When someone mentioned bad bosses, we instinctively thought there is abuse in the workplace. While some bosses are plain bullies, some bosses are irritating as hell because of their quirks and poor habits. Bosses are humans too, and sometimes, their habits can be too much to bear, no matter how small it may seem.
Here are some of my friends’ complains about their bosses:
I have a new boss who came last month and started adding everyone on his Facebook. When nobody accept his friend requests, he asked us individually to explain why we didn’t. To circumvent this, all of us actually created fake accounts and added him or lied that we didn’t have Facebook.
- Alison, Senior Translator
My boss doesn’t have a secretary (I guess the company doesn’t pay enough) so we take turns to buy lunch for her. The issue is that she is a very picky eater.
Let me give you an example: McDonald’s Big Mac, without the lettuces, double up the pickles and diced up the tomatoes, remove the mayonnaise but add in extra cheese (must be low-fat kind). With unsalted fries (must be piping hot) and orange juice (without ice and no pulp). It’s like that with all her lunch orders even salads.
Fortunately, she is an excellent boss with a big heart so we will still get her lunch for her.
- Samuel, Warehouse Assistant
It is a culture in the office that we do group lunches together especially if you are working on a project. Tom is not my boss but he is in charge of the project that spans over 6 months.
He has this irritating habit of getting someone to pay for his lunch and always “forgot” to pay the person back or return the favour. He’ll come up with various excuses like he has forgotten to bring his wallet or he has no small change.
Nobody likes him and we ended up avoiding him during lunchtime.
- Donald, Logistic Assistant
We worked in a small office so everyone needs to work with each other very closely to do our job properly.
Our line manager is someone we simply detest to work with. She never turns up on time for meetings and we always have to wait for her or spend the rest of the meeting catching her up. She’s a nice, friendly and hardworking person but she has very poor time management.
She is often seen running like a headless chicken from one meeting to another because she has forgotten that she overbooked her own schedule. Sometimes she even made our clients and suppliers wait for more than half an hour.
- Ellen, Regional Sales Executive
I worked with a generous nice boss who never forgets everyone’s birthday. She has a kind soul and always in a positive cheerful mood. So it is a shame that she has a very high pitch nauseating voice that sounds like a small kid screaming especially when she gets excited or angry.
That makes us hate to go into any small room with her, including her office or any meeting room. Some of us barely can hide our cringe when she starts brainstorming some new fantastic ideas during our weekly meetings. One of my colleagues even started to take leave to avoid her meetings because her voice gives him a migraine.
How do you tell someone that you really like her as a boss but hate her voice? It’s going to crush her.
- Brian, Material Planner
I don’t know if this counts. Our boss is suave, charming and looks like a younger version of Chris Hemsworth. He speaks in a low sexy voice and dressed very well in a tailored suit.
It is irritating as hell when you get girls from other departments, walking across the office to be near his cubicle so they can get a glimpse of him. Too many times, we get prying questions about his personal life from other female coworkers.
I know it is not his fault for being such an eye candy but we hardly can concentrate on doing our job when we are swarmed by butterflies looking for him.
- Tiffany, Production Planner
While our supervisor is very hardworking and I dare say, he is the one that puts in more hours than anyone else in the company, he is such a slob!
His office looks like a tornado just went in. There are papers everywhere, even books and stationaries on the floor. He leaves out half-drank coffee mugs wherever he walked past my desk and totally forgotten about them until I reminded him.
There was one time he was on vacation and one of our suppliers needed a document from his office, nobody can find it anywhere. We had to call him to disrupt his vacation and email us a copy from his laptop.
- Theodore, Digital Developer
It is impolite to interrupt someone, even when you are the boss.
Our manager just loves doing that during normal conversation and discussion. It irritates us but what can you do?
If someone else on the team interrupts her, she’ll just pretend the person hasn’t said anything and it just zooms right past her ears. We have gotten quite used to it and we just stop talking whenever she interrupts.
- Harry, Customer Care Executive
Our manager is going through a nasty divorce and it has dragged out for more than a year. While she is a fantastic boss to work with, she brings her personal problems to work.
