Feeling Stuck with a Difficult Boss Again – How Can I Handle This Situation?

Greetings to all,

Currently, I am working in the manufacturing industry as an HR Assistant and have been in this role for one year. My company has two plants located at different places within the same city. We were three people working in the HR department:

- My HOD - HR Manager
- My immediate senior - HR Officer
- Me - HR Assistant

My HR manager was very rude in nature and always tried to exploit us. He was arrogant, demanding reports in the evening, and expecting us to work late in the office and even on weekends.

I spent six months under such an environment as I was a fresher, and since he was my HOD, I tolerated it all. After six months, senior management transferred me to another plant where I experienced a good working environment. I was working well, but again, after six months, my immediate senior (HR Officer) resigned from his job, and the company transferred me back to my previous location.

Now, there are only two people working in the HR department: "Me and My HOD." As I have had a bad experience in the past, I really don't want to work with him. My morale has really gone down. I tried to convince my management to cancel my transfer by giving other reasons, but I didn't succeed.

Please suggest what I should do. Awaiting your feedback.

Thank you.

Regards

Nothing if you can't convince your management, and if you want this job, you would have to go and work with this boss whom you don't like.

Tips:

Design your work process in such a way that any report and work required by your manager should be accomplished in the shortest possible time and accurately. I have been in the industry for 18 years, and even today, my GM/CEO asks me for reports when I am at home or at odd times. Guess what, I have found a way to always accomplish what he wants.

In difficult moments, your innovation is at its best. Wish you good luck.

Regards,
Ukmitra

I empathize with your problem and the agonies that you are suffering. You tried your best to avoid this situation but could not succeed in averting it. Life, and especially working life, is made up of several stretches of tenure which one may find good or bad; as you shall realize when you recall the two stretches of six months. You will have to accept the bitter truths of life and face the situation in the best possible way you can. UKmitra, in his earlier post, has already suggested a few things that you can implement. Also, remember that "People do not leave organizations; they leave their bosses!" So if the going gets really tough and beyond your capabilities and endurance, then you can explore other avenues too. Be assured that this is not the end. For the time being, give your best; it will only help you to become a better, stronger, more skillful, and experienced person.

Warm regards.

In organizations, personal likes or dislikes (even if true) do not count for anything, especially if they are being complained of by juniors. If the management culture is fair, objective, and proactive, the superiors, on their own or at least when they receive a complaint, should take suitable counseling, mentoring, or administrative actions to ensure that the sanctity of teamwork will not be vitiated at any point in time. But if the management culture is indifferent, primitive, and one of unjustifiable bias, then God help. Even when and if the management acts, it should never be judgmental but work to develop, restore, and encourage harmony and positive orientation at work!

Subject to the above, you too must not be biased. Just because the past was unpleasant, that is no certainty that the future will also be unpleasant!

There is and was evidently a lack of dialogue between you and the boss. Wavelengths did not match, and mutual expectations were either unclear or not conveyed. These are areas for the organization as well as the concerned individuals to work on! This does not seem to be happening.

Remember, the fact of any matter remains unchanged, but the opinions can be innumerable. Are the clashes on opinions or on fact? Whatever the case, both can be corrected by tact, diplomacy, and competence over a period of time.

One cannot expect the world to be configured to his choice all the time. If one makes a mistake, he will get an appropriate response and has to live with it only to improve in the future! If one cannot make peace and generate harmony and lacks the knowledge, skills, or attitudes to bring about desired changes, then wherever one goes, such problems will keep on haunting him!

The key to such situations is patience, hard and competent work, and a non-reactive nature.

Running away from a problem does not resolve it! You can win (in this case, restore peace, harmony, and goodwill) if you focus on these end objectives. But there is nothing static in life. The restored peace can be disturbed also, and one will have to continually monitor the situation to give corrective inputs all the time!

Wish you work on a thought-out strategy instead of just wallowing in self-pity!

Cheer up! You can win!

Regards,
Samvedan

Your explanation states that you can't escape the situation. I have also been working in a similar situation with similar people for a long time and tried to adapt. Everybody has a different style of working, just like your current boss. I would suggest carefully considering what he expects, because even if you leave this job to avoid harassment, there is a high chance of facing a similar situation in a new job. It's better to adjust to such bosses (switching jobs doesn't always prove to be a good idea).

Therefore, understand your boss's way of working - observe what he expects at each phase of work. For example, every evening, he might expect a report for the whole day, so instead of waiting for his instruction to prepare the report, start developing it from the morning itself. You can apply a similar approach to other work reports.

From my experience, most employees feel harassed by their bosses because the bosses expect too many reports, and the employees do not see the necessity of those reports. Hence, conflicts arise between the boss and the subordinate, as the boss gets frustrated wondering why the employee can't even create a few reports, while the employee questions the need to create those seemingly unnecessary reports.

I would suggest noticing your boss's likes and dislikes, never presenting your ego to him, and always prioritizing his instructions. I feel that soon you will become the favorite employee of your boss. While my advice may not apply to all situations, I hope it can be helpful.

Thanks

Thank you to all. Thanks for reading this and giving me your valuable and frank feedback. I am now feeling relaxed and less stressed after sharing this with you. I will definitely work on the suggestions you have given and try to improve my situation. Cite HR has truly helped me in this way. Thanks to all. Regards.

Understanding Corporate Dynamics

Just remember one thing in your newly found understanding: corporations are not about individual likes and dislikes. In fact, they are about goals and results, and how "you" fit into them and what you can deliver. That part is just about what you get paid for.

If you get into a state of "me and my job," it's never the case. Work processes are designed and evolve around work relationships that themselves become a factor why one person is more successful over the other. See Ukmitra's point on how adjusting and getting along really is the rule rather than the exception. It's an art, and it's the most important skill too.

When it comes to "You," it will never help to be sensitive (even though you are by nature) and let your superior or your colleagues' power plays affect your own level of motivation. It's part of the environment you have chosen to thrive in. So buckle up and see what finer attitude and behavior adjustments you need to make and work around those parts. This is not the end of the road; in fact, it's just the beginning of a new learning curve on organizational power plays.

Enhancing Organizational Success

Organizational success in a corporate career is greatly enhanced when you are able to work flexibly with people around you without upsetting them or being the reason for them to quit their jobs. Disputable but not far from the truth.

It could be a discussion thread on its own, but it's a topic best laid to rest and be discussed in a political science or sociology forum somewhere else on this internet world. For now, stay sharp and go with a plan to get your boss's job. 

Now come on, is that fair? Who knows? But what's happening to you isn't either. Have a good day.

What all the members have mentioned, I agree with that. However, if your boss is biased and doesn't want to listen, you should consider leaving because the corporate world is full of egoistic personalities where people play a lot of politics just to secure their juniors' jobs or to undermine their peers in the eyes of big bosses and management. Give it a try, and if it doesn't work, don't waste your time. Staying in such an environment for a long time can lead to a loss of motivation and self-confidence.

Thanks