Getting Along with a Difficult Boss

It is difficult enough to deal with a challenging coworker, but when the abrasive personality belongs to your boss, the situation can become nearly impossible. There are many different types of bad bosses in the workplace, from the micromanager who is constantly looking over your shoulder to the absentee boss who is never around to provide direction or assistance. Some professional women even find themselves working for abusive managers, who appear to get off on yelling at and belittling their staff. If you are in the midst of professional women's issues because of a difficult boss, read on for tips to improve your office environment.

Pinpoint the Problem

Before professional women can address the issues, they must determine precisely what those issues are and how they affect work performance. The micromanager who is constantly involved with your daily activities may be creating professional women's issues by slowing you down or preventing you from using creativity to produce the best product possible. If your boss is never around, you may be unsure of how to prioritize your work. Abusive bosses affect an employee's self esteem, which can directly affect job performance and create a host of other professional women's issues.

Talk to Your Boss

No one likes confrontation, but talking to your boss about the issues in a calm, professional manner just might result in a better work environment. Do not get personal in your conversation; instead, focus on how your work performance is affected by his actions and assure him you want to do the best job you can for him. Explain the problem clearly and be specific when stating your needs. If you are lucky, you just might get the requested changes from this first meeting.

Go Up the Ladder

If the situation doesn't improve, or if your boss's abuse is enough to affect your life outside of work as well, it may be time to climb the corporate hierarchy. The choices of professional women in this situation are to talk to a boss's supervisor or the human resources manager about the problem. Approach this step with caution, since your boss may resent you for disclosing the problem to his superiors and create other professional women's issues to deal with. However, taking this step may be necessary to get the changes you are hoping for.

Recruit Support

If you don't see changes to your boss's behavior after talking to higher-ups, it may be time to rally the troops. If you believe your officemates are having similar problems with this boss, bring them together to approach your boss's supervisor together. This will let management know the full extent of the impact your boss's behavior is having, and it may bring about results more effectively than your solo efforts.

Start Looking

If these steps do not resolve the situation, you will then need to decide if you are willing to live with the situation. If the problems at work are beginning to affect your health or personal life, it may be time to move on. Your options are to seek a transfer within your company or apply for a new job with a different organization. Bad bosses who impact the life of professional women beyond the workplace are simply not worth it over the long haul.

Please note: NAPW, The National Association of Professional Women, allows members and affiliates to post articles of interest to our blog. These articles in no way reflect the views of NAPW.