Life Hack for a Mean Boss

[Rachel]

My org. has a long history of tolerating, possibly tacitly encouraging abusive bosses. This one is actually an improvement over the last one, who was beyond dreadful. Everyone knew it.

[Rachel]

The thing is, unless you know that the time you spend reporting to this person is very limited (Dilbert's "bungee boss"), eventually his/her poisoned view of The Way Things Are is going to bite you in the butt come review time or promotion time.

My butt is almost no longer in existence from all the bites that have been taken out of it.

[Rachel]

Wow, awakenedsoul, that's amazing that you were able to accomplish that.

Good for you.

[Rachel]

I always think that my mean boss has to eventually deal with herself or her family or someone who is going to slap her one day. : )

I kept a Wicked Witch of the West on my desk in honor of her. She never understood what it was for but loved to play the song. HA!!

Love that!

[Rachel]

hmm, I like the idea. You are accepting that you can't change the behavior of your boss. You know that it isn't about you. But it still really causes stress.

Here are a couple of my ideas, maybe they will inspire you
* creative splurge, take $10 and go to goodwill or a craft store and buy whatever inspires you
* a massage, or pedicure
* coffee shop visit. I just love the introvert companionship of having tea around other humans

Thanks, Zoe, good ideas!

[Rachel]

That's very interesting, profnot. And thanks for the tip about documentation. I have been doing that for a long time...with this particular pet monster it's never "out there" enough that it would look like abuse. It's more death by a thousand tiny cuts, if you know what I mean. I probably shouldn't be so sensitive, and I'm working on that.

[awakenedsoul]

I don't think your being too sensitive. I would start looking for another job, if it's a toxic environment. There's so much of that these days...

[Cypress]

I might suggest reading this book: The Angry Smile: The Psychology of Passive Aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools, and Workplaces, 2nd ed. by Signe Whitson. I had through interlibrary loan. The text is highly readable and applies to all life situations. It's not too deep on how to work with this in another person, but it helps you recognize the behavior in yourself and others. It can defuse the situation as you gain some understanding. Might your boss fit into this category? Or, just be a micromanaging controller.

[Rachel]

Thank you, I will figure out a way to get hold of this and read it, it sounds very useful.

[Lainey]

If you google Worst Boss in the World, there's actually some contests out there. People have won prizes, anonymously of course, for their entries.
I can't tell if these are still current contests, but there could be a silver lining out of this if you win a free trip!