A simple question like “How are you?” will trigger a barrage of her divorce problems. Sometimes, we overheard private conversations when she yells at her lawyers or her ex. Sometimes, we can hear her cry for hours in her office or in the toilet.
We have been very patient and supportive towards her because she is truly a good person and her ex (he used to be an ex-colleague) is truly evil.
- Olive, Support Engineer
I know it is good to be close to your teammates and try to know their personal side too. I appreciate the effort but I think my leader steps over the line sometimes. He can be so nosy!
He will be asking probing questions about our weekends, relationships and sometimes our sex preferences. It is borderline harassment but other than that, he is extremely nice to work with, he never takes any credit for our work, always pushing us to shine.
I’m telling you, he is a walking time bomb for HR to dismiss him.
- Anna, Supply Chain Officer
Does it makes you feel better about your boss? Maybe you had it worse than those above. Come and share with us in the comments below.
For more bosses-from-hell stories, here are my top picks:
A Word Of Advice: I Have A Narcissistic Boss!
Whisper: I have a Crazy Boss
Tell Me Your Worst Boss
A Word Of Advice: I have An Unsympathetic Boss
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MiddleMe 
Ya.. So as my boss.. He never praised me.. Always shouting.. Shows his anger on all employees
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I could add the general manager who is bored of his job, interfere in mine (Sales & Marketing Director) and then get upset and start shouting like a crazy if I don’t do the nonsense things that he is asking for. Luckily this nightmare is already over!
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Couldn’t have agreed more!
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These are certainly some very fine examples of irritating bosses! I’ve had a few in my lifetime. What has tended to irritate, or even infuriate me the most is arrogance. I’ve had some bosses ~ managers, supervisors, etc. ~ who have been good at their job, very knowledgeable and capable … but very prideful. They’ve looked down their long noses with disdain for everyone “beneath” them, and that makes for an unhealthy, joyless work environment.
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Great post! There were few things I could relate to😀👍
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Thank you so much. Have an amazing weekend!
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I had a manager who kicked cabinets, cursed, and slammed his fist down on the desk. I really liked the job, so I just stayed out of his way.
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Oh wow! It’s like playing hide n seek in the office.
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Ha ha ha!
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Gotta Manage up
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Sigh! Manage the Manager…
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Interesting, so far I have been blessed with good bosses. It just makes me wonder what my people I line manage say about me when I ‘m not around….( they told me that I am a lovely Manager) Phew…
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God bless you
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Lucky you!! I had my fair share of bad and good bosses. No one nasty but nonetheless makes me want to be a good boss.
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Very interesting information. We all have techniques that may sometimes understood as irritations for others. We all have our little worlds that seem to take president over all others. That said, there may be a lot of info that is not taken into account and the Boss gets the bad rap. Some management styles are viewed as irritants when there may be an opportunity to assess some actions as education. I love your premise and position.
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Whenever anyone left the company I was working for some years ago, the boss always avoided going but gave me something like £2.50 – £3.00 to buy a drink for the leaver. I just found it really embarrassing.
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One word, Kally – micromanagement!
Just an example, drawn from (it must be) thousands, I, a one-time English major, am instructed on how to word emails. Not mere suggestions, mind you, but word-for-word dictations, i.e., “Say this,” then, “Say that,” etc., etc.
You do realize, don’t you, we all are college grads? When we’re on our own, we work in an office. When our boss appears, it becomes daycare.
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Oh yes! I hate micromanagement as well. It is like working with one of your hands tied behind your back. Or getting your boss to watch your every move like a prison warden.
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Unfortunately, at least in my experience there are more bad bosses than good. My personal ratio: 1 excellent boss out of 5 (ranging from average to incompetent). It is always bad news to have a “bad” boss. Bad for the business, for your career…
If you can avoid them.
Cheers
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In a positive way, you learn a lot from bad bosses too. You learn not to be like them when you are a boss. Haha!
