tripping variety.

Why is that? In my opinion the government rewards length of service much more than it does quality of service. For that reason you’ve got highly educated, skilled employees reporting to and being pigeon holed by senior ranking government employees who are often threatened by new hires. As a consequence, Power-trippers set up shop with the intention of being removed only by death or retirement.

In my case, although I held a post-secondary degree in my field, my ideas were often stifled by my bad bosses who were more concerned with making sure that lunch breaks were exactly 30 minutes and that time slips were correctly completed. Power-trippers get lost in the minutia of day to day operations and ignore strategic planning and big picture objectives. Mine roamed the offices conducting surprise pantyhose inspections and clandestine trash can searches. Others might spend their days guarding post-it notes and pens with their lives. But the real job of a power-tripper, and where he/she excels is in serving as a constant reminder to all subordinates that they are the ones in charge.

When faced with an impossible situation like this, even the most die hard employee will eventually reach a level of frustration that forces them to look for work elsewhere. And that’s exactly what happened to me. After two years of hitting my head against a brick wall and fuming internally at the banality of my bad boss, I moved on.

Tomorrow: WOTHs aka Clueless