It’s Monday. And nothing sucks more than Mondays at work than Mondays at work with a really bad boss.  A bad boss can be the bane of your existence, or you can develop ways to deal with him or her, making the most of a really bad situation. Last week we offered five suggestions for doing just that.  This week, we offer five additional reader submitted suggestions for dealing with a really bad boss:

6.  Watch everything he does, and do the opposite – When bosses are really bad, the best lessons come from paying very close attention to what they’re doing and just as importantly, not doing. If your boss’ habit of screaming at employees to increase productivity results in increased productivity and a turnover rate approaching 100%, understand that screaming at your employees probably isn’t the best way to go at it.  Creating nurturing, encouraging environments on the other hand will improve productivity and create a place where good employees are more likely to stay. 

7.  Pick your battles wisely – I once had a manager who, despite the sweltering southern heat,  insisted that her female employees wear pantyhose to the office.  Her thinking was that it made us appear more professional.  Never mind we had some of the worst customer service ratings in our region, the paint was peeling off the walls and at least once a month cars were broken into in the parking lot. No, in her mind, the key to cracking the professionalism code lay in wearing pantyhose. It was an asinine rule and it drove us crazy. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week in Part I of dealing with a Really Bad Boss we advocated taking the high road because as difficult as it can be, rising above the noise and nonsense of a really bad boss can result in unparalleled personal and professional growth. Today in part 2, we’ll list five reader submitted, time tested suggestions for helping you do just that.   The key to surviving a really bad boss is tackling each day as it comes. Hopefully these tips will help you do that:

1. Work as though you have the best job and the best boss in the world– Cruel I know, but it works. Take it from me. Much like a relationship, when the thrill is gone from a job (if it was ever there to begin with) it’s really hard to make an effort, especially when the person on the receiving end is an ungrateful, unyielding, good for nothing… umm…boss. The truth is, when you bring your A game to every assignment, every meeting, every challenge, regardless of whether or not your boss notices, you’ll develop exceptional skills that will work wonders for you when you eventually move on to the job and boss that are perfect for you.  In your new digs, when everyone’s crumbling under pressure because the boss has a hang nail, you, having survived the incoherent ramblings of an intoxicated CEO, will be the picture of calm productivity, and for that, you’ll be elevated to rockstar status.
2.  Know you’re probably smarter than she is, and she knows it– Knowing you’re the smartest person in the room can provide you with a quiet confidence that belies your current circumstance.  As employees railed against mistreatments and the ridiculous antics at the hands of our really bad and stupid boss, I plugged away diligently at the tasks at hand, convinced that the degree hanging over her desk had been purchased from the nearby Goodwill store. When she created her own private system of mathematics rather than owning up to an error in her calculations, she confirmed my suspicions.  Her frustration upon being confronted with the error and her anger that she’d been found out, had me smiling widely…on the inside.  Which brings me to the next tip…
3. If you need your job, don’t let your boss know that you know, just  how bad he really is – In fact it’s a good idea not to discuss your boss’ shortcomings with colleagues either.  With the exception of Human Resources (except if your HR Manager is Mary), discussing your boss’  lack of mental ability at work is a bad idea.  Read the rest of this entry »

For years I wasted entire Sundays absolutely dreading Monday mornings.   The uneasy feeling would start to creep in on Saturday night, and by Sunday evening, I was a basket case.  For many of us Monday spells the end of the weekend, the start of the work week and a return to a real tool of a boss.  Facing a really bad boss on a typical Monday morning is bad enough, but it’s even worse when you’ve got to face him with bad news from something that happened over the weekend.  What could you possibly do over the weekend that would require you to give your boss bad news on Monday morning?  Glad you asked.   I crashed…no… totaled the car. The company car.  Did I mention I’d been on the job for only two weeks when it happened?  I challenge anyone to top that Monday morning story.  