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You are absolutely right Peng Yu. Bad bosses are good training for when you are a Boss later. You are a wise one. 🙂
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Sometimes, too wise for my own good. Thank you, Peng Yu.
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LOL. Don’t worry. It happens to the best of us…
Have a great week-end.
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Lol. Thank you, Peng Yu!
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I used to have a supervisor that women went crazy for too. They asked about if he was single and stare at him. Even older women old enough to be his grandma asked him out to lunch
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Wow! I wish I know how your supervisor look like.
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He was attractive but he didn’t think so
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Oh wow.. not only is he good looking, he is humble too!
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I must say that I have always been really good at just ignoring a boss when they were a jerk. I always tried to understand them better and of course not take things personally. My current boss is the manager from hell! He mistreats residents at the apartment community and treats me terribly. He is nice as he can be to my co-workers and that is just wrong! I am the one that gets the leases and yet he still is rude to me and currently he is hateful about my illness. I think I have finally had enough and refuse to deal with him too much longer. There is only one difference between myself and my two co-workers. Color!
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Oh dear! What an unhealthy workplace you are in right now. Thank you for sharing this with us. Are you going to get out soon? I hope you find something better because you deserve a leader who respect your work rather than your appearance.
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Thank you Kally! It is a very toxic environment and I am doing the best I can to get out of there. I have already gone on several interviews and hope one of them will work out. I went on an interview today that was very misleading and sketchy. The interview was in a hotel and I didn’t have any good information, which was my fault for not asking more questions. All well, live and learn right?
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Number one, it’s never your fault. There are too many scams out there, some elaborate ones too. But lesson learnt and you grew wiser. If you need any help or listening ear, do drop me an email at kally@MiddleMe.net. The least I can do is to have a look at your resume and perhaps give you some pointers?
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Thank you SO much Kally!!! You are absolutely amazing and I just might take you up on your offer! It amazes me how ignorant people can be sometimes and how you really can’t trust many people out there.
I might end up having more questions for you too! I have been wanting to do more with writing because it has always been my passion. I honestly have no idea where to start or if I am even good enough. Seriously, thank you so much Kally!!!!
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Alyssa, you are good enough. And very talented too from what I have read on your blog. Who knows, you may end up being a top seller author one day? Never try never know. Please don’t be shy, you can even drop me an email just to say hi 👋
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Thank you Kally! I really do appreciate your kind words! I will definitely send you an email soon!
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People just crack at the moment. I remember when I had to put my ex-boss into the freezer, just to cool it down a bit.
– I got money
– Ok but you certainly have no brain.
– You will be fired
– Try me asshole
it’s just a normal conversation in some kitchen…
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Haha. There are tons of people not just bad bosses I’ll love to put them into a freezer.
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For the few years that I engaged in bureaucratically-managed, large corporate work, a frequent irritation was to have some insecure manager pretend that he was more of an expert than the people working on a project. Essentially, it was just a way to look as though they served some purpose to their own bosses, and ultimately to a bunch of share-holders. Mostly… it just wasted time.
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So true! I’m glad you get out of there – fast. Perhaps not fast enough for you..
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Ha, ha! That’s how I went all the way from Seattle to ChiangMai.
(;*´Д`)ﾉ
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Oh wow… you really did ran very far! Hahaha. 😂
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Wow, never thought about irritating habits. I cannot stand bosses who dish out superiority over servant leadership! I could deal with picky eating or ladies swarming my boss lol. Great read thanks!
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Thank you so much. Have an amazing weekend!
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Amen to this- that’s why their called ‘managers’. Because they always ‘manage’ to screw things up. Thank you, Kally, for this exceptional post!
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I’m one of those people who hates getting too close/friendly with coworkers so getting added on facebook or hearing about someone’s divorce is a nightmare to me!
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I recently had multiple senior managers who abused their power within the workplace because their friend was the main boss . It was a very toxic environment and I am more than glad that I have now left that place . Something has to happen to avoid bullying and mistreatment within organisations.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. It must be terrible working in that kind of environment. I’m glad you survived and got out!!
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