Infuriate Your Boss???

Infuriate Your Boss???

Want to anger your boss, harm your chances for promotion or a raise, and generally lower your value in his or her eyes? Here are 10 things that are guaranteed to frustrate your manager.

1. Don’t take responsibility for your mistakes. Reasonable bosses know that no one is perfect and that mistakes will sometimes happen. What they care about is how you follow up on a mistake. If you make excuses, get defensive, or deny responsibility, your boss won’t trust that you understand why the mistake happened in the first place and what you need to do to prevent it in the future.

2. Be too sensitive to take feedback calmly. If you routinely get upset, offended, or angry when your boss gives you feedback on your work, you’re making it hard (and painful) for your boss to do her job. Worse yet, she might start avoiding giving you important feedback that you need to hear. You need to know what you could be doing better, and you’re more likely to hear it if you don’t make it difficult for your boss to tell you.

3. Don’t take notes during a discussion of work that you’ll be doing. When you’re having a nuanced discussion of a project, your boss wants to see that you’re capturing the details. If you’re not writing things down, she’s going to wonder how you’re really going to retain all of it. It comes across as cavalier and not taking the project seriously enough.

4. Guess instead of finding out an answer for sure. Guessing means that some of the time, you’ll be giving out wrong information. And your boss isn’t asking you questions just to pass the time; she’ll be making decisions or taking actions based on the information you provide, so it needs to be right. If you’re not sure about something, say so—and then say you’ll find out.

5. Don’t disclose your biases. It’s fine to have biases; we all do. But if you hide your agenda or biases from your boss and she eventually finds out, you’ll have destroyed your credibility with her. On the other hand, be vigilant about owning up to your biases, and you’ll earn real and lasting credibility.

6. Regularly vent about your frustrations without bringing them to your manager. Everyone vents about their job (or their boss) sometimes. But if you find yourself routinely complaining to other people, it’s time to either talk to your manager or start keeping it to yourself. Eventually, your complaints will get back to your boss, and she’ll be unimpressed that you weren’t professional enough to address your concerns head-on.

7. Treat a coworker badly. You may be 100 percent in the right when it comes to the substance of your stance, but if you’re rude, hostile, or disrespectful with colleagues, you’ll harm your manager’s ability to back you—and will shift the focus to your own behavior.

8. Use email for complicated, sensitive, or heated topics. Yes, it often feels easier to stay behind your computer to hash out difficult subjects. But sometimes you just need to pick up the phone or talk to people face-to-face, and your boss wants to know that you have the judgment to recognize those times.

9. Make your manager follow up with you to ensure things are getting done. If you don’t do what you say you’re going to do—whether it’s because you’re disorganized and don’t keep track of what you commit to, or because you never thought it was a good idea in the first place—your boss will conclude that she can’t count on you to keep your word.

10. Hide things. Hiding things—work that isn’t getting done, an angry client, a missed deadline, the fact that you don’t really know how to use that software—is the kiss of death. If your boss isn’t confident that you’ll give her bad news directly or be forthright about a problem, at a minimum you’ll destroy her trust in you and signal that she needs to dig around for what else you might be hiding. And it might even get you fired.

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

Step 1

Weigh the severity of your boss’s biases before acting. A boss may allow other employees as much time off as they request but routinely deny workers with small children the same privilege. Or the boss might unintentionally insult an employee by implying that people of her faith are less intelligent, in general. These actions might show poor judgment, but they’re not illegal. However, a boss who knowingly discriminates against workers because of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or a disability is breaking the law under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Step 2

Document your boss’s behavior. Discrimination can be hard to identify and even more difficult to prove. If you decide to file a claim, documentation is critical in showing a pattern of biased behavior. Take notes after encounters in which the boss ties your “incompetence” to your race or unfairly blames your disability for tardiness. Be discreet with your note-taking to avoid the impression of conspiring against your boss.

Step 3

Attempt to speak with your boss. Although it may be hard to maintain a positive relationship with a boss you feel discriminates against you, try initiating a no accusatory dialogue on intolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center, under its “Teaching Tolerance” project, recommends tying the discussion to the company’s “bottom line.” Mention to your boss how employees who feel respected and valued help the company meet its financial goals.

Step 4

Talk with human resources if a dialogue with the boss fails. Describe your situation and present any documentation you’ve gathered. Ask about the company’s antidiscrimination and anti -harassment policies and whether they apply in your case. HR may investigate your complaint.

