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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

With unemployment still staggeringly high, many Americans have no choice but to deal with a horrible boss. According to a survey from OfficeTeam, a California-based staffing service, nearly half of the workers polled complained about having worked for "unreasonable bosses." Of those, 59% stayed in their jobs – even the 24% who said they “suffered through the torment.”

Unfortunately, horrible bosses really do exist. A 2010 Bosses’ Day Survey found that 38 percent of workers indicated their boss is somewhat or very uncaring when it comes to their career development.

The survey, done by Monster for Spherion Staffing, showed that 45 percent of employees say their boss has taken credit for their work while another 37 percent say their boss has “thrown them under the bus” to save himself/herself.

Here are a few key tips on how to deal with a horrible boss:

Talk to the boss. It is always best to attempt to resolve the issues with the individual first, unless you are seriously concerned about retribution, retaliation or misinterpretation. (In that case, you may need to get someone else involved.) Be polite and focus on your needs. Tell the boss what you need in terms of direction, feedback and support. Keep your cool. While it may be tempting, pointing out that bad boss lacks management skills is a counterproductive tactic and will not help you meet your goals.

Ask how you can help the boss reach his/her goals. Make sure that you listen well, have clarity on the objectives and provide the necessary assistance for reaching those goals. This approach may help your boss to recognize that you can achieve goals together as a team.

Talk to your colleagues. If your colleagues are having a similar experience with your boss, bouncing ideas and suggestions off each other that may help create a more tolerable situation for everyone. If your colleagues are not having a similar experience with your boss then there may be tension based on a specific situation or a personality conflict.

Seek a mentor. If you are not receiving the opportunity to enrich your knowledge and experience in your current environment, seek someone out who will help you find that fulfillment. It is often helpful to choose someone, either another manager or a more skilled peer, who understands the situation with current manager.

Go to your boss’s manager or Human Resources and ask for assistance. This step is to be taken only if you have tried the other suggested actions without any resolution. You can go to your Human Resources staff first to gain advice or perhaps to rehearse a conversation with your boss. If the Human Resources staff or the boss’s boss takes action on your behalf, you may never know the details of that conversation because it is considered confidential. However, you should allow for some time to pass for the actions to have their desired impact.

Go to the boss’s manager or Human Resources with your coworkers. If nothing changes despite your best efforts, draw together coworkers who also experience the behavior. This will show the breadth and impact of the behavior while eliminating the possibility that they may not believe your claims.

Ask for a transfer to another department. You may want to take this step if you have sought a resolution without success but you want to remain at the company. If you determine your boss simply cannot or will not change seeking a change of manager or a department transfer may be in your best interest.

Think about beginning your search for a new job. If a transfer or promotion is unavailable and you have taken the above steps, you may want to begin looking for other opportunities.

Good luck. And remember…

"The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the boss does."

- Anonymous

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