Thoughts?

Is there an option for happily retired and do not have a boss anymore?  ;D

A boss who respects other workers.

What happens if you are your own boss?

You forgot the most common one on your list: The a-hole who is completely incompetent and is constantly screwing things up. ;)

In my lifetime I have worked for both types. IMO there is nothing worse than working for an a-hole, don't care how good he/she is at their job.

You forgot the most common one on your list: The a-hole who is completely incompetent and is constantly screwing things up. ;)


Those are the absolute worst.


In my lifetime I have worked for both types. IMO there is nothing worse than working for an a-hole, don't care how good he/she is at their job.


See, I disagree. It probably depends on the level of assholishness, but I've had a couple of bosses who were complete assholes yet they were competent, and I never had any issues with them. The way I looked at it was, I'd go in and do the best I could and not give them a reason to be an asshole to me and they left me alone.

My current supervisor falls into the latter category, and no one can stand working for him. He's a super nice guy but he's constantly screwing things up and putting everyone behind while we fix his screw ups, even though we're on some tight deadlines. Whenever he gives me a task I've just learned to assume that he's probably making me do the wrong thing and I have to think a step ahead of him just so he doesn't put me behind.

And the worst thing is, everyone gets angry and frustrated because he's putting us behind, yet he walks around all upbeat and happy, as if he thinks he can cheer us up. He's completely clueless. And it makes me more prone to screwing up, because the fact that I have no confidence in his leadership gives me a lot of anxiety and I have to fight through it and stay focused.

The way I look at it is, at least with a competent asshole (who just wants you to get the job done right), I have some control over his level of assholishness. As long as I keep things running smoothly and treat him with respect (while demanding it at the same time), I really don't have much to worry about.

With the incompetent nice guy, you have absolutely no control over his level of competence. People are always yelling at him and verbally abusing him to try and straighten him out (I don't yell at him, but I'll politely express my disappointment in him) but he almost seems oblivious to it and it makes no difference. Even the other supervisors are getting tired of it. I just try to keep a cool head and do my best to keep things running smoothly in spite of him.

But it's really demoralizing working for him, knowing that everything is going to be all screwed up and that there's nothing I can do about it.

The way I look at it is, at least with a competent asshole (who just wants you to get the job done right), I have some control over his level of assholishness. As long as I keep things running smoothly and treat him with respect (while demanding it at the same time), I really don't have much to worry about.

Well, an a-hole (trying to avoid Cat's wrath here with those words) doesn't need a reason. I've worked for people who were actively trying to mentally destroy their subordinates just because it made them feel powerful. There was no screw up needed for them to talk down to people and make them feel worthless. It was disgusting.

Those are the absolute worst.

See, I disagree. It probably depends on the level of assholishness, but I've had a couple of bosses who were complete assholes yet they were competent, and I never had any issues with them. The way I looked at it was, I'd go in and do the best I could and not give them a reason to be an asshole to me and they left me alone.


One asshole boss I had, doesnt matter if you kissed his ass and worshipped him and worked 3 hours OT for free everyday, he was still an huge asshole to me. He never left me alone was always an asshole, didn't matter what I did or didn't do.

His " level of assholishness" was exceptional  ;D

Yeah if I had a boss who was an asshole but didn't bug me if I did my best, I'd feel more like you do.

What happens if you are your own boss?


That's good, it means you have no one above you and no one telling you what to do.

You forgot the most common one on your list: The a-hole who is completely incompetent and is constantly screwing things up. ;)

I hate those kinds of bosses, sometimes they're the ones who are the a-holes. ::)

I worked at a large corporation before retiring.  Let me tell you, they took great pains to make sure bosses (mostly middle- and low-level management) were competent and got along with their underlings.  The company actually spent money on it.  From where I stand, it probably helped with employee "engagement" as was the stated goal of the activity.  Sadly, perhaps the last three years or so they sorta got away from it.

I had a number of different bosses in my over 30 years there.  Incompetent bosses had a hard time lasting there (although it did happen).  Most bosses tried to be friends, or at least care.  The worst bosses I had were usually the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private.  I couldn't stand that.

I've had bosses over the years that were nice and some not so nice, some were quite friendly and others berate you sometimes either with customers around or in private, the nice bosses want to be on your side but the other bosses say hello to you or maybe sometimes don't even know your name as some other bosses did in the past thought my name was Harold, not Howard. I think what it is that the older guys tend to have more stress throughout the store and can't wait to retire soon but the nice younger ones look forward to meeting and conversing with other workers.