Thankfully no one was injured in the accident.  I still remember the two block walk of shame to the office that morning, after a totally sleepless Sunday night.  As my new colleagues sped by me on their way to work, I sensed more than saw them looking at me in their rear view mirrors wandering why the new girl was walking to work.  They all knew I had been given a company car and like a scene from The Office, were all peering over the receptionist’s shoulder when I arrived several minutes later.  I could have taken a cab, but in addition to the car, the company was paying for me to stay in a hotel until I found an apartment.  I thought it would be pretty presumptuous to take (and expense) a cab to work the day after totaling the car.   

 It’s a testament to the saying “time heals all wounds” that I really don’t remember much of the conversation that took place that morning.  I do remember that it involved a lot of cursing on the Reprobate’s end (in two languages) and quite a bit of apologizing and tears on mine.   I was pretty young then, so crying was one of the only coping mechanisms I had mastered at the time.  I think I must have blacked out for a couple of minutes too because I remember someone handing me a bottle of water and seeing half of it on my shirt a few minutes later…or maybe that was sweat.  In any event, my point is this.  I dreaded that Monday morning probably more than any Monday morning I’d ever had before then and have ever had since.  Yet I survived.  I made it through the swearing, spitting (yes there was spitting) and crying that day.  Had I known 10 years later that I wouldn’t even remember the conversation clearly; I would have slept that Sunday night.  Had I known that the next two years would involve a lot more cursing, a lot less tears, and me ending up no worse for the wear, I would have had a lot fewer sleepless nights. 

It took several more bad bosses and Monday morning mayhems for me to learn that we can’t always control how our bosses treat us, but we can control how we respond.  Our really bad bosses get our talents, our time and our energy, but we own our emotions and our responses to theirs, no matter how erratic they might be. The next time I was faced with a Monday morning mayhem of that magnitude, I slept on Sunday night – not like a baby – but like an adult who knew in her heart that no matter what the boss dealt me on Monday morning, everything would be all right in the end.

For the second time in my career, I found myself in the unenviable position of having to deal with a really bad boss at a time in the economy when finding a new job seemed like a long shot.  For most of us, no matter how bad the boss is, looking for a new job when unemployment rates are at record highs is not a wise move.  You’re competing with the newly laid off and new graduates, and you never know if , God forbid, you’ll be trading in a really bad boss for a really, really bad one. 

I stayed with my really bad boss for a couple of years. But in the end, after a lot of hard work and smart job hunting, I did eventually leave the boss I now refer to as the Troll.  Along the way I collected my share of hard knocks. There were days when things were so bad that at the end of the day I’d collapse in tears, too mentally and physically drained to even eat. And lets be clear – me not eating is like 90 degree weather in Alaska – its very rare and demands immediate investigation. My family and friends got me through the roughest times and when I realized I would have to stay in those jobs longer than I’d wanted to, I decided that if I had to stay, I’d learn as much as possible while I was there. Read the rest of this entry »

Or how to survive getting  your really bad boss, really angry on a Monday morning

For years I wasted entire Sundays absolutely dreading Monday mornings.   The uneasy feeling would start to creep in on Saturday night, and by Sunday evening, I was a basket case.  For many of us Monday spells the end of the weekend, the start of the work week and a return to a real tool of a boss.  Facing a really bad boss on a typical Monday morning is bad enough, but it’s even worse when you’ve got to face him with bad news from something that happened over the weekend.  What could you possibly do over the weekend that would require you to give your boss bad news on Monday morning?  Glad you asked.   I crashed…no… totaled the car. The company car.  Did I mention I’d been on the job for only two weeks when it happened?  I challenge anyone to top that Monday morning story.  

Thankfully no one was injured in the accident.  I still remember the two block walk of shame to the office that morning, after a totally sleepless Sunday night.  As my new colleagues sped by me on their way to work, I sensed more than saw them looking at me in their rear view mirrors wandering why the new girl was walking to work.   Read the rest of this entry »