There are demanding bosses and then there are unreasonable jerks. Unfortunately, Redditt user u/SignSavings9270 has had to work for the latter.
Recently, they shared a particularly bitter experience on the subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance. A decade ago, when they were a technical writer for the government, their superior asked for a printed version of the entire employee handbook.
Then, the lady wasn’t satisfied with the fact that some sources were only referenced as URLs and demanded the actual websites be printed out too. u/SignSavings9270 obliged and brought 30,000 pages to her office.
This post may include affiliate links.
This boss wanted the entire employee handbook printed, including the websites that were linked in it
Image credits: Mahrous Houses (not the actual photo)
And got exactly what she asked for — in 30,000 pages
Image credits: Iakobchuk (not the actual photo)
Image credits: seventyfourimages (not the actual photo)
Image credits: SignSavings9270
There are various reasons why people become such lousy managers
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
An overly demanding boss sucks because they don’t empathize or understand what’s required for you to deliver results, and will keep pushing you until you take action, said Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant; How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.
“Demanding bosses give you unreasonable deadlines, are not in tune with the hours it takes to meet objectives, won’t take the time to find out in advance what’s reasonable, can display little interest in your well-being, have trouble prioritizing, and give you little recognition when you do complete Herculean tasks,” she said. “They may not take the time to see if you have the tools or information you need to accomplish your assignments, and can make themselves unapproachable so that your only option seems to be: just do it.”
Why do our superiors act this way? Usually, because of the desire to control everything, fear for his or her own job status, a yearning for perfection, or a sense of entitlement, Taylor explained.
“Whatever the root cause, these types of bosses are often like unruly toddlers who act as if the world really does revolve around them. Asking nicely doesn’t always occur to these bosses, and so the onus is on you to break your silence and be the voice of reason.”
And sadly, they’re abundant
Image credits: Elisa Ventur (not the actual photo)
A Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey affirms the age-old saying that employees leave managers, not companies.
Researchers examined American workers’ perspectives on how ill—or well-equipped—their supervisor(s) were to manage people, the most important skills managers should develop, and how leaders could improve their own performance.
According to the findings:
- 84 percent of American workers say poorly trained managers create a lot of unnecessary work and stress;
- 57 percent say managers in their workplace could benefit from training on how to be a better people manager;
- 50 percent feel their own performance would improve if their direct supervisor received additional training in people management;
- The top five skills managers could improve, according to American workers, were: communicating effectively (41 percent), developing and training the team (38 percent), managing time and delegating (37 percent), cultivating a positive and inclusive team culture (35 percent), and managing team performance (35 percent).
A lot of which u/SignSavings9270’s boss lacked!
As the story went viral, its author answered the questions that arose in the discussion
It really resonated with people, and many suggested alternative actions the original poster could’ve taken
Some also shared their own similar stories