I worked at a large corporation before retiring.  Let me tell you, they took great pains to make sure bosses (mostly middle- and low-level management) were competent and got along with their underlings.  The company actually spent money on it.  From where I stand, it probably helped with employee "engagement" as was the stated goal of the activity.  Sadly, perhaps the last three years or so they sorta got away from it.

I had a number of different bosses in my over 30 years there.  Incompetent bosses had a hard time lasting there (although it did happen).  Most bosses tried to be friends, or at least care.  The worst bosses I had were usually the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private.  I couldn't stand that.

So AG which ones would you like to be around, men or women bosses?

I would prefer one who was good at their job, stood up for their department, and just kept it at that.

The boss I’ve had for most of my stay, he is mostly nice. A lot of people love him. But he won’t stand up for his department. And so many times he throws a wrench into things when we have all explained it won’t work. Waste so much time that way. The thing with him being nice is that he wants to know your whole personal life, and make decisions based on that when you put in for vacation or whatever. He’s religious and been married forever, I’m non religious and can’t keep a mate because I’ve never found anyone who treats me good unless they want my house, car, money… I definitely got treated differently since I became a single parent, probably because that goes against everything the church is for. So while he won’t stand up his equals or superiors, he picks on people like me who he sees as lesser. I’ve seen how the higher ups pick on him, and in turn he picks on me, like an abused kid grows up to be an abuser.

So I would rather have a boss who was more impersonal, treated everyone the same based on company policy and not personal lives, and stuck to doing the best for his department, which does require being an asshole at times.

Even the previous place I worked was like that. There were 4 bosses and I was put in the room with the one who was nice but too personal. When it came time for raises, he said I learned the process better than anyone else, but I didn’t deserve a raise because I didn’t have a wife and kids to support. They wanted me to go mountain biking with them, so I tried it once. They put me to shame. I’m a leisurely rider on and old bike, I like to enjoy the scenery. They had top of the line gear and we’re all competitive. I didn’t ride at all for quite awhile after that.

One of the times I was fed up with my current company, I interviewed at another place in town. Same thing. I could have done the job well, I had the college degree and all the experience. But experience was secondary. They wanted someone who was going to partake in activities with each other’s families, both on AND off the clock. No, I’m not spending my evenings and weekends at your kids birthday parties or soccer games, or drinking on your boat or whatever. I’ll bust my ass for you on the clock, and treat everyone well and the same, but off the clock is my time and I don’t want to think about work or coworkers. I’m not marrying or dating the company.

Now I think about it, that’s what happened 2 jobs ago as well, at the shop next door. They wanted me bad, gave me a 4 hour interview. I turned down another job to take theirs. But they fired me after 9 weeks because they said I did my job very well, but they wanted someone who was going to fit into their personal family both on and off the clock. Breaks were flexible so I took them when I got to a good place to pause my work. Logical right? But what they really wanted was for me to go out and socialize more with the cliques. 24 years later these same groups of people walk down the street past my window every day. Nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t be a job requirement. Logic says you’d get wrote up or fired for spending too much time socializing and not working. My job has gotten ridiculous that way too and it’s extremely distracting, people so loud too. I’ve just been there so long they know I’m not that way.

Is every place like that? Work family first, job performance secondary? I’m beginning to think so. That’s the main reason I stay at my job, I don’t think I’d make it anywhere else. Even though I’m the best engineer they got, lots of people there say that. But I have my own life off the clock and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

I worked at a large corporation before retiring.  Let me tell you, they took great pains to make sure bosses (mostly middle- and low-level management) were competent and got along with their underlings.  The company actually spent money on it.  From where I stand, it probably helped with employee "engagement" as was the stated goal of the activity.  Sadly, perhaps the last three years or so they sorta got away from it.

I had a number of different bosses in my over 30 years there.  Incompetent bosses had a hard time lasting there (although it did happen).  Most bosses tried to be friends, or at least care.  The worst bosses I had were usually the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private.  I couldn't stand that.


I am also fairly recently retired and yes I agree, the worst bosses were the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private. 
Strangely enough, the best bosses I ever had , the most competent, caring, helpful were all female, the worst bosses were male. Every male boss I ever had was either an asshole, a jerk, or both  ;D

I am also fairly recently retired and yes I agree, the worst bosses were the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private. 
Strangely enough, the best bosses I ever had , the most competent, caring, helpful were all female, the worst bosses were male. Every male boss I ever had was either an asshole, a jerk, or both  ;D


Never had a female boss. However my ex housemate was a female boss. Couldn’t keep employees to save her life. One time she told me when a coworker needed the legally allowed couple days off when her dad died..  she told me she was like “ok I know your dad died and s**t, but get over it, you’re f-ing up my store!” That behavior always came home with her too and so she couldn’t keep me either.

