How do I deal with a mean boss?

Once in the workforce, you’re probably going to encounter some people who are less-than-pleasant. Dealing with a mean boss may take quite a lot of patience and control on your part.

Tutorial

One of the first things you have to remember when dealing with a mean boss is that the employer is just a person. He or she is probably dealing with the same kinds of life problems everyone else is dealing with. That said, the boss should realize the power he or she has to make other people’s lives miserable. While there is probably nothing you can do to eliminate the problem, there are some strategies you can use to help you deal with it.

Depending on the form the “mean” takes on, you may be able to simply ignore a mean boss. If there are petty complaints that have no real impact, your best bet may be to simply accept the fact that you have a mean employer and learn to let those comments pass.

If the meanness is affecting your work, you are probably going to have to take action. For example, you boss’s negative comments about your work may be seriously impacting your ability to work. You may find yourself second-guessing decisions that would once have been made with little thought, or you may be reluctant to take on assignments for fear of criticism. If that’s the case, it may very well be time to talk to your boss about the situation. Tell him or her how the criticism is affecting you and ask if there’s a way to improve communication so that it doesn’t have to take this continually-negative form.

If the mean attitude is being manifested in derogatory remarks about others, you may find that talking to another superior is the best answer. Don’t let yourself get caught up in either the negative comments being made by your mean boss or the reactions of others in the office. Either could be detrimental to your career.

Remember that some people are just mean and there’s nothing you can do about it. If that’s the case, you are probably faced with only a couple of options. You can look the other way and put up with the mean comments, or you can start looking for another job. Congress can pass thousands of laws to regulate how people behave and what they do, but Congress can’t regular morality and there’s a point where each person must decide what’s right and wrong for them. The same is true in the situation of dealing with a mean boss. You may be able to get the attention of someone else who’ll tell the boss to stop, but being ordered to stop being mean is a very broad command and the boss who’s set on being mean will find technicalities that allow him or her to continue.