Handling a Bad Boss

There have been a few European studies (Denmark) that have supported the notion that people don't leave jobs but that they leave managers, and also that workload actually has no effect on workplace depression.  Anxiety can develop when dealing with an unbalanced boss, a socially awkward boss, an unreasonable boss or it might also come from ones inability to fully satisfy a boss’s requirements regardless of whether or not they are realistic.

Some bosses have short shelf lives while others are not going anywhere anytime soon.  It is up to you to decide what approach to take. If your gut tells you that there is more than just the boss that is wrong with your position, than it might be time to make a move to a different organization.

If however, you like your position, your colleagues, your company, your commute and all the rest, it might be time to figure out how to best work with your boss.  This is particularly important if you are a long tenured employee where an exit to something new might be an unwanted financial risk.

What to do?

Determine what motivates your boss and put it on paper:

-What do they care about?

-What keeps him up at night?

-What would he love to see in the business or industry?

-What worries him?

Use the answers to these questions to tailor your work style and communication with your boss.  It is a relatively simple exercise which makes a world of difference.

One of the best pieces of advice that I have ever heard about dealing with a difficult boss is to support their success and to work around their weaknesses. It sounds completely counter intuitive as most people feel that a jerk boss failing in what they do should be the perfect remedy for what ails.  Unfortunately, lessons like this are not likely to be realized by the boss for a variety of internal and external circumstances and personality tendencies.  It is far more likely that the boss will respond better to when things are running smoothly and will try to understand why things are running so well for him/her and will want to replicate this process going forward. This can often involve kudos for him to the team, promotions, more empowering job descriptions and/or better overall working conditions.

Farewell,

Mike