How to Handle a Difficult Boss
Bad bosses are very common, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. If your superior makes you feel anxious, constantly irritated, or full of rage, something is wrong and you need to confront it.
Deal with the situation in the wrong way and you could make your job hell. There are thankfully, strategies to peacefully resolve the most common of grievances with your gaffer.
Difficult bosses can be divided into two camps. There’s the bully who rides roughshod over your emotions and ideas, and there’s the indecisive wimp who never resolves anything. In both cases, the steps to resolution are the same.
Don’t fume in silence. Letting your frustrations build and your tension escalate will result in making it much harder to resolve disputes. But you should tread carefully and go slowly – especially if the job is new or your first.
Check with other colleagues as to what the general consensus is regarding the boss. If they also have problems, ask them what their strategies are for dealing with him or her. They might have surprisingly effective methods you can adopt.
If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to address the manager directly. There are some crucial pointers of which to be aware. You need to be confident about your position and specific about where the problems lie. A general ‘I don’t get on with you’ is no use to anyone.
Once you’ve recognised a pattern in your boss’s
For example, if your boss is controlling and never lets you get on with anything without interference, you might outline what jobs you do well and then get your boss to agree; the aim being to get your manager to acknowledge that you can be left alone with some jobs.
It’s important to talk to your boss directly in the first instance, rather than going further up your company ladder. Don’t assume that your manager knows about your grievances. He or she is likely to be busy and have other pressures. You’ll need to spell out your concerns face to face. This course of action resolves the majority of employee/boss disputes, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
If your chat doesn’t resolve anything, you can talk to the human resources (HR) department (if your company has one), which may offer suggestions to deal with your problem.
If this also fails to improve relations between you and your boss, you have the right to a formal grievance procedure. You begin by stating your complaint in a letter to the HR or personnel department or equivalent. (In some instances at small firms, this might be the boss with whom you have a problem).
The matter is then discussed at an in-house appeal hearing (or formal meeting) and can be discussed in further meetings should either party not agree with the original outcome. You may in some cases have to seek the advice of a solicitor.
This, however, should be a last resort. Processes such as this tend to be time consuming and stressful for everyone involved. Trying to talk out the problem is always better. Remember, all managers were once employees – and one day you might be a boss yourself.
For further reading see www.bullyonline.org and www.businesseye.org.
