April is Stress Awareness Month: How to Reduce Work Stress Despite a Bad Boss

April is Stress Awareness Month. Seventy-five percent of working adults say the most stressful aspect of their job is their immediate boss according to Hogan Assessment Systems. Many of those bosses are bad bosses. It is important for workers to find ways to reduce work stress despite having a terrible boss because the stress can literally kill you, says Dr. Noelle Nelson, author of Got a Bad Boss? Work that Boss to Get What You Want at Work (Amazon eBook, $7.99). One study found that people who have stressful jobs and little freedom to make decisions are 23 percent more likely to experience a heart attack

            Nelson offers these suggestions to help reduce the stress level when working with different types of bad bosses.

            “If your boss is always blaming others (usually you), it is because he has a desperate need to always appear successful. If there is a mistake, taking the blame doesn’t fit into his game plan, so no matter the mess up, he blames others,” Nelson explains.

            “Be the one who helps this finger-pointer boss succeed by taking the responsibility to fix--one way or another—whatever problems arise,” explains Nelson. “He’ll stop pointing the finger at you, and start bringing you into the loop. Eventually, this will allow you to avert disasters rather than just do damage control. As he discovers he can trust you to fix problems, you become valuable to him--and to the company. Now you’re working toward your success.”

            For incompetent bosses, the stress-reducing fix is a little tougher. “These types of bosses are under the delusion that they are competent, but deep down they fear they’ll be revealed as the lazy and irresponsible individuals that they are,” says Nelson. “Your goal should be to make her look competent. Prioritize your workload with your boss so you are both clear on what you’ll tackle first. Clarify what your boss’s expectations are for each new task. Check in with your incompetent boss often so you can actually do your work with minimal waste of time, energy and resources. Whether your boss moves on or not, you will have created enough of a personal track record to move you to the next position you covet.

            “Avoiding a bad boss, fighting with the boss or badmouthing the boss to anyone who will listen won’t reduce your long-term stress. It’s momentary relief at best and harmful to your career at worst,” says Nelson. “Instead, become your boss’s ally. Find a way to work with your bad boss so he gets what he wants so you can get what you want. As distasteful as this sounds, it’s really the only way to get the success you deserve without a lot of stress.”

            For tips on working with specific bad boss types, go to http://www.noellenelson.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GotABadBoss or at https://twitter.com/GotABadBoss.

Boss’s Day: October 16—What’s to Celebrate if You Have a Bad Boss?

National Boss Day is October 16. It may be a great opportunity to show your appreciation to a good boss, but what if you have a bad boss? Use the day as a starting point to turn the tables on a bad boss to get what you want at work.

Most bad bosses are so worried about their own job security that they’re not spending a lot of time fretting about you or your career goals. Bad bosses only care about themselves.

There are numerous down sides to working for a bad boss. It can affect your health, family life and, of course, your career. While you are working for a bad boss, no one is helping you develop your skills and talents. No one is supporting your growth and development. If you don’t take the initiative, you’ll continue to be miserable at work and be stuck in a dead-end job.

The best way to change the worker-boss dynamic may seem counter intuitive. Find out what drives your bad boss, his secret fears and desires. Once you know what motivates his actions, you’ll understand how to respond effectively to your boss’s innermost desires. You engage in his success for your success. By doing so, you become valuable to your horrible boss, an ally--and now you have power.

Whether you have a boss that is egomaniacal, someone who is always blaming others or a boss who plays favorites, whatever type of bad boss, they all have underlying fears that make them act the way they do. When you figure out a way to work with your boss’s fears, rather than run away from or confront them, you become golden. You can ask for--and receive--the perks, promotions and bonuses that have eluded you thus far.