Quintessential Pop Culture Bosshole

A bosshole in modern vocabulary is the conjoining of the words boss and asshole. Bossholes come in many shapes and sizes. Some managers can be described as having bosshole tendencies while others may be full-fledged bossholes.

Bossholes are not to be confused with Managers who actually manage and lead. Managers who set high expectations for your work product, who demand your professional best, who push you to develop yourself, who offer constructive criticism and who may have to get very real with you on your potential with the company are not to be confused with bossholes. If you work for a Manager who does these things, keep on, keepin’ on. This type of Manager likely wants to see you succeed. Listen to them. Do what they tell you. And learn from them.

Bossholes are career vampires. They will suck your professional soul leaving nothing but an empty shell of an employee who at best is disengaged and at worst, operates with underlying hostilities. Depending on the degree of boss-holishness, you have some choices. You can possibly have a candid discussion with said bosshole, you can skip-level that conversation to his or her boss, seek guidance from your HR professional, seek a transfer or look for a new job.

Here, in no particular order, are 11 red flags you may work for a bosshole:

1. Their office door is open, but they do not have “open-door” policy.
2. They avoid one-on-one meetings with you and your team members like the plague.
3. They delegate all tasks but zero authority.
4. They delegate all tasks and all authority to senior team members in order to avoid their supervisory duties.
5. They throw employees under the bus to make themselves look better.
6. They take credit for their employee’s work.
7. They do not  show genuine gratitude for your hard work and effort.
8. They change their mind on goals and objectives for the department every 7-10 days.
9. They can’t or won’t roll up their sleeves in times of critical need.
10. They do not follow through on commitments.
11. They drive-by drop a bunch of stuff on your plate.

Have you ever worked for a bosshole? Share your bosshole red flags in the comments.

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18223133/?claim=3dr2pee69e9″>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>