My worst Boss
- I was with a company for 8 years when a new working supervisor started with no experience in our industry. She sat with everyone in the group for a couple of days and never worked a day after. She just micromanaged and had weekly meetings where she sat and talked about herself and complicated the process. She gave everyone in the group a mini-performance review only knowing us for a few months. First poor performance review I ever had in my working career. I was blown away and completely surprised as well as most of us in the group who got similar reviews. They hired contract workers on the pretext of helping us with our workload. After a few weeks of training the new employees, the 5 senior employees were let go. One younger employee was left and is stressed and overwhelmed and cannot get her work done because she needs to help the new contract workers and the new "working supervisor" hasn't got a clue. Life is too short for this kind behavior in the workplace.
- —Guest over50
Selecting Managers
- Organizations use the wrong criteria for selecting managers. The best engineer or banker or welder or whatever is usually selected. Big mistake, since managing is all about accomplishing work through others. Successful managers have outstanding people and communication skills and are capable of planning, organizing, leading and controlling; i.e., controlling schedules, costs, etc. THAT is the criteria that should be used when picking managers.
- —Northbrooke
Bad Bosses
- You have no idea how many bad bosses are in Dashen Bank of Ethiopia, especially branch managers. Most of them can't even understand the difference between manager and leader, whilst, they usually call themselves a leader! They are highly corrupted and irresponsible. They usually want to take the praise and remove themselves from the team failure which they are working with! No room for being criticized. Only blaming people under them. They usually say: my team is stupid, dull, uncommitted - without knowing that they are the principal stupid, principal dull since they are "managing" the team they said is stupid. In my view they need intensive training in modern management theory! Tk and his friends
- —Guest Teller -former banker@ dashen Bank
Very Bad Boss
- I had a very bad boss who looked at even the minute error just so he could scream all over our faces! Since I was one of the supervisors at a fast food chain and he was the area manager, he would look for minute errors just to reprimand me (example: Soft drinks spilled just seconds ago by the service crew). One time, he saw food on the warmer and it already lapsed its standard holding time. He grabbed the platter and smashed it on the supervisor's chest. The HR knew and he was given a warning. The moment the HR left, he got mad and screamed at other supervisors who told the HR about it. He also grabbed and pulled one of the service crew's collar when he saw that he hadn't scraped off food crumbs from the griddle. He is also known for throwing things at people when he is mad.
- —Guest From the Philippines
Bulls**t artist
- I have a boss who must have lied in his job interview because he knows absolutely nothing about the field of IT! He is an amazing bulls**t artist I give him that but he is always behind on projects because he can't manage anything.
- —Guest Angry IT
Weakness
- Some bosses shouldn't be bosses plain and simple. They might be good in other areas but in managing people they are weak and fearful. I had a boss who was just holding on. Scared all the time and he would just disappear when a question needed answering. But then I had another one who was like a Lynn Taylor office tyrant -- a cross between a dinosaur and a gorilla. Everyone ran -- into the bathroom, snack room, anywhere -- when they saw him coming. They need to give new bosses a book on how to be the perfect boss or employees a book on how to tame them. Just saying.
- —LckM
Does Boss know everything?
- I have presented a good proposal that benefits our employees to my boss and his reply was: that is not your concern and you are not allowed to do so! Does being the boss mean a person who masters every thing?
- —Guest kiflu silasu
See herself as incredible
- I'm sitting with Guest Karmic, who commented earlier, my bad boss sees problems solely from her point of view. She has one motto in her life: "Wrong or right, just do it."
- —Guest ephriliaskha
Bad Bosses--What Makes a Bad Boss Bad?
- I agree with Guest Karmic's comment: "A bad boss is someone who listens to only one party in a conflict and makes a fast, rigid, decision." That happened to me recently. I'm glad I save EVERY email. I had evidence to prove them wrong on one particular case. My boss NEVER apologizes...she did in an email. I'll be including that whole string of emails in my personnel file. Then, another problem that SHE caused she is calling a "miscommunication."
- —Guest A little miffed...bosses lie
Devil Reincarnate
- I work with my Bad Boss indirectly about 70% of the time but the 30% we do spend conversing or face to face interaction is the worst. She is constantly belittling someone or calling her "subordinates" B*tches. She is so jealous and scared that she won't share the slightest bit of information because she knows anyone could do her job. She puts coworkers down to make herself feel better, more powerful. She basically lacks any human emotion towards any one unless it will benefit her needs. She makes extremely bad sarcastic remarks regarding everybody's work performance. And, she probably could not find her principles if you slapped her in the face with them. I also am a manager and my employees have expressed the added anxiety and stress when this particular person is around.
- —retail_cashier
Just the tip of the iceberg
- How about a boss that would disappear all week, only to call at 4:55 on Friday to call a 'meeting' and keep people waiting and waiting, only to never show up? He would become insanely jealous if he heard an employee mention weekend family plans, and would then make the employee work that weekend. He would call people at their desk from his car and accuse them of driving recklessly in front of him! Add post-dating important docs and attempting to lie to our insurance companies and you'll understand why I got the heck out!
- —Guest Out of the Loop
What to do when you have a bad boss
- www.newfanniemae.com The December 8, 2009 audio is 45 minutes long but it and the other covertly recorded audios have created legal nightmares for the company.
- —Guest responsible employee
Karmic
- A bad boss is someone who listens to only one party in a conflict and makes a fast, rigid, decision. A bad boss is one who does not lead by example. A bad boss is one who misuses the power and the resources. Look I am even scared to write in active phrases, so I am writing in a passive tone :) A bad boss creates an environment of fear.
- —Guest Karmic
A Risk Adverse Boss Afraid of his Shadow
- Ok. My direct Boss? He rocks... the freakin' executive VP? A control freak who fails to realize that everyone makes mistakes, even the smallest - but not him. He won't even promote his direct report because he's scared crapless that somebody might do his damn job better than he.
- —Guest Sun_and_Fury
From the desk of a boss
- I found all the comments here very interesting. I am sorry to read all the horrible treatments you have gone through. I am an awesome boss :) I look out for the team and I hope that if we were to part ways that they understand it was a business decision. I will give credit when credit is due. How your team is equates to how you are as a boss. You have a great team, you look good. So why cause friction and backstabbing for no reason? I am in my 20s and have learned a ton from my boss. I know I will never treat anyone the way some of you guys have posted your experience. Hope all is well.
- —Guest A boss
