Enjoy, Thrive At Work Despite a Bad Boss

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 2 million people quit their job every month in 2013. A 2013 Gallup Poll shows that much of the discontent at work that could lead to job flight has to do with negative behavior by an employee’s immediate boss. Instead of feeling pressured to seek new employment in a tight job market, workers can often times learn to thrive in their current job despite a bad boss.

You can’t change a bad boss. You can complain to friends, relatives and co-workers all you want but that doesn’t change a thing. Instead, shift your focus from what you can’t change to what you can change.

Depending on the boss type, each bad boss has a typical set of fears and desires. A finger pointing boss always wants to be successful, for example, but he has a tremendous fear of failing. So instead of accepting responsibility for things that go wrong, he wants to push the blame onto others—usually you.

Working in that type of environment is difficult, but with the right strategy, you can come out ahead. With a finger pointing boss, become his or her go-to person with solutions to problems. That way, when a mistake occurs, you’ll be the one who can provide fixes. He’ll come to rely on you and in return, you’ll have much more power around the office. That’s a position that can pay dividends when it’s time for a raise, promotion or when seeking other employment.

Stop looking at a bad boss as some monolithic horror who is keeping you in misery, and instead, begin looking at your boss as a person with fears and desires that you can manage to your advantage.

This shift in focus takes time and patience but it can pay dividends. Switching from being depressed and miserable because of a bad boss to figuring out how to work your boss for your own benefit is well worth the effort. It’s a challenge and won’t be easy, but you’ll feel much better about yourself and actually enjoy going to work each day