At some point in your career, you’re highly likely to run into a difficult boss, toxic co-workers, or an unpleasant work culture.
Whatever the problem, the ultimate solution is generally the same: Step back, remove your emotions from the equation, and try to figure out what you can and can’t change. Decide what you’re willing to live with, and where your bottom line falls.
Over at U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about how to do this. Please check it out here.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been dealing with a very insecure and hostile boss for a number of years now, and I have tried every trick in the book. I like my job, but I can’t do it as well as I’d like because of the push-back from my boss. I’ve gone to HR, employee counseling, development sessions, and come to the conclusion that if your boss is actually terrible and has been that way for more than a decade, nothing will change. The organization has resigned itself to losing good, new employees. And in this economy, the only thing you can do is remind yourself you’re employed. I feel a little better in my job now that I know no one will do anything to intercede on my behalf. At first I thought there would be a remedy, but now I’ve lost the will to fight. Maybe that’s what they’re going for in the first place?
im going throught the same thing…its a struggle everyday to get up every morning to go to this horrid place..
I’m the OP from the “When you work for jackasses” post (http://www.askamanager.org/2011/04/when-you-work-for-jackasses.html)
These tips are just what I needed to read today… when you work for jackasses, these 3 tips really put it into perspective!
“Doing what you love means dealing with things you don’t. If there was nothing to overcome, it might not be that .” Quote from a patient on House
So glad I don’t hate my job
“Hating your job” and having a boss who has bad work habits is a different thing. I love what I do, but other elements make it hard to do my job well (and for me to be treated like a human being).
I’m exactly in this situation — I started a new job a some months ago and realized after a few weeks that I was in a toxic workplace with a severely dysfunctional office culture that wasn’t bound to change anytime soon. Much of the dysfunction starts with management.
I’ve weighed the positives of this job as well as the negatives and am trying to determine my personal bottom line and deciding what aspects of this dysfunctional situation I can live with and accept and what will be deal-breakers which will motivate me to search for a new job. I must admit that when things get pretty bad, I constantly find myself scanning the job ads.
My main problem when I start interviewing for a new job will be answering the question: why am I looking for a new job so soon after just landing this one? How to avoid bad mouthing my current employer and being less than candid about my real reasons for leaving.
I’ve read Ask a Manager’s ebook and she advises not to be completely candid about toxic work cultures and problems with dysfunctional management on interviews because being honest in this case might reflect badly on me at the interview stage. So I have to find some other way to answer the “why am I looking for a new job” question.
To Anon…. answering why you are looking for another job so soon? Leave it off your resume if yuo have only been there for 2 months or so (esp if you were unemployed before)
I am suffering with the same horrible boss. The problem is, the culture is as bad as the boss. And, everything is one-sided. The worst part is, she dictates everything and she is also the boss of HR. To whom do you complain then? Well, what is our resignation/fire turnover? Imagine a once a month lay off because you go against her. There are no decision makings. She is the only decision maker, whether right or wrong. The CEO doesn’t even listen to his staffs, he only listen to this boss of ours, who he said is the only person who trusts in the office. Dysfunctional management, toxic culture, difficult boss, one man band (knows-it-all boss). The worst part is no vendors want to do business with us because of this. My boss wants to win everything. She does not believe in a win-win business. She pretends to know everything that even the simplest shipment terms is unknown to her. How can I escape from here when I am in dire need of the money (salary) I am receiving?
Start looking very aggressively! And in the meantime, this might help:
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2010/09/27/frustrated-with-your-job-know-your-bottom-line
I can certainly relate to “hating” the boss and for the people who do not understand let me help you. It’s a big difference between hating your boss verses hating your job. I’ve been in my career for 18 yrs and I absolutely love it beyond a shadow of doubt. However, the small company I’m employed by just hired someone under the age of 30 to be GM and he is an obnoxious, rude little idiot. Age is just a number but in this case his age shows just how immature he is for the position. Wanted to clarify, just because someone hates the boss doesn’t mean they hate the job, totally two separate things! The ultimate question is, will the horrible boss make the person hate going to work because they will have no choice but to endure the idiot boss