Dealing With Bad Behavior in the Workplace

Savvy employees and business leaders guide office tyrants toward good behavior, says author Lynn Taylor.

While reading Lynn Taylor’s Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, 2009), we realized how fortunate we are to have had so few bad bosses throughout our career. The author, CEO of Lynn Taylor Consulting — where she deals with workplace management issues — notes in the book’s introduction that while no boss is perfect, there are many who behave in childish ways. A mother of two boys, Taylor says, “I saw striking parallels between troublesome bosses and toddlers — and not surprisingly, the solutions were frequently very similar as well.”

After years of listening to office horror stories (and experiencing a few of our own), we recognized much of the telltale behavior listed as the book’s chapters, including bragging, bullying, lying, tantrums, irrational fears and mood swings. For example, when you balk at a request to pad the numbers on a department report, a bullying boss may threaten to tell the higher-ups that your team is to blame for the poor results — similar to a sibling who demands you eat a worm unless you want mom to find out you broke her glasses.

The chapters also list what to do and what not to do. In the case of an overly demanding manager, try to be a beacon of reason and set expectations by giving status reports to let the boss know how the new urgent request affects the others. But don’t become a punching bag or keep score of grievances. While we’ve always thought we’d take the Nine to Five route, we’re now prepared for a more constructive approach. The chapters also have helpful Q&As and points to remember — plus there’s a section of advice for managers as well (to find out if you’re a good boss, take VIVmag‘s leadership quiz).

We think that this book can be useful to many who feel trapped dealing with bad upper management during this time of high unemployment and reduced job opportunities. If you’ve worked with a Terrible Office Tyrant, how did you cope?

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