Brown Crayon in the Workplace

Celebration — Goodbye to a Bad Boss ▼

“Telling my story of what I experienced in the workplace.”

Some bosses are so mean, so annoying, so outrageously bad that you dread each and every day on the job. With all the hours you spend at work, putting up with these Bad Bosses is no small effort on your part. If you’re lucky, you find a way to get yourself out of that hell hole as soon as possible. But for whatever reason, sometimes some of you just can’t leave. So you wait. Hoping and praying that this person, who is making your life so miserable will just up and disappear.

When to say goodbye to a bad boss is a question many people in bad work situations struggle with — how to know when the bad behaviors and emotional relief of leaving outweigh the benefits. Of course, different people have different tipping points. It might depend on your mortgage payment, family situation, or tolerance for unhappiness at work. We spend too much of our life at work to be consistently unhappy there. There is no easy formula about whether to stay or go.

Do you love the company and its mission but hate your boss? Do you have a bad boss, with a job that bores you? I urge you to see what new information and options will open up for you. I believe some bad bosses are not inherently bad people destined to be bad bosses forever. There is hope for them to improve and become valued mentors.

The awkwardness and feelings of discomfort of not fitting in can be difficult to continue working for a bad boss. You can suffer under the leadership of a boss who is ill-equipped to manage.

It can be difficult to find the right words to say goodbye to a company with a lack of diversity and allows racism. You want to write something meaningful, but stay composed and professional at the same time. A farewell letter is your platform to make a statement of principles about the organization.

I left my nonprofit job at Green America (www.greenamerica.org), because of a bad boss bullying me and demonstrating racism. I did not have support from the executive team and HR because of all the FAKE stories he told on me. I could no longer take the abuse. My departure from the company was a retirement.

Before you make plans to leave your job because of your boss, compile a list of the qualities that make him or her hard to work for. Then think whether there is a workaround for improvement. Remember that a tough boss holding employees to a high standard to do better isn’t necessary a bad boss.

If you’ve done everything you can and still are not feeling any more comfortable with your current job situation, it may be time to move on. There is no shame in leaving a job!

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Pen Name: Brown Crayon (pseudonym)