Dealing with a difficult boss can be quite challenging. You spend the main part of your days there and he/she is the person that you have to face every day. This becomes stressful when they are always criticizing your work. To ensure that you do not get fired or be hospitalized due to depression, here are ways that you can deal with your difficult boss.
Maintain a professional face
You must ensure that despite his/her criticism, you maintain a professional face at all times. Since this is your work, you do not have to like it or like your boss but you must still do your work and respect your boss. Bearing this in mind, keep that professional face and do not show your boss that he is getting to you.
Evaluate your own performance
Sometimes the boss might not be the problem but rather yourself. Try and evaluate your performance to be sure if you are the one who is not doing a good job or your boss is just out to get you.
Document interactions with him/her
One way of dealing with a difficult boss is documenting everything. This includes your interactions with him/her. This will give a living proof should a complaint ever be filed against you. And also be warned never to go up the chain of command unless it is your last resort.
Never react to verbal abuse with emotions
It is wise never to react to your bosses’ harsh criticism with emotions. This is because you will probably result to making the wrong decisions on how best to handle him/her and you will not be as professional as required.
Gather additional support
It is good to gather additional support from your fellow employees if the boss is also treating them in the same way. This will give you better chances of not getting fired when you confront him/her since it will be hard for him/her to attack many employees. As they say, there is a comfort in numbers. However, beware of the office snitches who might tell him/her what you are doing.
Leave work at work
You should never allow your boss to influence your personal life. Always learn to leave work and all its madness at work and not to carry it home with you. It is advisable to have friends outside the work circle to avoid discussing work at home.
By Pauline Kagwiria
