Question:
Our boss at work is horrible to us. He takes advantage whenever he can, often making us work as much as 45 minutes overtime without pay, because there’s ‘just one more thing’ he wants us to do. And, according to him, this one thing should only ‘take a second’ so if it takes us—as it would any other normal person—more than a ‘second’ to finish, he will say that it’s due to our slacking on the job that we had to work overtime.

He stretches our job description to the limit, making us do work that is nearly beyond our scope but would be simple for him to finish. When we have difficulty doing this work he is extremely critical, and often makes loud, negative comments. In fact, he often speaks disdainfully to us even when we finish the work on time and do it right.

He has a million different quirks and we’re supposed to remember each and every one of them. If we ever do anything differently than how he likes it, he’ll throw a fit and make us do it over.

Even the half-hour we get for lunch is curtailed, because he makes us go out of the way to pick up a certain sandwich and soup for him from a certain store. How on earth are we supposed to live with this?

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Answer:
Is taking a different job an option? Because, if you ask me, this sounds like a situation that would be best remedied by avoidance. No matter how much money you’re making, to suffer for it is not worth it.

On the other hand, if you can’t switch jobs for whatever reason, and you don’t want to risk provoking your boss, you’ll have to learn to deal with the situation. If he ever says anything—derogatory or otherwise—that makes you feel uncomfortable, firmly let him know that you don’t appreciate such language and you won’t tolerate it. Let your boss know that you will only work under certain conditions, and politely inform him that if you work overtime you expect to be paid for your time. You are lucky in the aspect that you are not alone in the office. If all the workers unite and demand better conditions, your boss will probably agree. It would be extremely inconvenient for him to fire you all at once; though he may threaten to do so, he probably wouldn’t dismiss you all, especially if you’re good workers.

This can be a good learning experience for you to become skilled at dealing with all sorts of people, whether you like them or not. Since your boss is, after all, the boss, he is entitled to expect things to be done a certain way. It will make the situation easier for both of you if you do try to do things the way your boss tells you to.

But it is very important that you feel comfortable in your working space. So if you try your best to satisfy your boss and he’s still acting nasty, you don’t have to put up with it. Look into other jobs, and make sure to ask about the things that are important to you before you take it—like paying for overtime, and a boss with manners. When you find a better one, you can take great pleasure in quitting this one.

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