When Your Boss Misbehaves with You

Have you ever felt that your boss doesn’t trust you or your team? Or that he doesn’t respect you and doesn’t give/take feedback? Is he rude and does he intimidate employees? Is he making work-life balance impossible for you with his unrealistic deadlines and work load? It is a big problem even if you enjoy your work and have great team mates. You need to find out what kind of a person your boss is, just to be able to handle him better.

A negligent boss who doesn’t know what he is doing is unlikely to provide you with any kind of guidance regarding you work. Such a boss may have ascended to the position as a result of in-house promotion when the company couldn’t find a better person to fill the position. On the other hand, a diligent boss is one who is skilled and has a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how. Such a boss will be able complete all tasks even in his/her subordinates’ absence.

One may think that a delegator is the most efficient manager. While he may load your desk with work, he is the first one to head home at the end of the work shift. Delegating transactional work to subordinates and focusing on more strategic work is a quality of a good boss. However, when the aim is to shirk work and pass it to subordinates and letting them do the work unguided, it is a clear sign of a bad boss.

There is another breed of managers, the dictator, who likes to supervise every tiny thing that you do. Such bosses believe that if a work has to be done correct then only they can do it right. Even when you submit a superb presentation, he will look over your work with a magnifying glass and retouch every small little detail.

But don’t be afraid there are ways to improve the situation:

Keep your boss posted: It is important for your boss to feel in control and aware of all aspects of work. He may be a delegator or a dictator but each boss wants to be updated on progress of work on a regular basis.

Find the root cause. Rather than whining over a bad boss and his attitude towards you. Try and find the reason for such an attitude. Find out if he reacts the same way with all his subordinates. At many times the boss is not aware of this attitude and the problem it causes you. Openly discussing the problem with the boss may be the easiest solution.

Every boss values a loyal subordinate. It is important to be faithful to your boss. No matter how he handles his work, it is a bad idea to bad-mouth about him to everybody. Chances are somebody will tell him about your antics, creating more trouble for you.

Meet your boss outside the office. If your boss never seems to have the time to listen to your ideas, take him out for a drink. Many people have a Jekyll-Hyde personality. They have a very different attitude when they are at work and very different once in a casual environment. This extra effort of taking out time for work related issues will surely put you in your boss’ good books.

Reach out to the authority. It would be unfair to say that no matter what your boss does, you do not report it to anybody. The point here is to get the right people to notice the problem. Talking about the problem to people junior to him will not help. But reaching out to his superior or even the HR department might do the trick for you.

iQuit. If all these tricks fail, then it is good to blame it on luck. Maybe the job or the opportunity was not quite right for you. The best thing to do under these circumstances is to get transferred to another department. This is better than quitting the organization altogether as it will not show on your resume. If that is not a possibility then put in your papers and walk away. As nothing is worth your self-respect.

Finding the perfect boss-employee equation is like a dream come true. Bosses should understand that employees like to be mentored but dislike being managed. Bad management can lead to the loss of employee, as well as all the training and intellectual investments that were made in making him/her suitable for the job.

SUMIT MANWAL