How To Deal With a Bad Boss That Is Making Your Life Miserable

You can't choose your boss, but you can choose how you react to a bad one.

It can happen to anyone: you start a new job only to quickly discover that your boss is not the great supervisor you were hoping they would be. Unfortunately, the business world has no shortage of bad bosses whose attitudes and behaviors often cause misery for those they supervise.

What can you do when you're confronted with a bad supervisor?
Do you know how to deal with a bad boss in a way that can improve your work situation?

In this guide, we'll explore some of the ways you can identify a bad boss and offer some invaluable tips to help you learn how to deal with that situation.

What are some of the signs that you might be working for a bad boss?

One of the most important things you can do to learn how to deal with a mean boss, a crazy boss, or just a generally bad supervisor is to learn how to quickly identify them. Fortunately, there are some clear signs that can help you identify problematic supervisors before you end up dealing with a serious workplace situation. Here are some of the most common signs that you can look for:

Your boss is a micromanager who spends most of the day looking over your shoulder and directing every little thing tht you do. This can be a sign of insecurity, control issues, or a serious lack of trust – any of which can contribute to a truly toxic workplace environment.
Your supervisor takes credit for the team's achievements. Great bosses know the importance of crediting their team members to create better team morale and cohesion. If your boss is grabbing all the credit for themselves, there's a problem.
Some team members seem to get preferential treatment. Supervisors who play favorites in the workplace are almost always bad bosses and can seriously harm a team's ability to work in an effective and productive manner.
Bosses who are quick to get angry or frustrated also tend to qualify as bad bosses. These supervisors often react poorly to questions, feedback, or even suggestions from their team.
Your supervisor frequently violates your personal time to use your talents outside of your normal work hours. Good supervisors know better than to break those work-life boundaries.
The boss is constantly negative. Good managers and leaders understand the importance of focusing on positive efforts and results. Bad bosses often emphasize the negative while ignoring the positive. If your supervisor rarely praises results but is quick to criticize shortcomings, they're probably a bad boss.

Related reading: All Work and No Play Makes Life Dull

How to deal with a bad boss: key tips and strategies

Regardless of why your boss might be less than ideal, you need to determine the best way to deal with them, especially if leaving your current position isn't an option – which it often isn't. Below are some tips on how to deal with a bad supervisor, evaluate your situation, and get the support you need to be productive while maintaining your sanity and mental health.

Begin with an honest assessment of the situation

The first thing you should do is take an honest look at yourself to determine whether you're contributing to the problem. Are there things you can work on that might help improve the relationship with your boss? For example, perhaps you could be more efficient, more adept at meeting deadlines, and so on. If you're not meeting your potential at work, chances are that you know it. However, if you're doing everything you can, then chances are the problem doesn't lie with you.

Understand your supervisor's issues and communication style

The more skilled you are in emotional intelligence and how to get along with others, the better positioned you'll be to deal with tough situations like a difficult boss. Take note of how your boss works, identify their pet peeves and management style, and try to meet them on their side of the fence when it comes to work and communication style. Doing so could make your life a lot easier.

Create a written record

If your boss is always criticizing what you have or haven't done or complains you're not meeting deadlines, be sure to keep a detailed written record of all of your work. You might also consider scheduling a daily meetup for five minutes or so to discuss what you've accomplished and to ensure you understand your manager's priorities for the day. This can help keep you both accountable and could even help keep your boss in check. Just be sure to document everything in case you need that evidence later.

Don't waste your energy on thinking about your bad boss

If you find that you're often upset or thinking about your boss, consider paying yourself a dollar each time you do it and save the money for a rainy day. This trick will help you become aware of how much time you're wasting thinking about your bad boss – time you could be using for more productive and enjoyable endeavors! It will also allow you to learn how to shift your thoughts every time you think of that bad supervisor so those bad work situations don't consume you.

Know you did nothing wrong

At the end of the day, some relationships simply don't work. It takes two to tango and only one to back out of the dance for the dance to fail. Do the best you can and focus on your work until a better scenario comes along. Just make sure you don't fall into the trap of blaming yourself for someone else's bad attitude and behavior.

Take the high road

Force yourself to act like an adult, even if your boss doesn't. Do not badmouth them or engage in workplace gossip. The reality is those things won't help the situation. If you find you do need to speak to someone within the company because your work is suffering as a result of your supervisor's behavior, do so professionally and discreetly.

Speak to someone in Human Resources

There are times when you definitely want to discuss the situation with others in the company. This is especially true if the behavior of your manager borders on harassment or makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. In those situations, you should always speak to your boss' supervisor or someone in human resources. HR might even be able to advise you on how to deal with your bad boss to improve the situation.

Speak to someone higher up in the organization who can help

You'll need to use good judgment as to when to take this approach and decide whether it might backfire on you. If you choose this approach, it's best to start by saying, "I'm having a difficult time dealing with X and am looking for some guidance or suggestions as to how to improve the situation," instead of pointing the finger and blaming them. Saying, "My manager is wrong and difficult and making my life miserable," probably won't get the results you're seeking.

Refer to a career or personal coach or your mentor

It can also be helpful to speak with a career coach or mentor. They'll not only let you vent but may be able to offer advice and guidance on how to deal with a bad boss. Mentors and other experts have typically experienced bad bosses from time to time and will often have invaluable lessons they learned from those situations. You can conduct an online search for career coaches to find someone local, as well as coaches who conduct sessions via phone or online.

How to deal with a bad boss: see the situation as a learning opportunity

It's also important to consider the fact that learning how to deal with a bad boss can be a learning experience. Nobody ever takes a job knowing that they'll be working for a bad boss, of course – but learning from that experience can help you throughout the rest of your career. You'll learn how to deal with similar situations in the future and may also learn how to avoid being a bad boss if you ever aspire to a position in management or leadership.

Do you already know how to deal with a bad boss but still have no choice other than to look for a new job? Make sure your resume is ready for that job search by getting a free resume review.

This article was originally written by Ronda Suder. It has been updated by Ken Chase.