I was reading some articles and wow, just wow, they hit hard. I’ve almost never not had toxic bosses, except one who I absolutely adored (but he lost his own job, not being willing to suck up appropriately), and yet lately I haven’t realized how bad my current situation has been!:-(
A not comprehensive listing could include:
- one who yells at people, both to their face and all the more so behind their backs, especially their own bosses
- highlights your weaknesses but ignores your strengths and also their own mistakes
- fails to tell you what they expect from you or give you the info you need to do the job yet expects you to magically fulfill their desires regardless
- is unrealistic, probably also disregarding work+life balance
- uses micromanagement or a culture of fear/intimidation; all communication with others must go to through them, possibly not even letting you listen in on the sidelines
- will not accept feedback or criticism
- takes credit for people’s work, especially when they don’t even understand what it is
- says hurtful/rude things, manipulative like the rules keep changing and you have no idea whatever is going on, basically lacks empathy
- plays favorites for people who suck up rather than actually are good at their tasks
Probably you can add to this list - these are just the ones my current boss does alone, but surely there are more?
How do you survive it? Personally I’ve been trying to bide my time to heal from emotional scars, so just doing whatever I can to get through each day/week.
I have had 2 toxic ones and am currently with a great one. The amount of stress that I lost when I found my current gig lowered my blood pressure by 20 points… Don’t stick sround for that shit. Get your resume together and find somewhere else. It is not worth your health.
So much this. I’ve had some toxic bosses over the years and they are absolutely NOT worth your time or energy. Life is entirely too short for that nonsense. Work for people who make you look forward to and excited about your craft, whatever that is.
I left a toxic boss about 1.5-2 years ago. I was using a home BP cuff to record my BP and such on doc’s orders, both before and after a #FuckItImOut day.
Showing my now former peers the difference in test results and how immediately and starkly it changed, that was really great.