Feeling Undervalued at Work? How to Handle a Boss Who Prefers Hesitant Employees

A peculiar problem! I am tasked to the maximum in my office. All peculiar assignments are coming to me every time. I am doing all and finishing them within the given time with more than the expected standard, but authority does not seem to recognize this.

What I have found is that my boss does not accept a confident staff. He prefers a somewhat confused character. Once he assigns me a task, if I say, "Sir, no problem, it will be done," he does not like this. However, if I express some hesitation and ask the boss about the guidelines for accomplishing the assignment, he seems happy.

Any suggestions from any of my friends in this line?

Hi,

There are good bosses and bad bosses. Your boss may be a bad boss, but this will be difficult to prove. Reasons for your boss's behavior may include the following:

Your boss may fall within the group of bad bosses. This is because of the following reasons:

1. Fear of losing position - he may be afraid that you will be able to take his position soon if you prove to be very good.
2. Career development - he prefers people who are not good so that he can tie them down to the same position for a long time without training them or developing their career. This will be a good excuse to his superiors for not developing and promoting staff.
3. Lack of skills in delegation.
4. Some psychological impairment which makes him afraid when others prove to be good.
5. Lack of good example from his superiors. Maybe your boss's superiors do not help matters, or your boss also suffered similar treatment from them, so he is trying to visit it on others.
6. Poor interpersonal relations.

Hope this will help.

In fact, nowadays we have changed our behavioral pattern with him. Once he assigns us a task, we give a confused look to him, showing the attitude that the task is very difficult. Then we ask for his suggestion on how to accomplish it. He then smiles and gives a happy look.

Another peculiarity is that if someone is dedicated to their job, consistently finishing tasks within the desired time and standard, they receive tasks in a series manner. In contrast, others in the office may appear relaxed, although they stay busy with flattering the boss.

I had a similar boss, and he was dominating and rude too. When it comes to work, whenever he assigns a task, ask him what should be done. If you don't like it, use lines like "But sir, last time you said..." or "What about the time you told me to..." or "I read somewhere, what do you think?" to get his buy-in. Sit with him to decide the deadline, give him the finished work only around that deadline, and grumble when the deadline is being set. It may take you only an hour to do the work, but ask for 3 days and give it to him by the evening of the 2nd day. You are finishing the work before the deadline, and the boss will be happier. Try it out; it may help. Wait for your appraisal. If the appraisal is not what you expected, you gotta look out for a change. Otherwise, learn and grow with the profile and manage your manager. It's a good learning event, though a bit frustrating and all. All the best to you.

Hi, I am sure you are gradually learning the tricks of the trade. Just remember one thing - do things which you feel are right inwardly. It is important to work with integrity. At times we consciously lose a battle to win a war but always remain focused on your goal.

I personally have worked with varied kinds of bosses - rude, insecure, helpful, supportive, etc. There was always something to learn from each one of them - what finally it was my choice to adopt/avoid some of the qualities to become a good manager myself.

All the best. 😊

Hey, I have a different problem. My boss feels that I do not work. Actually, I work as a part-time HR, and my core activity is just recruitment. However, due to the high turnover of employees in the company, my boss thinks that I am not performing well and hence feels that I am an underperforming employee. I am trying my best, but it seems not to be recognized. Can you please help me figure out how I can gain the confidence of my boss?