Keep a journal of incidents

The third solution involves documenting each bad behavior of your boss in a journal. Don’t judge or write emotional reactions; simply document the facts of the situation and how the bad behavior impacted your performance — as well as others in the department. Again, this process may be enough to relieve you of the stress so that you can cope. However, at some point in the future — perhaps as you are leaving for a new job — you might consider taking the journal to a trusted colleague in human resources or even a mentor within the company.

Find a mentor with the company

If you love the company but hate the boss, another solution is to develop a mentoring relationship with a boss/supervisor in another part of the company. Mentoring is a fantastic strategy that you should consider even if you have a good boss because a mentor is someone who can help you in many ways, from offering advice to suggesting you for a promotion. And in coping with a bad boss, a mentor can be a good sounding board for you, and perhaps after you have documented all the offenses, someone who has the pull and the power to do something about your bad boss.

Report your bad boss

A last resort is reporting the bad actions/performance of your boss to his/her supervisor — or to someone in human resources. While logic would hold that the company would not want a manager who is hurting performance or productivity, the reality is often that you become branded as a trouble-maker/whiner/complainer and your days at the company quickly become numbered.

Don’t sacrifice your health or self-esteem

The worst thing you can do is simply to do nothing, hoping the problems will get resolved. No job, boss, or company is worth losing your health, sanity, or self-esteem. If you can’t find a way to resolve these issues and/or your boss simply will never change his/her behavior, you should immediately start working your network and begin looking for a new job — within or outside the organization. Again, if you love the company, a transfer might be the best option — but keep in mind that your boss might be as evil as to sabotage that transfer. And try not to quit before you find a new job, but again, if work just becomes too unbearable, you may need to consider quitting to save yourself.

Other Sources of Advice on Coping/Dealing With a Bad Boss

Here are some other good sources of advice and suggestions in dealing with a bad boss:

* Bad Bosses and How to Handle Them, Barbara Moses.
* Beware of Bad Boss, by Chris Ott.
* Dealing With Bad, Ineffective Managers, from About.com.
* Dealing with Difficult Bosses by Amy Schurr.
* Ten Things That Bad Managers Do, by Cyndi Maxey.

Not All Bosses Are Bad

As much as we like to complain about our bosses, a recent survey found that 79 percent of workers respect their bosses a great deal. The survey, by accounting and financial staffing company Ajilon Finance, also asked what were the most important traits for a boss to posses:

· Leading by examples
· Strong ethics or morals
· Knowledge of the business
· Fairness
· Overall intelligence and competence
· Recognition of employees

Finally, find some other great tips and suggestions in our Do’s and Don’ts of Dealing With a Bad Boss.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker’s Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.

Copyright by Quintessential Careers. The original article can be found here. Reprinted with permission.