Do I stay with my bad boss or change to a mediocre boss?

Dear Aunty B,

I work for the boss from hell. His expectations are enormous yet he is a very poor communicator. He constantly moves my KPIs and never gives me the information I need, but then expects me to read his mind.

He has bogged down my work with lots of sheets and processes so that I feel like a bank teller and then the other day he got cross because I was in the office too much instead of being with clients.

The other day I went to leave at 5.30, which was an early day for me, and he was sarcastic about me going home “already”. He is short-tempered and grumpy and always suffering from a hangover. He never says anything positive.

Anyway, my problem is this. I could change departments and work for his boss around the corner. The problem is he is not much better, but his staff like him more than we like our boss. And they don’t have to work such crazy hours.

Do I stay where I am and hold out hope that he’ll be sacked or do I move sideways? I hate going to work and yet I put on long hours trying to satisfy this maniac.

Stuck and unhappy,
Vic

Dear Stuck and unhappy,

Hmm… Look at it this way. You are caught in a life-threatening situation. You are stuck on a windowsill on a high rise building and looking at a steep drop. If you edge around the corner, you will be in a safer position where you will feel a bit better and have more space to look around. What would you do? Huh? You would edge around the corner.

Working for a bad boss is bad for your health. A boss who is a poor communicator, demands long hours, never gives positive praise and changes the goal posts is just too hard. It is far better to work for mediocre boss around the corner than your bad boss.

So move now!

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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