A lot of the bosses where I work will do the opposite. Stab you in the back in public so the company thinks you’re a shmuck, but then pat you in the back in private and say oh don’t worry about it, you’re doing a great job. Kinda like how a newspaper will wreck someone’s life with a big speculated story on the front page, then run the follow up of being innocent in the back, if they even do it at all.

The type of boss that I don't like actually doesn't have to do with personality, but with the structure of the organization.
What I mean by that is when the person or people making the decisions on how you should be doing your job have never actually done the job themselves.  So it's all theoretical to them. They look at all the facts and figures and statistics, and they make their decisions based on that and not on reality. For example, in a customer service type job, they'll say something like "each call you take should never take more than 2.5 minutes and you should be taking 50 calls an hour, etc, etc", but NONE of this takes into consideration all the variables that can happen on these calls, because the STATISTICS don't reflect them.

This type of problem also takes place in other areas of life beside employment. People making decisions that will negatively affect thousands of people have no actual experience with how these people live. For example when designing roads or buildings that will be in certain areas or neighborhoods. But the people making these decisions live many miles away and are not affected in any way. It's disgraceful.

So AG which ones would you like to be around, men or women bosses?



Strangely enough, the best bosses I ever had , the most competent, caring, helpful were all female, the worst bosses were male. Every male boss I ever had was either an asshole, a jerk, or both  ;D


From my standpoint, there are good and bad bosses of both genders.  As I think about it, I didn't have any really bad female bosses; a couple were so-so, one in particular started out rough but got a lot better (for me).  But my company is male dominated, so I had more male bosses than female.  I've had some dynamite bosses of both genders.  A few rotten apples; mostly male, come to think of it.  Thankfully, the rotten apples tended to be infrequent.

I am also fairly recently retired and yes I agree, the worst bosses were the sneaky, two-faced bosses who pat you on the back in public but stab you in the back in private. 
Strangely enough, the best bosses I ever had , the most competent, caring, helpful were all female, the worst bosses were male. Every male boss I ever had was either an asshole, a jerk, or both  ;D

I've had some male bosses that were very nice to me, smiling and giving me fist bumps to me and knowing a bit about me, female bosses on the other hand probably seem a bit more irritated,Younger female bosses some like to talk and converse with you, older ones are different.

From my standpoint, there are good and bad bosses of both genders.  As I think about it, I didn't have any really bad female bosses; a couple were so-so, one in particular started out rough but got a lot better (for me).  But my company is male dominated, so I had more male bosses than female.  I've had some dynamite bosses of both genders.  A few rotten apples; mostly male, come to think of it.  Thankfully, the rotten apples tended to be infrequent.

Did you ever have male bosses that were sometimes sexist pigs?

Did you ever have male bosses that were sometimes sexist pigs?


Not since the mid-90's; after that the "sexual harassment" training started (it was fairly new then).  I would say that pretty much cut out stuff like that, at least anything overt.  (What happened behind closed doors, who knows.)

Not since the mid-90's; after that the "sexual harassment" training started (it was fairly new then).  I would say that pretty much cut out stuff like that, at least anything overt.  (What happened behind closed doors, who knows.)

Sometimes the male bosses didn't get enough satisfaction at home so they prey on the hot female co-workers, I've seen it happen in TV Shows and films but that was just fantasy.

Did you ever have male bosses that were sometimes sexist pigs?


We did. One of the admin bosses who had been there at least since the early 90s. Constant turnover of female assistants due to his behavior. We were sued at least twice for sexual harassment, maybe more, those were just the times I heard about. It’s still in the laundry about what happened this last time, but within a week’s time, the assistant quit, he got canned, then she returned. I’m fairly certain we were threatened to be sued again if something wasn’t done, and this assistant was much more knowledgeable.

My boss when I started there was also that way. He would make vulgar remarks often. The Monday after Boogie Nights was on HBO that weekend, people were referring to him as Dirk Diggler. During that time this 40ish guy hooked up with a gal barely out of high school and got her pregnant. He got canned suddenly, I heard that he was hooking up with women on job trips using the company credit card or something like that.

A boss who respects other workers.

Agreed.

That's the kind of boss I have.

I don’t care how good they are at their job, I have had to deal with too many asshole bosses. The few nice ones mostly did a good job but at least they treated me with respect and even helped me. Not all assholes are good at their job, but what they all are good at is barking orders. I do my job and I bust my butt. I’m not asking for recognition but respect and a fair raise. Also, I feel like they come up with excuses to get on to us good workers about stuff. We have kiss ass managers and kiss employees. I refuse to be one of them. I actually feel bad for those managers that work hard and are good to their employees because those are the ones that get 💩 on by upper management. Rant over lol. But I prefer option 2.

