Have a manager or boss who behaves like an angry ogre? Is your work never “good or correct enough” or “has too many mistakes”? Does your boss never listen to you, even when you back up your opinion with a mountain of stats and logical explanations? If you’ve encountered any of the problems above, start looking for another job. But if you aren’t able to do that, we understand. Millions of people are stuck in jobs they hate, thinking they’ll never have anything better. But don’t lose hope.
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If you can’t lose your boss in a maze somewhere, you can find ways to deal with their bossiness — at least until you become the boss yourself. So let’s look through some effective methods.
3 Ways You Can Handle Mental Torture at Work
If you’re dealing with a micromanager, by-the-numbers boss, or toxic colleagues, here are some ways you can begin claiming your job for yourself:
1. Perform Excellent Work
If your boss keeps getting on your case every single time you submit your work, be diligent about doing your job, so they stop hassling you. How can you do that? Here’s a handy checklist:
- Identify the errors you make
- Understand why you make them
- Realize why your boss keeps highlighting them
- Systematically eliminate all errors.
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Similarly, if you find it difficult to differentiate between fake and real pay stubs as a part-time accountant, work on detecting the differences between the pay stubs. Once you’ve mastered the skill, you probably won’t have any problem with your boss. However, if they still persist with their backhanded insults and are generally disagreeable, you may need to solve your problems a bit drastically. But don’t go zero to sixty in three seconds. Get your evidence in order. You need to scope out the battle to find whether or not you can fight it.
2. Keep Track of Everything
You’ve fixed everything. Your work is perfect. You have four high-paying leads. You’ve met your sales quota or word count quota for the month in a week. But your boss is still being a meanie. What should you do? Before taking any drastic action, sit down and think about the following questions: does your boss pick on you generally, or are they selective in their criticism? What is the common instigating incident? Can you identify it? Is it always your fault? Or do you get blamed for someone else’s mistake?
You may also need it to lay out your case if you’re called after an inquiry is made. If you don’t collect this information, you may not have anything to back yourself up with when the time comes. So, be diligent in keeping track of every incident you get wrapped up in. You never know when you might need information about them.
To find answers to the questions above, you should begin taking notes on each incident. Note down when the incident happened, what your boss told you, what you think really happened, and how the situation developed. You might need to communicate this information to the middle management if you’re thinking of filing a complaint. You may also need it to lay out your case if you’re called after an inquiry is made. If you don’t collect this information, you may not have anything to back yourself up with when the time comes. So, be diligent in keeping track of every incident you get wrapped up in. You never know when you might need information about them.
3. Avoid Conflict as Much as You Can
You’ve tracked every incident to its core. You’ve investigated everything your boss said. You’ve checked your previous work for problems. You’ve asked some people to go through it, and they’ve said it doesn’t have any problems. You’re at the end of your rope. You want to yell back at your horrible boss when they’re giving you a hard time. You want to tell them for once that they’re wrong. You want to defend yourself. Don’t do it.
Losing control might be the worst thing you do. You’ll only give them more reasons to pick on you. They’ll become more hostile and might make a complaint to higher-ups about you. They’ll have their position to back them up. You don’t. So, instead of venting your feelings, listen to your boss and their complaints without losing control. Once they’re done, talk to them about what you think. If they don’t listen, you have every right to file a complaint against them.
The Bottom Line
Dealing with a horrible boss can slowly drive you up the wall. But instead of taking it hard, you can try working on yourself. It doesn’t hurt. Make your work as great as possible.
You’ve tracked every incident to its core. You’ve investigated everything your boss said. You’ve checked your previous work for problems. You’ve asked some people to go through it, and they’ve said it doesn’t have any problems. You’re at the end of your rope. You want to yell back at your horrible boss when they’re giving you a hard time. You want to tell them for once that they’re wrong. You want to defend yourself. Don’t do it.
If problems persist, you should schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss everything. But if that doesn’t work, you need to bring in a third party to help bridge the divide or solve the problem by imposing strict discipline. However, if nobody’s willing to listen to you because you’re a remote or a part-time worker, start looking for another job, and the moment you get an offer, jump on it.
