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Promotions
Can you handle a bad boss?
bad bossIn a perfect world, your boss would be a combination of friend, mentor and advocate. In the real world, however, some bosses are a total nightmare.

Don't let a boss with poor management skills adversely affect your job. Find out if you know the best way to handle a bad boss so that your career doesn't suffer.
 

send this quiz to a friendsee all quizzes
 
 
1. Your boss is constantly taking credit for your work. She let everyone in the last big department meeting think that your new initiative was her doing. Afterwards, you:
  Decided that, in the future, any ideas you have, you'll present to others formally so that you get the credit you deserve
  Made a beeline for your boss's office and let her know that you'd appreciate her mentioning your input next time
  Talked to her boss and casually mentioned that it was your idea in the first place
 
2. Just the other day, your boss began shouting at you for a minor incident that was not your fault. She always overreacts, however insignificant the issue. To deal with it, you:
  Excuse yourself for a walk around the block or a few minutes in the bathroom – it allows you to calm down so you can rise above the situation
  Wait a few minutes, knock on her door and ask to talk about her style of communication
  Stand up to her and give her a taste of her own medicine – she screams at you, you scream right back
 
3. The other day your boss told you that she'd need you to stay late every night for the next month. That doesn't work (you've got a life!), but you don't want to look undedicated. You:
  Accommodate her this one time by booking extra hours with the sitter and dog walker, but vow that it will be the last time
  Write your boss a long letter, explaining your various time conflicts and responsibilities that would keep you from being able to work late
  Chat with your boss about your schedule, saying that you can only stay late a few days a week and letting her know which days those are
 
4. You’re enraged. Your boss just asked you (not for the first time) to pick up her laundry and shop for a birthday present for her child. This isn't your job! You:
  Tell her that you can't – you are too busy working to meet a deadline and, besides, you don't think it's in your job description
  Go along with the request – the time out of the office will do you good, and maybe you'll even expense lunch
  Simply but politely say, ‘I'm sorry, I can't,’ without explanation – it doesn't even warrant one
 
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