I am so glad that I no longer have to deal with ANY boss-good, bad, male, female, it doesn't matter.


Cat

I've had bosses that were nice to me and were able to talk to me in a respectful manner instead of shouting a lot.

A nice person who is completely incompetent and is constantly screwing things up

In my work experience, that's a majority of the bosses I've had so it's really all I know and what I'm used to

I now work in a job where I have a boss who is nice and fair and wants to see me exceed not just because it's best for business, but because she cares about me as a person.  Ordinarily I would love a boss like that, but when you have a boss who is single and cute, you can't act on it because she's your boss.  Stupid office rules! lol

Being in academia most of my work life I never really had a "boss".  Before that one summer job boss was a real SOB, rode me ragged.  Turned out that my father, a foreman in another dept. told him to. Bummer

I now work in a job where I have a boss who is nice and fair and wants to see me exceed not just because it's best for business, but because she cares about me as a person.

I can totally relate! My current boss, who is also a woman, is easy to get along with, she is a caring person and cares about all the people who have worked for her.  One thing she and I have in common is the fact that we both love animals, especially dogs.

In my lifetime I have worked for both types. IMO there is nothing worse than working for an a-hole, don't care how good he/she is at their job.

Oh, I concur! I don't care if someone is good at their job, nothing is worse than a toxic workplace you dread going to. Nobody deserves to be treated like sh!t at work or to deal with venomous personalities. I've been through it for far too long. I have more patience for someone who makes mistakes than someone who is abusive.

I work at King Kullen and the manager of the store Mr. XXXXX is the kind of manager that can be two faced, one day he is angry about something and the next day he's fine, I've known him for a year and so far he's grown on me, I've hadn't had many problems with him just minimal ones but I'm a very hard work and work hard for my money.

I work at King Kullen and the manager of the store ########## is the kind of manager that can be two faced, one day he is angry about something and the next day he's fine, I've known him for a year and so far he's grown on me, I've hadn't had many problems with him just minimal ones but I'm a very hard work and work hard for my money.


Your boss sounds all right, what I call a "straight shooter".  I can't stand "two faced" bosses but I might be using that phrase differently than you (what I mean is those who smile at you to your face but talk badly about you to other people behind your back).  Just keep doing what you're doing - you'll be appreciated, as bosses these days seem to have a problem keeping good employees, at least in the near term.

I work at King Kullen and the manager of the store ######## is the kind of manager that can be two faced, one day he is angry about something and the next day he's fine, I've known him for a year and so far he's grown on me, I've hadn't had many problems with him just minimal ones but I'm a very hard work and work hard for my money.
I really think you should not name your manager here, even if he does not read it here, it is just protocol and netiquette.

I really think you should not name your manager here, even if he does not read it here, it is just protocol and netiquette.


O0 Good point, Philip!

I work at King Kullen and the manager of the store Mr. XXXXX is the kind of manager that can be two faced, one day he is angry about something and the next day he's fine, I've known him for a year and so far he's grown on me, I've hadn't had many problems with him just minimal ones but I'm a very hard work and work hard for my money.



I modified it for you-and I see you found the thread you were looking for.


Cat

Your boss sounds all right, what I call a "straight shooter".  I can't stand "two faced" bosses but I might be using that phrase differently than you (what I mean is those who smile at you to your face but talk badly about you to other people behind your back).  Just keep doing what you're doing - you'll be appreciated, as bosses these days seem to have a problem keeping good employees, at least in the near term.


I've gotten to like him over the past few months, since the other two cart attendants had left to pursue other commitments, he's been pretty much for me the person who he counts on during the morning shift right now. Have you worked with "pain the ass" bosses before?

I really think you should not name your manager here, even if he does not read it here, it is just protocol and netiquette.

Sorry, my mistake.

Sorry, my mistake.
You have to understand another factor to this. When companies are seeking new employment, when CVs and resume arrive, along with the application forms, the human resource department of the company do run an online search on the applicant, to see if suitable etc, looking on Facebook and other social media sites. So telling exactly who you are here and your employment details is not the right thing to do.

The none existent one.  In my youth I've had some rotten bosses, but in my professional life I really had no bosses, as in watching over my every move.  And now in retirement, well, only Cat, who is quite the task master (not really)

The none existent one.  In my youth I've had some rotten bosses, but in my professional life I really had no bosses, as in watching over my every move.  And now in retirement, well, only Cat, who is quite the task master (not really)


;D ;D ;D  Well, I do give you plenty of time to do certain tasks. Some things need to be done by...


Cat

I picked the first option...


I guess ya have to be careful not to make him mad :)