Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B.....is for Boss or Bosses

Ah, blessed be the person who never has a boss. No such thing exists, you know.

I've had several bosses in my lifetime and I'm not counting parents and teachers.....I'm talking about being in the work world. My very first boss was a woman. She was old enough to be my mom, which I think helped.  I think she was a good boss and all of us working under her (all female) thought highly of her.  Even though I've only worked at two places, my bosses number many more than that. It was due to the bosses being replaced because of transfers or new positions elsewhere not due to me moving around.  I was also a boss for a time during the last years of working full time and I did not like it one bit. I felt that it was all adults and as such, they knew what they were supposed to do. I didn't like the idea that I was supposed to "spy" on them and then chastise them for things not done or incorrectly done. In most cases a report would become part of their permanent file.

I've had bosses that were drunks, liars and playboys. I've had bosses that would make subordinates do all the work and then take credit for jobs being well done. I've had kind, compassionate bosses who got twice the work out of everyone just because we all wanted to please. These were the best bosses. I had one boss who did not trust any employee and made sure we all knew it. He was not respected and it was entirely his own fault that he wasn't.

I can't really say if I prefer a female boss or a male boss; I think it is completely up to the individual's personality and how they relate to others. If you are honest and give an honest day's work for your pay, you should have no problems......but that doesn't mean you won't. Different types get the position of being boss for different reasons (the company owner's nephew for example) and with that happening, there's always a few wild cards in the deck.

Over all, I've been lucky. I've heard absolute horror stories about some bosses.  I hope you all have been lucky as well. Working some jobs is difficult enough but to have a bad boss on top of it is a stress maker to the max.

Submitted as part of the A-Z Challenge.

3 comments:

Josie Two Shoes said...

I could definitely relate to this post. Though I haven't had that many jobs, and was at one for 19 years, I've had quite a few bosses, and just as you note, they can make or break a work experience. I've really only had a couple that I thought were awesome, the great majority were the opposite. I am blessed now in that both the owner of the firm and the two attorney's I work for are kind, caring people. Not always the best at dealing with problem employees, but they are young... they'll catch on. :-) Great post Val, made me reflect back on all the different "characters" I've experienced along the way!

Coffeypot said...

Well, ya know my old saying:
BOSS spelled backwards is Double SOB.

Josie Two Shoes said...

Yes, I've had some like that Coffeypot! I used to have a button that said "My life is going to hell and my boss is driving the bus" that I would wear just to annoy him. :-)