Horrible bosses: 4 bosses you don't want to end up with

Jul 18, 2011 12:00 PM by Jessica Padykula

Posted in Living / Career and Time Management / Career Advice

Bad Boss
Behavior

After seeing the film Horrible Bosses (now playing) -- and watching the characters played by Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey display some seriously unsavory boss behavior, we were inspired to create our own bad boss list. Read on for our take on four types of bosses you definitely don’t want to get stuck with.

Horrible Bosses

The never-satisfied boss

If you're the type of person who thrives on praise and pats on the back, you won't feel very good about yourself working for the never-satisfied boss. As the name suggests, he is never satisfied – no matter how hard you work, how many extra projects you take on or the number of new clients you bring on board. He will simply shrug (if you're lucky) – or more likely, he'll find fault in what you've just done. Even if the report is meticulous or the presentation was successful, this is one boss who can't just say "good job." He needs to feel in charge and ahead of the curve, so he finds fault in even the best and brightest work. If there is no fault to find, he'll just give you more work or add more requests to a project you thought was coming to an end.

How to deal: If your boss is of the never-satisfied variety, the only thing we can suggest (other than finding a new job) is to learn how to take satisfaction in a job well-done. You know you did a great job and that's really all that matters.

The angry boss

Like the never-satisfied boss, the angry boss is perpetually on the warpath. This is a boss who never smiles, never cracks a joke and definitely never laughs. Something is always wrong, and when things go wrong, you'd better get out of the way. The angry boss comes into the office early and leaves late, so you likely can't escape her. She hates being interrupted and she won't stand for anyone being late to a meeting, who doesn't do their job properly or who doesn't give her what she wants immediately after she's requested it. She is, in a word, scary. You don't want to cross her, and heaven forbid you come to a meeting unprepared. She'll know it and she'll single you out. Her glare can melt ice and anyone who tries to talk to her before she's had her coffee will pay dearly.

How to deal: Stay out of her way. Do a good job. Always be on time.

The two-faced boss

The two-faced boss is one of the most frustrating to deal with because you never know what (or who) you're going to get. One day he's everyone's best friend – ordering pizza for the office, suggesting after-work beers and telling everyone what a great job they're doing. The next day he turns into a deadly combination of angry boss and never-satisfied boss. Basically, it's like dealing with a corporate, suit-wearing version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – not fun for anyone and also a little frightening. No one knows why he seems to have two personalities; they just know to always be on their toes for fear of getting caught in an elevator – alone – with the boss when he's turned from good to evil.

How to deal: The only way to deal with the two-faced boss is to let him take the lead. Don't go in with a joke or a story about your weekend before you know which version you're dealing with. Have your professional face on at all times until happy boss makes an appearance and you know for sure he's in a good mood.

The boss who plays favorites

Working for a boss who plays favorites is tough. Usually it means doing just as good of a job – or an even better job – than the people who are at the top of the office food-chain, only to be shut out of all the good projects and never receive any praise. It isn't fair, but it does happen. Maybe the people your boss favors did a good job of sucking up, maybe they're just lucky – either way it's going to be hard to stay motivated knowing that no matter what you do, you'll always be second-best. You can try to squeeze your way into the top tier, but it will be difficult getting past the people who are already there, because they don't want to share the spotlight.

How to deal: If you can't work your way into the boss's good graces, you're going to have resign yourself to the fact that all you can do is do a good job and hope your hard work gets noticed. You can also commiserate with all the other employees who also didn't make the boss's favorites list.

Check out the Horrible Bosses movie review >>

Tell us

Have you ever had a really, really bad boss?

Share your bad boss stories in the comments section below.

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Comments

Comments on "Horrible bosses: 4 bosses you don't want to end up with"

I hate bosses who play favorites!! We're all equals!!

My boss is two-faced and playing favourites with a staff member who slacks off but they love to gossip together. Both women are at least a decade older than me and should know better. It frustrates me, as my boss is the middle person between me and the trustees of the company, and she takes the credit for the work I do. She is also in charge of the roster which changes regularly and I always get the worst shifts.

The angry boss is the worst, but if you use the tips they really help. Always do a good job and go above and beyond, and NEVER show up late. The angry boss will notice and never forget.

I've had both the never satisfied and the angry boss in the past, now i have a "two faced" manager from another dept. and my executive boss is two faced as well... the manager is contantly going to my dept. manager and being a "female dog" about it, spreading lies about me. Then i cant even go to the head boss since s/he is just as bad, and sometimes worse!

I've had a "never satisfied" boss and it makes for a miserable work environment! It's very disheartening to know that you can never do enough and you're never doing well enough. It's pretty miserable to walk into work everyday with a boss like that, and it makes it very hard to stay positive yourself.

What about the boss who is a total flirt?