My friends and I were on our way home after the performance last night, when my best friend brought up a very good point. She said that she could not understand why some people complained about their jobs day in day out, when all they can do is to just look for another job and quit. It makes a lot of sense actually. This actually corresponded with Sen's 30th October post.
He brought up a few good points on his post. No doubt working for people is never easy, but should we tolerate bosses who are unreasonable and picky? Should bosses take advantage of us just because he / she pays our salaries? He said that (and I fully agree with him on that) if the boss treats him well, he / she deserves to be reciprocated. But if the boss is really mean, then just leave, which was what I did in one of my previous jobs. Financial commitments or not, we do not need to stay and be abused or humiliated.
So on the train last night, the three of us (Addy, me and my best friend) were discussing what constitutes bad bosses. Are bosses bad if they are just a tad too stingy? Or they must be petty, mean, picky and self-centred with no concern for the subordinates before they are considered as "bad" bosses?
I have a friend who just changed to a higher-paying job, but alas, her current boss is ten times worse than her previous one. She must arrive at the office earlier than her boss everyday, and her boss has the tendency to reach the office rather early at times. She has to switch on the lights and the computer and put the cup of tea on her boss's table before her boss arrived. When the boss arrived and one of the three is missing, she will start screaming. Not only that, she cannot leave until her boss has left, even if her boss works late, because she has to wash the cup and switch off everything for the boss before she can leave.
My best friend said that her mum has a friend who is an accountant, and the poor lady was asked to wash the cups and the toilets for the firm. Now that is really exploitation. Washing cups is still alright, but the toilet? Does the company or building not have its own cleaners?
I was lunching with my colleagues at the newly-opened food court at Wisma Atria today as we had to attend a company's convention in the afternoon, and we started sharing our previous work experiences. One of the executives told me that the big bosses around are mostly males and rather fatherly, so they are jolly and cheerful and able to kid around with. They said they have bosses that were very weird. And why am I not surprised that all the "weird" bosses are females?
One of my colleagues said that she used to work under this lady who had to bring her along on business trips as she was afraid of sleeping on her own in a strange hotel overseas. That itself was not bad, but when her boss went for meetings, she had to stay in the hotel room waiting for her to come back. She could not even go touring or shopping, or enjoy any of the hotel amenities, as her boss would make periodic calls to the room to ensure she was around.
My mum's company also had a weird manager who always gave her team very bad performance appraisals. Upon investigation, it turned out that to this manager's eyes, she must be the best and most sparkling. Her subordinates cannot be better-dressed, nicer-looking, work longer hours, more sociable with the other colleagues or on better terms with the other bosses than her. She must be the ultimate one and only in the team. What an attitude!
I must count myself lucky then that although I had a boss that was totally autocratic and petty, I never had any bosses that behaved so weirdly or requested me to do things that were totally unreasonable. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will never ever have a boss like that.
He brought up a few good points on his post. No doubt working for people is never easy, but should we tolerate bosses who are unreasonable and picky? Should bosses take advantage of us just because he / she pays our salaries? He said that (and I fully agree with him on that) if the boss treats him well, he / she deserves to be reciprocated. But if the boss is really mean, then just leave, which was what I did in one of my previous jobs. Financial commitments or not, we do not need to stay and be abused or humiliated.
So on the train last night, the three of us (Addy, me and my best friend) were discussing what constitutes bad bosses. Are bosses bad if they are just a tad too stingy? Or they must be petty, mean, picky and self-centred with no concern for the subordinates before they are considered as "bad" bosses?
I have a friend who just changed to a higher-paying job, but alas, her current boss is ten times worse than her previous one. She must arrive at the office earlier than her boss everyday, and her boss has the tendency to reach the office rather early at times. She has to switch on the lights and the computer and put the cup of tea on her boss's table before her boss arrived. When the boss arrived and one of the three is missing, she will start screaming. Not only that, she cannot leave until her boss has left, even if her boss works late, because she has to wash the cup and switch off everything for the boss before she can leave.
My best friend said that her mum has a friend who is an accountant, and the poor lady was asked to wash the cups and the toilets for the firm. Now that is really exploitation. Washing cups is still alright, but the toilet? Does the company or building not have its own cleaners?
I was lunching with my colleagues at the newly-opened food court at Wisma Atria today as we had to attend a company's convention in the afternoon, and we started sharing our previous work experiences. One of the executives told me that the big bosses around are mostly males and rather fatherly, so they are jolly and cheerful and able to kid around with. They said they have bosses that were very weird. And why am I not surprised that all the "weird" bosses are females?
One of my colleagues said that she used to work under this lady who had to bring her along on business trips as she was afraid of sleeping on her own in a strange hotel overseas. That itself was not bad, but when her boss went for meetings, she had to stay in the hotel room waiting for her to come back. She could not even go touring or shopping, or enjoy any of the hotel amenities, as her boss would make periodic calls to the room to ensure she was around.
My mum's company also had a weird manager who always gave her team very bad performance appraisals. Upon investigation, it turned out that to this manager's eyes, she must be the best and most sparkling. Her subordinates cannot be better-dressed, nicer-looking, work longer hours, more sociable with the other colleagues or on better terms with the other bosses than her. She must be the ultimate one and only in the team. What an attitude!
I must count myself lucky then that although I had a boss that was totally autocratic and petty, I never had any bosses that behaved so weirdly or requested me to do things that were totally unreasonable. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will never ever have a boss like that.
2 comments:
The working world is heavily weighted towards the manager's side.
We as 'underlings' gets appraised, but the reverse is rarely carried out. Hence, unless everybody under a particular boss walks out on him/her, the repercussions are enough of a deterrernt.
And if the boss is well known (i.e. they treat their peers - other bosses well), your chance of getting another job, especially if your indrustry is narrow, is going to be dismal indeed.
One other thing in the world that needs changing.
Yes... it's unfair that hte boss gets credit most of the time. There should be a system where subordinates appraise their bosses too, but on the other hand, if there is such a system, which subordinate will be brave enough to say something undesirable even if the boss is really mean?
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