If you haven’t worked with a bad or difficult boss, you at least know someone who has. A difficult boss is different from every employee’s eyes, some are bad, yet others are worse. Difficult bosses are those that think they have a right to address you anyhow, and often times don’t care about how you feel about their actions, even when they hurt you. Such bosses are good at commanding and making sure that you deliver, even when it takes pressure, and may not be bothered about your career growth, or even offering you guidance to be better at your job. Difficult bosses can insult you in case you make mistakes or delay delivery without asking what could be the problem—instead of seeking solutions, they enjoy blaming employees and take credit for employees’ work. At times these bosses are bullies, they can’t be pleased even when employees do their best, they enjoy insulting their workers physically. They are also poor at communication, they don’t reward or recognise hard working staff and don’t give room to employees to give constructive feedback, or give chances to employees to respond to accusations, and much more. The definition of a bad boss may be endless, but what do you do when you’re working in such an environment, would you just quit? What if you leave your job and fail to get another one or even luckily scoop another job, but find a worse manager? Below are a few tips to handle difficult bosses and still enjoy your job. Emmanuel Rwozi, a sales and marketing expert, notes that most employees stay miserable at their jobs for failure to speak up—they accept poor treatment from their bosses that even becomes a punishment. According to him, find help and assistance from your HR department by explaining scenarios that seem demeaning, unworthy, and unappreciated by your boss. He believes that failure to speak about it may leave one broken and angry. He also urges employees to reach out to their bosses and request how they would perform their tasks better, as that would hinder the yelling and disappointments when work is done as expected. Rwozi carries on that some bosses may have no idea about how their behavior makes you feel and may not intend to hurt you, which is why it’s key to find time and talk to them in their free time. “Talk to your manager about how you would prefer him to supervise you, other than embarrassing you along with your colleagues if you make errors. Ask them how they think you can be a better employee and work towards accomplishing the companies’ goals. If they are poor communicators, try to explain that communication in time and effectively will assist you on what to do and even execute tasks in time, which may not be the case when you aren’t guided on what to do or the way forward,” he states. He says that don’t tell your boss that they are bad leaders because that will come off badly, but tell them what you need from them, for example, be open that you need support and feedback for you to succeed. Gloria Kamikazi, CEO of a local fashion house is of the view that if your boss is a micro manager (gives excessive supervision), find ways of gaining their trust. For example, she notes that be the one who delivers tasks or completes assignments on time. In case of delay, let your manager know in time and communicate when you will be done. Offering your boss continuous updates will keep them away from your desk and thus earn you their trust, a thing that will take away the frustration of worrying about pressure from your boss. Kamikazi also notes that you should learn to set boundaries by not taking on many tasks that you can’t handle or those that will keep you working extra time. She advises being open to your manager when you already have a lot to do, rather than accepting to take in much work to impress them yet you can’t manage accomplishing it all on your own. Kamikazi warns against being bitter to your boss but urges remaining calm. For her, even when your boss yells at you in public, don’t yell back but be humble and calm. With time, your boss will notice your level of maturity. She however notes that if you have done everything but the situation turns from bad to worse, then it’s time to call it quits. Research suggests that when work-life becomes unbearable, the stress will begin to penetrate into other aspects of your daily life, leading to many chronic health issues. Which is why it’s advisable to move out and look for better opportunities that would bring you joy and peace.