Step 5

File a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If you find your boss’s behavior particularly hateful, you may choose to file a suit. The EEOC enforces laws that protect workers and job applicants from being discriminated against because of race, gender (including pregnancy), color, national origin, age (over 40), religion and genetic information. Laws apply to employers with at least 15 employees, or 20 workers for age bias. The agency assesses your claim, conducts an investigation and rules on the case.

Step 6

Request a transfer. An unpleasant work situation isn’t worth tolerating. You may even need to leave the company. A biased boss has no incentive to change behavior if the company tolerates discrimination.

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

Step 1

Weigh the severity of your boss’s biases before acting. A boss may allow other employees as much time off as they request but routinely deny workers with small children the same privilege. Or the boss might unintentionally insult an employee by implying that people of her faith are less intelligent, in general. These actions might show poor judgment, but they’re not illegal. However, a boss who knowingly discriminates against workers because of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or a disability is breaking the law under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Step 2

Document your boss’s behavior. Discrimination can be hard to identify and even more difficult to prove. If you decide to file a claim, documentation is critical in showing a pattern of biased behavior. Take notes after encounters in which the boss ties your “incompetence” to your race or unfairly blames your disability for tardiness. Be discreet with your note-taking to avoid the impression of conspiring against your boss.

Step 3

Attempt to speak with your boss. Although it may be hard to maintain a positive relationship with a boss you feel discriminates against you, try initiating a no accusatory dialogue on intolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center, under its “Teaching Tolerance” project, recommends tying the discussion to the company’s “bottom line.” Mention to your boss how employees who feel respected and valued help the company meet its financial goals.

Step 4

Talk with human resources if a dialogue with the boss fails. Describe your situation and present any documentation you’ve gathered. Ask about the company’s antidiscrimination and anti -harassment policies and whether they apply in your case. HR may investigate your complaint.

Step 5

File a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If you find your boss’s behavior particularly hateful, you may choose to file a suit. The EEOC enforces laws that protect workers and job applicants from being discriminated against because of race, gender (including pregnancy), color, national origin, age (over 40), religion and genetic information. Laws apply to employers with at least 15 employees, or 20 workers for age bias. The agency assesses your claim, conducts an investigation and rules on the case.

Step 6

Request a transfer. An unpleasant work situation isn’t worth tolerating. You may even need to leave the company. A biased boss has no incentive to change behavior if the company tolerates discrimination.

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

How to deal with Biased Boss!!!

Step 1

Weigh the severity of your boss’s biases before acting. A boss may allow other employees as much time off as they request but routinely deny workers with small children the same privilege. Or the boss might unintentionally insult an employee by implying that people of her faith are less intelligent, in general. These actions might show poor judgment, but they’re not illegal. However, a boss who knowingly discriminates against workers because of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or a disability is breaking the law under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Step 2

Document your boss’s behavior. Discrimination can be hard to identify and even more difficult to prove. If you decide to file a claim, documentation is critical in showing a pattern of biased behavior. Take notes after encounters in which the boss ties your “incompetence” to your race or unfairly blames your disability for tardiness. Be discreet with your note-taking to avoid the impression of conspiring against your boss.

Step 3

Attempt to speak with your boss. Although it may be hard to maintain a positive relationship with a boss you feel discriminates against you, try initiating a no accusatory dialogue on intolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center, under its “Teaching Tolerance” project, recommends tying the discussion to the company’s “bottom line.” Mention to your boss how employees who feel respected and valued help the company meet its financial goals.

Step 4

Talk with human resources if a dialogue with the boss fails. Describe your situation and present any documentation you’ve gathered. Ask about the company’s antidiscrimination and anti -harassment policies and whether they apply in your case. HR may investigate your complaint.

Step 5

File a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If you find your boss’s behavior particularly hateful, you may choose to file a suit. The EEOC enforces laws that protect workers and job applicants from being discriminated against because of race, gender (including pregnancy), color, national origin, age (over 40), religion and genetic information. Laws apply to employers with at least 15 employees, or 20 workers for age bias. The agency assesses your claim, conducts an investigation and rules on the case.

Step 6

Request a transfer. An unpleasant work situation isn’t worth tolerating. You may even need to leave the company. A biased boss has no incentive to change behavior if the company tolerates discrimination.