WHO`S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOSS?

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Boss?

Bosses from hell come in all shapes and sizes. From the Ricky Gervais model that needs to bolster their self esteem, to the little-Hitler that loves to wield power for the hell of it they share a common facet. They make themselves big by making others feel small.

And they’re everywhere, according to Harvey Hornstein, author of Brutal Bosses and Their Prey: How to Identify and Overcome Abuse in the Workplace. “All industries are equally represented,” concluded Hornstein after a survey of 1000 workers.

Check Hornstein’s list of types below to see where your boss fits in:

Conquerors: The equivalent of the playground bully, this boss is obsessed with power. They’ll put you on permanent tea-making duty and pour the stuff into the plant pot in front of your eyes.
Performers: This boss feels threatened very easily and will attack anyone who seems to be competitive. Don’t have a bright idea in front of this one.
Manipulators: Wants to appear to be top dog at all costs. If a pet project of theirs is going awry expect them to palm it off on you and dress it up as an ‘opportunity’.
Dehumanisers: People are just numbers to these robots. They’ll see you as a company asset and boy will they try and sweat you. Don’t expect tea and sympathy if you have a problem on the home front: just make sure you turn up on time.
Blamers: This sort is righteous about wrongness and loves to dish out the blame. When they reprimand you, they’ll remind you that you deserved what happened to you.
Rationalisers: Their mantra is ‘the company comes first’. They justify their criticisms with the belief that it needed to be said.
It’s fun to compare notes on where your boss fits into the spectrum of badness. But research compiled by the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology suggests that somewhere between one third and one half of all stress related illness is directly attributable to bullying at the workplace.

Beat the bad boss
If you’ve got a seriously bad boss, take heart because there are actions you can take to reduce their power. One is a technique taken from the acting world and can increase your status, or confidence, and reduce the probability of your being treated like a doormat.

Status games
Imagine your status or behaviour on a scale of one to ten where ten is a dictator and one is a mouse. Individuals display different ‘strengths’ of behaviour and confidence according to whom they are talking. If you’re very intimidated and your boss is a despot, you may be a one or a two and they’ll be a towering ten.

If you narrow the gap between your statuses a few notches you’ll reduce the likelihood of being treated badly, advises Robin Chandler, founder of coaching company, the Impact Factory. You can have fun with this and try it out on your mates in the pub before you unleash yourself in the world of work.

Take your space
The idea is not to take on a bully or to match them in status, otherwise there will be a fight, warns Chandler. Physically walking taller, speaking louder and making eye contact will make a huge difference to your presence.

So take your space and your boss may just have to shift over a little bit.
8)