Tuesday, April 24, 2007

BAD BOSS FROM HELL


Have you seen the film " THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA"? This is one of 2006 most talked about movies ( based on Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same header) that featured Meryl Streep as a savage psychopath who takes great pleasure in terrorizing her staff with steady streams of insults and sadistic head games that would make Manny Pacquiao shrink in pain and distress. Aside from Streep's superlative potrayal of the role, one of the reasons why this Academy Award-nominated comedy-drama film was so successful at the box office was just everyone can relate to having a BOSS FROM HELL.

So what do you do if you are in such situation and the DEVIL wears your BOSS who unreasonably does things such as yells and screams at you, forces you to work overtime, insults and humiliates you personally and infront of others, repeatedly make changes and blames you when things went wrong, brags with her hoaxed credentials, name callings and more? According to Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute, USA, an abusive boss is more likely to be woman than man. That is right, babae po! Woman bosses are more abusive than their counterpart.

It is said that a worker's relationship with the boss is almost equal to the relationship with his spouse when it comes to the impact on his well being. Medical research found that workers who felt that their boss treated them fairly were 30% less likely to die from coronary heart disease than those who didn't. Aside from the health consequences of having a bad boss, there is the practical issue of the effect that the abusive superior have on one's job prospects.

I have worked with people who suffered years of abuse at the hands of a BAD BOSS and their entire lives are messed up! They can't sleep, can't work effectively, their relationships are damaged and they feel terribly about themselves, after hearing how incompetent they are everyday and getting yelled at and humiliated they are really in bad shape! A lot of them have serious health problems affecting their work and morale. Yung iba namatay pa nga. . .

Abusive Boss tends not to target one person even if it feels like tha attacks are personal. Usually, target of abusive bosses tend to be HIGH ACHIEVERS, PERFECTIONISTS, WORKAHOLICS. Oftenly bully bosses try to mask their own insecurities and mistakes by striking out ( nagtatago sila sa ulap ng kanilang kasalanan at kahinaan)! Bad bosses come in many flavors and that employees should explore the nature of abuses that may be occuring. If your boss insults you and puts you down, try to reason out professionally and express your rights. Calling you "BULLSHIT" , "MORON" , or an "IDIOT" would never solve the problem. If your boss is bad-mouthing you , you can confront her directly and if she's defaming you, aba bawal yun! Taunting and insulting your face in a private office at work, your feeling severely hurt and may become ill as a result - - - (if the symptoms persist ika nga) consult a doctor and a lawyer as well (ha!ha!ha!) That's the best you can do if the tounge-slashing is too much and turned out to be inapproppriate, unjustified and unbearable. Documenting your boss' bad behavior is important. Your written records can testify how severe the situation is. Just incase you decide to take legal actions down the line, you may need these information. It is best to record all the rotten things your boss did to you as soon as possible so they are fresh in your mind. Dont miss the idea of taking the bull by the horns. Mas madali daw disiplinahin ang nagwawalang toro kung sa sungay mo susunggaban! Ha!ha!ha!ha!
No one is perfect. Not even bosses. But if your boss is abusing you, malaking problema yan! This problem takes on greater urgency. If the abuse starts to make you feel bad and the bullying has had prolonged impact on your health or your life outside of your work aba'y mag-isip-isip ka na! It's time to get out, lalo na when you feel that your confidence or your usual exemplary performance has been undermined! In general you really feel deteriorated with you bad boss. But if quitting cant be you option to address this problem, hanggang kailang mo kaya kakayanin ang masamang ugali ng amo mo and get abused forever? I understand older workers can't just simply walk away from their job they really hate. It is culturally accepted reason sa Pinas lalo na sa mga datihan at matagal ng empleyado. They are trapped by tuition fees, bayad sa renta ng bahay, kuryente, tubig at telepono and other everyday expenses that keep them working with their bad bosses. Idagdag mo pa yung hirap ng paghahanap ng trabaho lalo na kung datan ka na! They may reason out that finding a new job may be harder than it would be for someone younger, in this case they may be right, but they can still protect themselves. Maraming trabaho po diyan! Maniwala ka at tulungan mo ang sarili mo dahil mas marami ka pang magagawang mas maganda sa buhay mo than to stay and serve an evil employer! As I have said, target of bad bosses tend to be those EXCELLENT, EFFICIENT & EFFECTIVE workers of the company and YOU are one!
CONTROL YOUR DESTINY ( manalig ka at maniwala sa kakayanan mo!) You may want to consider leaving the job off your resume all together. Even after you leave your nightmare boss you still have to explain why you left to potential new employer, One way to gracefully side step the issue is to say: MY BOSS AND I HAD A LONG STANDING DISAGREEMENT OVER THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF GETTING THINGS DONE ( anyways they wil never know naman kung gaano talaga kawanghiya ang boss mo, unless you tell them so!) The most important thing to remember with abusive boss is not to take the insults to heart ( naku mahirap atang gawin ito a?) but to make it as challenge to become a better person and prove your worth. Get out and move on. This is the most professional way to resolve it.

Employees leave their bosses not the company. If the abuses are too much -- you may want to head out of the door, change yourself, and throw away (worthless) things in your life. Huwag mong hayaang insultuhin ka ng amo mo habang buhay ( ano na lang ang sasabihin ng asawa mo at mga anak mo sa yo? Maipagmamalaki ka pa kaya nila?) You can be a better person inspite of all the miseries your bad boss had done to you. Just convert these rotten things into source of inspirations, learning and enjoyment! Just hope that your next boss would not be just as bad or worse! If that would be the case --- work on your own and be the KING of yourself!



If you are a BAD BOSS FROM HELL let this serve as a wake up call.

" I urge then, first of all , that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving He made for everyone - for KINGS and all those in AUTHORITY, that we may live peacefully and quiet lives in all GODLINESS and HOLINESS."
( I Timothy 2:-1-2)

Stronger Than Impressions