11/24/2006
Why Does the Boss Hate You? Here's 10 Reasons
The Bad:
You made a terrible mistake and are still in the dog house. People tend to do stupid things with their company email... is this you? In The Obvious Faux Pas, I made my opinion pretty clear on the personal use of company email: it just shouldn't be done. Or perhaps you went in to your boss promising that your quarterly forecast was absolute and then turned out to be grossly wrong.
You threw up at a client meeting (in the client’s office). Don’t laugh; I’ve actually read about something very similar happening to someone. If you don’t feel well, go home! No one wants your germs. Don’t be a martyr – sick days are there for a reason. If you really are that sick, you can reschedule the appointment. Frankly, if you feel that bad, do you *really* want to go to work anyway?
You put your foot in it. You need to be really careful what you say, especially around the office. Watercooler conversation is perfectly acceptable as long as it's the innocuous kind like, "hey did you see what happened on 'The Office' last night?" However, you should be careful if you start making comparisons between the imbecile boss Michael on the show and your own real life boss. You never know who will hear you. Usually it's the wrong person overhearing the wrong thing at the right time. Don't let this happen to you.
You’re just plain obnoxious. Every office has at least one jerk who yaps away loudly on their cell phone while their cubicle neighbors suffer through whatever personal conversation they're having. I mean really, go outside during your lunch hour or something to do that. Especially if you're loud, you're disrupting others while they're actually trying to do their jobs.
You don’t pay attention or do your job. We all know when we're working hard and when we're hardly working. Don't let others pick up your slack. Do what you're hired to do. It's really simple.
The Good:
You outperform your boss. This is great for you, but spells trouble for your boss and makes them feel threatened. This is especially the case when others (higher up the chain) take notice of your stellar performance.
Your boss is insecure and is afraid that you will overthrow them. This more or less piggybacks off the previous point. However, you can be outperforming them or just minding your own business and doing your job. If your boss is an insecure jerk, they'll think you're out for their job no matter what you do. It sucks, but it's reality for a lot of people.
You’re popular. Many bosses believe in following the "chain of command". If you're well liked, people will go to you when they need something or if they have a problem that you can help them solve. When the boss catches wind of this they usually get all up-in-arms about being in the loop on all conversations and emails you're having. I should know, this happened to me. So stupid.
They’re just jealous. This one piggybacks on the popularity "problem". Bosses, insecure ones in particular, don't really want their subordinates to be more popular than they are. They feel that since they're in the position of higher power, they should get the spotlight. Or maybe there's something that you do better than they do. It's a simple fact that everyone has different talents. Some people are better than others at things. These bosses just can't get past this.
You’re younger than they are. Your life is ahead of you, theirs is behind them. It's all so silly, but when you're in a situation where they're jealous of your age, it can be ugly. I know some people that are affected by this kind of sentiment by their boss. They're great workers and their boss hates them simply because they're young, cute, and do a wonderful job.
These are just a few of the reasons why your boss hates you. I'm sure there's more. But you can start with these and then decide what you can live with and what you can't. If you can't, you need to consider moving on. Of course if you do that, you run the risk of moving into the same predicament. Just something to think about.
You made a terrible mistake and are still in the dog house. People tend to do stupid things with their company email... is this you? In The Obvious Faux Pas, I made my opinion pretty clear on the personal use of company email: it just shouldn't be done. Or perhaps you went in to your boss promising that your quarterly forecast was absolute and then turned out to be grossly wrong.
You threw up at a client meeting (in the client’s office). Don’t laugh; I’ve actually read about something very similar happening to someone. If you don’t feel well, go home! No one wants your germs. Don’t be a martyr – sick days are there for a reason. If you really are that sick, you can reschedule the appointment. Frankly, if you feel that bad, do you *really* want to go to work anyway?
You put your foot in it. You need to be really careful what you say, especially around the office. Watercooler conversation is perfectly acceptable as long as it's the innocuous kind like, "hey did you see what happened on 'The Office' last night?" However, you should be careful if you start making comparisons between the imbecile boss Michael on the show and your own real life boss. You never know who will hear you. Usually it's the wrong person overhearing the wrong thing at the right time. Don't let this happen to you.
You’re just plain obnoxious. Every office has at least one jerk who yaps away loudly on their cell phone while their cubicle neighbors suffer through whatever personal conversation they're having. I mean really, go outside during your lunch hour or something to do that. Especially if you're loud, you're disrupting others while they're actually trying to do their jobs.
You don’t pay attention or do your job. We all know when we're working hard and when we're hardly working. Don't let others pick up your slack. Do what you're hired to do. It's really simple.
The Good:
You outperform your boss. This is great for you, but spells trouble for your boss and makes them feel threatened. This is especially the case when others (higher up the chain) take notice of your stellar performance.
Your boss is insecure and is afraid that you will overthrow them. This more or less piggybacks off the previous point. However, you can be outperforming them or just minding your own business and doing your job. If your boss is an insecure jerk, they'll think you're out for their job no matter what you do. It sucks, but it's reality for a lot of people.
You’re popular. Many bosses believe in following the "chain of command". If you're well liked, people will go to you when they need something or if they have a problem that you can help them solve. When the boss catches wind of this they usually get all up-in-arms about being in the loop on all conversations and emails you're having. I should know, this happened to me. So stupid.
They’re just jealous. This one piggybacks on the popularity "problem". Bosses, insecure ones in particular, don't really want their subordinates to be more popular than they are. They feel that since they're in the position of higher power, they should get the spotlight. Or maybe there's something that you do better than they do. It's a simple fact that everyone has different talents. Some people are better than others at things. These bosses just can't get past this.
You’re younger than they are. Your life is ahead of you, theirs is behind them. It's all so silly, but when you're in a situation where they're jealous of your age, it can be ugly. I know some people that are affected by this kind of sentiment by their boss. They're great workers and their boss hates them simply because they're young, cute, and do a wonderful job.
These are just a few of the reasons why your boss hates you. I'm sure there's more. But you can start with these and then decide what you can live with and what you can't. If you can't, you need to consider moving on. Of course if you do that, you run the risk of moving into the same predicament. Just something to think about.
