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How to Deal With Bad Bosses

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Your job is almost perfect. You enjoy what you do, you get along with your colleagues, and your office culture is both relaxed and motivating. There’s just one thing standing in the way of this being your dream job: your own, real-life horrible boss.

Bad bosses are an unfortunate fact of life, almost like going through puberty or seeing just how much you owe in student loans — we’ve all been there. But it’s how you deal with having bad boss that really counts.

Approach this issue as you would any other problem at work, by using analysis to figure out where the problem lies. Then, come up with your own action plan. Pinpoint exactly what drives you crazy about your boss so you have a better understanding of why there is a problem to begin with.

It is also important that you approach this issue without any emotion. Emotion makes it difficult to resolve work problems, and even harder to communicate why you have an issue. Be steady and clear about the problems you have with your manager without letting anger get the best of you.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

You must also analyze the situation from the opposite view — is your boss the only problem? How have you contributed to the issue? Be open to looking at your own flaws and see if you need to become more flexible, or if you are just taking things too seriously.

Look for common ground with your boss and see if you can both find a happy compromise. Communication is key to fixing this common work issue, so find out where the communication problems lie. Approach your boss with an open mind and find out if you have done something wrong to create a less than ideal manager-employee relationship.

Unfortunately, sometimes a bad boss is simply a bad boss and a job isn’t always a good fit. If a compromise or solution to the problem isn’t in the cards, it might be time to move on.

Tell Us What You Think

We want to hear from you! Have you ever dealt with a bad boss? Share your thoughts on Twitter or in the comments!

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(Photo credit: Victor1558/Flickr)

Marissa Brassfield
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Tanya

I had a bad boss recently, she gave clues of her dislike for me first week there. She had the facial expressions and sly comments. She even said several times how could not put her finger on what she didn’t like about me, but know she didn’t. She find fault in everthing I did and tried to destroy working relations with other staff with blowing small issues up to make discord. Her tone and bodyb language showed hee dislike. Went… Read more »

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