Have You Ever Had a Crazy-bad Boss?
We may be part of an ultra-cool team now, but just like all successful women, we’ve put a few bad bosses behind us. So, in honor of Women’s Small Business Month, we’re airing out some of the toughest, most challenging chiefs we’ve ever come across. Most of the time we remain positive and look at these experiences as “character building,” but, please join us in commiserating about these crazies for a sec.
“If you thought the boss in the Devil Wears Prada was bad, you should have seen what my first boss was like. Coffee and dry cleaning runs were the least of my worries. I was stuck in the office until 4am every Monday and Friday while she micromanaged the magazine, and not even safe at home where I’d receive phone calls for forgetting to pack a paper in her bag or something equally menial. I’m convinced she made it her mission to make me feel as stupid as possible, and she succeeded in doing so for quite some time, until I wised up and quit.”
“In my old work environment, cursing was common. Since the higher-ups did it often and always, it was like the more $#)$)(#! you used, the more street cred you gained in the company. Even today, when something goes awry, I really have to hold back from letting out a stream of inappropriate words.”
“My boss used to make me bend over backwards getting her dinner reservations at approximately six different uber-trendy restaurants for her/clients on a nightly basis only to ultimately end up at none of the places. (This is one of the only appropriate instances to share with the masses!!!)”
“I worked for many years in the music industry and had a boss who would often misspell the names of artists we were promoting. Pretty embarrassing to have her steering the ship….”
“You know the ep of the Spin Crowd on E! where Jonathan made the newbie get her lips done because he thinks she isn’t pretty enough? My ex-boss was also obsessed with appearances and only hired skinny, pretty girls. She constantly commented on everyone’s weight and berated one of my co-workers for ‘dressing like a middle-schooler.’”
GIRL TALK TIME: Have you ever had an out-there boss? What happened? We promise that your crazy manager from your company five years ago isn’t looking (and if you really want to get into what happened, just make your comment under an alias!).
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23 Comments
Post a CommentIt’s inevitable that either you or someone you know will work for a bad boss sometime during your professional career. Bad bosses can come in a variety of forms and can cause untold damage to a firm’s productivity (and in some cases, people’s health).
Working for a bad boss has a large effect on your work experience and your performance. Whether you’re the one in this relationship, or know someone affected by a bad boss, we have a few tips for how to cope and make the most of the situation..
Matt M
CEB Views
hehehehhe
I have a bad boss too they were a married couple ,in the banks that i go for my job they call me the victim because my boss
Haha! Great post
Omg, don’t get me started!
I had a boss that at first I thought she was a sweet older lady…Little did I know that she was really a witch! I would get sick on days I knew she was coming to my building for a visit. I left each day crying and would wake up not wanting to go to work. While she thought I was doing a poor job, everyone who saw me everyday thought I was the best thing that had come along ever! One person even used me as the example at a state conference! I left at the end of the year without another position lined up but I couldn’t stand another year with her!
Yes
Haven’t had a bad boss since I was really young. That lady was really mean yelling at the interns and was very condescending calling people stupid and worthless. Surpise, surpise I probably make double what she makes now.
Good grief who hasn’t lol I had a boss who had a grudge with our manager and would try to use to the employees to try and get ammo to justify firing him
I saw it a mile away and wanted no part because my manager was good to me and my family and was a people person which superiors hated which is dumb
Anyway they would have spys on him,try and fire employees owners wanted me gone for starters
They wanted to hire a mercenary like them and made my boss train the guy they wanted to give his job
The atmosphere was unbearable when my boss was fired at home at 5am I bounced too
I’ve never had a “crazy” boss but my supervisor now is a little crazy and does not have very good work ethic.. so I guess I have a horrible boss.
wow! i wouldn’t want your boss
I had a long distance boss, which wasn’t so bad, but it was frustrating at times.
I dont think i would ever let myself get treated that way by a boss, my craziest boss story is that my last Boss had OCD to the tenth power
I had a boss that had no idea how to use his e-mail so I would have to print his e-mails everyday then he would write down what he would want me to respond back, and then he’d have to proof then I’d be allowed to send. He had such a bad temper that he used to throw things and yell all the time. When he was yelling at you he was talking to you that’s just how he was. He had such an abrasive personality. I was always stressed out at work, and when I submitted my 2 week notice because I found a better job he freaked out and screamed at me then he fired me. Glad those days are gone!
I have a supervisor who is incompetent and doesn’t even understand simple English which is a problem seeing as we work in a call center
I used to work for an employment agency. My specialty was going in to offices where they couldn’t keep a temp or couldn’t find the right person for the job. I remember going into an office that had gone through 7 temps in a month! What on earth? It was a good job with the opportunity to become a permanate position to the president and 3 vice presidents of a very large, prestigious winery.
So in I go, unbeknownst to the client. In less than 3 days I had it all worked out. One of the VPs was an older woman who was clearly intimidated (????) by younger, pretty women. She would do just about everything you can imagine to bully and harass those girls. She understated the skills necessary for the job in order to be able to turn them all away.
In the end, we found a woman to meet the needs of the company and who could stand up to that VP. Geesh, what some people will do to make themselves look/feel better.
I worked for a woman once who loved me one day, hated me the next. Can you say bi-polar?
this sounds like my old boss.
I worked at a company filling in for someone on maternity leave. After my third week there the female head of the dept said that when “Sheila” returned to the office, she wanted to transfer to another dept and would I become permanent. At first, I thought it was great. Then, as the weeks went by, I saw that this female boss was extremely demeaning and condescending to her colleagues and subordinates to the point where I was questioning the easiest of tasks I was doing. She would said “why are you doing it this way?” When I know I did a good job completing a project. If you didn’t understand what she was saying, she would rub her hand up and down her face in disgust and frustration. But if SHE didn’t understand what you were saying, then it was your fault.
After a month of this, we had a dept meeting with a conference call and her behavior to one of her colleagues was almost embarassing. The four of us went back to our desks and a male colleague said “Mary” can be quite demeaning at times. It was then I knew I was not going to stay there permanently. As soon as Sheila came back, I was gone. Well, with a few days left to my consultancy, Mary was at it again questioning a directory I revised. It was mid-afternoon and I just about had it. I stared at my computer for a couple of hours, texted a friend who’s a career counselor about what I should do, and she said just leave if it’s such a hostile environment. So, I did, and never turned back. Mary tried calling me the next morning and I didn’t answer her call. I’m still unemployed, but so much happier. I know had I stayed, I would have had an ulcer. No job is worth that.
Yea, some people don’t belong in management. I’ll leave it at that.
i second that!
Sure did!