Dealing With a Difficult Boss

If you've been in the workforce for a while chances are you've had at least one bad boss in your career.  If you haven't, consider yourself lucky.

Your boss can determine a lot about how you feel about your job and its success.  They determine:

• Your workload
• Overall mood of your office/department
• Your ability to receive a promotion
• Your eligibility for a salary increase or bonus

If you're boss is a bully or just plain difficult to deal with, it's likely not something you can ignore.  In this type of situation, you can find yourself overwhelmed, tired, and unhappy.  We spend too much time in our working life to feel that way.

If you feel you can talk to your boss in a calm manner, see if you can set up some time to talk about how the bad behavior makes you feel.  Make it understood how the bad behavior can be demotivating and difficult to focus on your job.

If you feel like you can't talk to your boss, you still must take action.  Talk to the person they report to or to someone in the HR department.  If you don't talk to someone, keep in mind that the problem will continue.

It may be helpful to talk with your coworkers to see if they can participate.  Be warned that some may not be willing to join you as they may fear retaliation.  Again, if no one says anything the problem will persist.

You may also want to document any bad situations that come up.  Take notes on what happened, when it happened and who was there to witness it.  The more information you provide to HR, the better chances you have of changing the situation for the better.

Have you had an experience with a bad boss?  How did you handle it?  Please share your stories with us in the comments below.