How to Work for a Difficult Boss

     One reality of life is you cannot simply have everything you want.  Sometimes, if you have a good job, you’ll find yourself dealing with a difficult boss or in worst case with upper management.  But before you decide to pack your things and quit that job, think again.  Times are hard now.  Economic data is showing an increasing number of unemployment rates worldwide.  Don’t be a part of the statistics and include yourself in the number.  First, try to figure out a solution to the problem. I don’t recommend rebelling against your boss simply because it will bring you nowhere.  If you do that, the worst thing that could happen to you is you might end up loosing your job altogether.

     Here are just some tips that you could do in order to defuse that tension between you and your boss.

          1.  You must talk to yourself and admit that you need your job.  That’s a reality check that you have to do.  Halfway around the globe, people are literally starving for the simple reason that they don’t have a job.  You’ve got one.  You just need to learn how to keep it.

           2.  You have to look at your boss in the capacity of: as a person.  And just like you, your boss is being paid to do a job.  He/She had been hired by your company with certain responsibilities and part of that responsibility is managing you.

          3.  In order to protect yourself from trouble always strive your very best to show an excellent work performance that is beyond your normal job description.  Why?  It will give you an open door that when you wish to express your opinion, they will have an open mind to hear and consider your suggestions.

          4.  Don’t close your ears whenever your boss is giving you instructions.  Sometimes, our natural instinct is to shut our mind to a person we dislike.  But you have to keep in mind that he/she is the boss.  It’s very important that you listen to what your boss is saying.

          5.  Always keep a small notebook with you.  It is there that you will log your boss’s instruction and make a list of things to do.  Sometimes, I know it’s too many but if you log all of it and do it one at a time, you’ll find your boss noticing your efforts.

          6.  Don’t make a fuss and complain to your boss that you can’t do it.  If you don’t know how to do it, ask someone’s help and learn to do it in the shortest possible time.  It won’t hurt you if you ask for help. Try to research on it, so that you’ll know more on how to accomplish the task given to you.

          7.  Submit a daily activity report of your work accomplishment.  Give a copy to your immediate superior and keep a copy for your own file.  That way you can keep track of all that had been done in your work area.

           8.  And finally, if you have a disagreement with your boss, don’t make it personal.  Always maintain an open communication with your boss.  Remember, he/she is also a person like you who has feelings, emotions and thoughts.  Learn to respect them.

     If you succeed in working well with your boss, I assure you, your relationship with them will even cross to a personal level of friendship that will last for life.  So, if you find yourself dealing with a difficult boss and you wish to quit your job?  Think again!