7 Types Of Toxic Bosses And How To Deal With Them

So you attended the interview and he/she seemed all nice and welcoming. You got lucky and got the job and reported the following week. You couldn’t wait to tell your friends about how your new boss might be an angel on earth.

Now four weeks down the line, you realize you might be dealing with a boss from hell. Things have completely taken a drastic turn for the worst. Your boss is ruthless and is driving you crazy each single day.

Lucky you, you are not the only one who can write a memoir about horrible bosses. Toxic bosses are everywhere in every organization, every department, and industry.

These kinds of bosses usually fall into distinct categories and by identifying what kind of bad boss you have on your hands, you will be able to come up with a strategy on how to deal with them.

I am going to highlight the four types of toxic bosses who can push you to the edge and how to deal with them. Let’s explore.

Must Read >>> The 6 Kinds of Bad Bosses 

The Types Of Toxic Bosses We Have In The Work Place

1. The lazy bone

This is one of the types of toxic bosses you can have. This one spends Monday through Thursday, browsing on the internet and catching up on gossip with friends. Come Friday, the lazy bone is panicking about things that haven’t been done yet and is expecting you to take up some of the work so as to meet the deadline.

How to deal with a slacker: If you are ambitious enough you can use this kind of boss to advance your career. If your boss is this type, you can ask to take up some of those projects that interest you. I am sure your lazy boss will not mind you taking up some of their work. And that’s how you turn a bad situation into something good.

2. The human land mine

This form of human dynamite will blow you faster before you can spell your name. This is the kind of boss who will blow over in every small situation. You have done your work, replied to all the emails but apparently, you forgot one minor detail in your report.

The next thing you know is they are on your desk shouting at you and embarrassing you before the entire office.

How do you deal with them: Get to understand what triggers their reaction? If they blow over because you arrive five minutes after eight, try arriving at quarter to. If it’s a small grammatical error on your report that triggers their crazy button, double check your work before handing it in.

3. The crazy egomaniac

This is one of the types of toxic bosses who believe that rules exist for all you other slaves and not her. They constantly believe that everyone – including you exists to confirm just how awesome they are. They take credit for any project that succeeds and pass the blame to the rest of you when things go wrong.

The best way to deal way to deal with an egomaniac is to just ignore their qualms. Fuelling their behavior by adding praises will only ignite their egocentric behavior. Do your work and let them take credit for it as long as you know you are doing a good job.

4. The Desperate One

This one is desperate to be your friend and ends up – through no fault of their own being offensive. This is the kind of boss who will never decide if they want to be your boss or your friend. They are desperate to be one of the guys and quite frankly isn’t good at being a boss or a friend.

The good news is that these kinds of toxic bosses are harmless. Like a little kitten (awww) they are just dying to be included in your circle of friend.

How do you handle them? Don’t ignore them. Make them feel welcome to have lunch with you. Pass by their office once in a while and then go back to your work. Building good social skills with your boss can be beneficial in the future.

5. The Micromanager

This is probably the worst of the types of toxic bosses we have. They are the perfectionist and everything must be done the way they do it. They will be all up in your business to the point of proofreading every email you send. She is listening to every call you make and correcting you on a minor grammatical error you make while speaking to a client.

How to deal with a micromanager: They best way to deal with a micromanager is to just do your work to the best of your ability. Once you perfect your roles, she will run out of someone to micromanage and will move on to the next.

6. Grumpy

Remember grumpy from the seven dwarfs? Now imagine having a boss who is ever grumpy. You will never see them smile and nothing you do amuses them. They see fault in everything you do and will look for mistakes in every assignment you undertake. Nothing you do can ever be good enough for them.

Apart from having a disturbing childhood, where no one appreciated anything they did, there is a way you can deal with this kind of boss. Just concentrate on the business at hand.

Do your work and since you know the kind of person they are, stop being too hopeful for a compliment from them because it may never come.

7. The tyrant

This one is unapproachable and has created walls around them. Unless you are a friend, she will never listen to you. Have a problem you need her to sort out? Just shelve it instead of inviting her wrath. When communication shuts down, things might get a little bit ugly.

The best way to deal with a tyrant: Understand where their behavior comes from. They may have had a bad childhood or they are just pure evil. Try to be polite when speaking to her. If things don’t improve, it would be best to consult someone in top management about how to go about it.

It’s never a sure thing that when you get a job, your boss will be good and understanding. You might find yourself at one point dealing with one of the types of toxic bosses. If you are already working for one of the kind mentioned, now you know how best to diffuse the situation and ensure a smooth sailing.

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Lilian is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email: lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke