Metroholica

So you hate going to work. You dread hearing the alarm clock going off. It's not the work itself you hate, it is your boss who is intolerable. You want to quit! You are not putting up with this anymore! You've had it! So many of us can relate to this. We've had a bad boss. And what stops us from quitting? A lot is at stake. It's not just your job, it will affect your family as well. AND the bad boss situation affects them now as well. You come home irritated, frustrated, impatient. Your family and friends have to listen to you venting. You might have been doing this for weeks, maybe months. Some people will commiserate with you, and share their stories. So together you manage to be even more angry and miserable. How much longer can you do this, before your health and relationships start getting affected negatively?

Followings are the tips to handle your boss  

• Do act professionally in all situations, choose the right time to talk and never approach them in the middle of a meeting or when you see him in the hallway. Make sure you're in a quiet, undisturbed place so that you have their complete attention, and you are calm and collected.
• Make sure you are doing everything right
  the first solution is an honest analysis of your actions and behavior. How have you been handling yourself in your job? Have you always taken the high road, or have you resorted to occasional backstabbing, gossiping, or underperforming? If you're human, it's likely your bad boss has affected your performance, so try ignoring all these distractions and focus on your work to see if that changes anything. Find other sources of positive reinforcement for doing your job to the best of your abilities.
• If anything changes, be the first one to tell him. Reality is that "do-do occurs." Things are not going to go according to plan. Sometimes, for reasons you can't control, you are going to be late or miss your budget. It's inevitable. Your only salvation is to beat a path to your boss's office and tell him first
• Talk to this boss. Tell him what you need from him in term of direction, feedback and support. Be polite and focus on your needs. Telling the boss he's a bad boss is counterproductive and won't help you meet your goals.
• Don't reduce your productivity, feign illness, or otherwise compromise your job, ask the manager how you can help him reach his goals. Make sure you listen well and provide the needed assistance.
• Try to show how his or her actions reduce motivation, hurt business, or increase expenses.If you can, explain the changes that would make working conditions better, and make for a happier atmosphere. Suggesting specific alternatives makes it easier to make positive changes. Agree to follow up at a later date, to evaluate the new situation.
• Praise your boss when they get it right. Many managers never receive praise because somehow, it is mistakenly believed that praise should only flow from managers to employees. You may be nervous about approaching your manager to offer advice, but good managers are truly grateful for constructive, useful feedback, and will appreciate any opportunity they get to learn how to do a better job. Still, this article is about "bad" bosses - but when you have the chance to give them a good word, take it.
• Do consider scheduling a meeting with your boss to discuss ways your boss could change his/her behavior.
• Don't become the victim indefinitely. If you have truly tried to make it work between you and your boss, but they did not accept or appreciate your attempts, escalate your complaint to higher management. If that complaint falls on deaf ears (or if there's no higher authority to appeal to) it's time to move on! Try to get an interview for another position within the company (with someone you know to be a great boss), or in another organization.
• Don't expect your boss to change -- or at least change overnight.
• Be Aware of Internet Information about You: Employers search the Web to get information about their employees. Anything you post to a Web site, a Blog or an online Forum may be seen by your employer. And anything anyone else posts about you, including the media, may also be seen. Know what's out there. Do an "ego search" (enter your name in a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo) regularly. If you're involved in anything you wouldn't want your employer to know about, don't discuss it on the Web.
   
  If you're searching for a new job, check to see what's out there. If you ran in a Breast Cancer Survivor marathon that was reported by the med ia and a potential employer finds that story, the employer might reject your application, considering you a heath insurance risk-- you would never know the real reason you didn't get the job. 
  
  If someone else has your same name and there's news out there that could be used against that person, be sure to point out to your employer that the news is not about you.
• Do evaluate your performance on the job and consider ways to improve your behavior, but don't blame yourself for a bad boss.
• Get a Copy of Your Job Description. Your salary is determined by the responsibilities (duties and obligations) assigned to you. Your responsibilities and required skills are outlined in your job description--a list of duties and obligations you are expected to perform in exchange for the compensation you receive. 
  
  Your job description is an important document for you to have. Think of a job description as a formal agreement between you and your employer that states, in effect, "You will do these things and we will pay you this amount for doing them." Without a copy of your job description, you cannot determine when you are being asked to perform jobs that are beyond your compensation level, so you may be manipulated without your knowledge. 
  
  It is appropriate to ask for a copy of your job description, and it is best to get a copy when you are new to the job--long before any problems or challenges arise. In large organizations, formal job descriptions are required to assign a salary level before a job is advertised or filled. If your boss doesn't give you a copy of your job description, you may get one from the Human Resources Department. In very small organizations where this document may not exist, create your own. Keep the job ad to which you responded when you applied for your position and consider that to be your job description. If it contains a statement such as: "And other duties as assigned" get clarification as soon as possible about what some of those "other" duties might include as well as the kinds of things you will definitely not be asked to do. Add those duties to the job description you are creating if they seem appropriate--if not, challenge them before you are asked to perform them. You have a right to know what is expected of you at each salary level. 
  
  Remember: If it isn't in writing, it doesn't exist.
• Reports your bad boss A last resort is reporting the bad actions/performance of your boss to his/her supervisor -- or to someone in human resources. While logic would hold that the company would not want a manager who is hurting performance or productivity, the reality is often that you become branded as a trouble-maker/whiner/complainer and your days at the company quickly become numbered.
• Do use your network to keep abreast of better opportunities outside the company. And do have your resume up-to-date and ready to send out.
• Don't sacrifice your health or self-esteem
  The worst thing you can do is simply to do nothing, hoping the problems will get resolved. No job, boss, or company is worth losing your health, sanity, or self-esteem. If you can't find a way to resolve these issues and/or your boss simply will never change his/her behavior, you should immediately start working your network and begin looking for a new job -- within or outside the organization. Again, if you love the company, a transfer might be the best option -- but keep in mind that your boss might be as evil as to sabotage that transfer. And try not to quit before you find a new job, but again, if work just becomes too unbearable, you may need to consider quitting to save yourself.
• Don't think you are alone in having a bad boss; several studies suggest that many of us have to deal with a bad boss at one time or another in our careers.
• Do consider keeping a journal that documents all the bad behavior of your boss.
• Don't sacrifice your health of self-esteem by staying in the job for the sake of a job. Do consider quitting your job -- even if you don't have a new job lined up -- if continuing to work for your bad boss is likely to permanently damage your career.
• Do continue to document all your accomplishments.
• If you think the problem is that your boss can't – or won't – change, ask for a transfer to another department. This recommendation presumes you like your employer and your work..
• If a transfer or promotion is unavailable, begin your search for a new job. Fleeing is always an option. You may want to conduct your job search secretly, but under the circumstances, it may be time for you to go.