Even if you love what you do, working under a boss you don’t like can make your professional life miserable.
It can become a task to get up from your bed every day and motivate yourself to go to work.
The thought of facing your senior every day fills your mind with negativity but you also know that putting down your papers is not an option. Sounds familiar, eh?
To help you end this dilemma, here’s how you can deal with your annoying boss and can preserve your sanity during office hours…
1. Be in your boss’ shoes
Before you start hating the idea of even sitting next to your manager, try to think about the work from his or her perspective. Try to be in their shoes and analyse what all it takes to run a day smoothly at work place. How are they being treated by their seniors, their work burden and the responsibilities of handling a team. Being a little empathetic towards them will make you understand the important role that a boss plays and this might relieve you from some unnecessary stress.
2. Are you giving your best?
This is another question you need to ask yourself before nurturing hatred for your senior. Are you being a good employee? Are you giving your best shot before expecting your senior to treat you the way you want? Well, there could be a chance that you are doing something wrong, and making some small adjustment can improve the situation. There could be a problem in your professional conduct, work performance or something you might not have realised yet. If you are the only one in your entire time who shares a strained relationship with the manager, you can take your feedback from your colleagues and analyse if you are at fault.
3. Try talking it out formally
Sometimes, an honest conversation with your senior can sort out the differences and help in making a fresh start. In the presence of other seniors (and a HR, if required), have a meeting with your manager and try to look for solutions together for all the issues that have been bothering you. Stay polite and back up all your grievances with proofs and by recalling the incidents where you felt being unprofessionally treated.
4. Document everything
If you are sure that your manager troubles you intentionally, and there is no way to mend things, it is the time to play smart. Start documenting everything and communicating over official emails. Ask him or her to write an email for all the work that is being assigned to you, and you can always reply over an email when you feel overburdened with work. There would always be a proof of the work you are doing and it would also help to cut out unnecessary communication between you both.
5. Think before you speak
There are times when people intentionally provoke you so that you speak up something out of sheer frustration. Later, they use that same incident to point a finger at your conduct and try to pull you down. Don’t fall prey to such traps and always think twice before you speak. Also, since you do not share a healthy relationship with your senior, talk about only work-related stuff and do not comment on anything related to other employees in front of them. You never know how they twist the conversation and use it against you.
6. Look for other options
If possible, you can try changing your team or look for a change of role within your organisation. Also, it is a good idea to keep looking for new job opportunities. You might find one with a better package and a professional boss. That would be a real bonus, isn’t it?
Remember this!
Remember that nobody has a perfect professional life and there are always good and bad days at work. Sometimes, you need to take things with a pinch of salt and learn to ignore. But also, it is really important to know when or how to raise your voice. At no point you should compromise on your self-respect, or let work pressure take a toll on your health. We all work to live a comfortable life, and not to ruin the peace of our mind, right?
