Bosses are an essential part of every workplace. A good boss leads with optimism, transparency, and integrity. But not all bosses are the same. The reality is that there are many types and traits of bosses existing in workplaces, far beyond the caricature we see in cartoons or movies:
The Mr. Right Boss: The mantra in every workplace is that the boss is always right. Yes, this is the most dangerous unwritten rule that we follow in the workplace. If your boss has a fragile ego, then you have probably found yourself in this familiar situation. Even if logic and evidence are on your side, being the boss, apparently, is enough validation to debunk any other arguments. They often tend to hide behind a facade and focus more on using their authority to prove he or she is the boss. Somehow, they have the power to conceal their own mistakes and shortcomings.
The Workaholic Boss: It’s a sunny morning, and you arrive at work with a smile on your face. But then you get to your desk, start getting through your e-mails, and your face twists. You realize that your boss has left you to take care of one or two more long, annoying, and trivial tasks that are actually insignificant. If only bosses would let their employees breathe for a while. But instead of doing that, they keep piling up pressure on you until you eventually break down. It is very difficult when you have a workaholic boss and he expects you to be one too. Nothing makes a job more miserable than having a boss who has no qualms about overworking their staff.
The Unhappy Boss: There is nothing worse than being stuck working for someone who is never ever happy with your work. Many a time, when you are about to call it a day, your boss will remember that unfinished report which he never bothered about for the last two years, but suddenly it becomes important and necessary to finish that very day itself kyunki duniya kal khatm ho jayegi [the world is going to end tomorrow]. But to call everything important means, in reality, nothing is important. Bosses are impossible creatures who are never ever satisfied with your work, which is something one has to accept. I always smile and nod while my boss gives me “constructive criticism,” but most of the time, I am really thinking why the hell I am working here. Feeling unappreciated or like you are constantly being taken advantage of at work is not good. Whether that means working ridiculous hours, inhaling lunch or skipping it altogether, and even sacrificing your weekends, it can be taxing on both your career and home life.
The Selfish Boss: They will always butter you up, telling you how hardworking you are, and then give you more and more work. If you are good at your work, your boss will be so happy that instead of giving you a raise in salary, he will “gift” you other employees’ work to finish. Sometimes, I feel getting my work done early just means being rewarded with more work.
The Inconsiderate Boss: Some bosses are so inconsiderate that they will fix a meeting at 6 pm. Their day and brain start in the evening. They are continuously stuck on their chair after office hours, just like a dosa is stuck on a stubborn tawa.
The Cribbing Boss: Bosses always crib about the company having no business and how it is about to close down, especially when employees ask for a salary hike. Also, some bosses have selective hearing, especially during salary talks.
The Unkind Boss: Suddenly, you become essential to the company when you ask for a holiday or half day. He will give you 20 more random tasks to complete just as you are about to leave, especially on days when you are counting down the minutes until you get off work. The last thing you need is a pile of paperwork that, according to your boss, simply cannot wait until tomorrow kyunki duniya kal khatm ho jayegi [the world is going to end tomorrow]. Whether it is a rainy day or even if a tsunami comes, bosses have truly unrealistic expectations. Bosses be like: “You are still coming to work, right?” Come rain or shine, they expect you to be at work, on time, no matter the circumstances. They think we employees have “Sanjivani Buti” every day. No matter how important you think you are, if a bus hits you today, tomorrow they will be hiring someone new—and that is a fact. You may think your company can’t do without you, but the reality is: it can.
The Credit Boss: Another favourite trick of bosses is to suck up all kinds of favours from their employees and take credit for all the hard work done by them, stealing their ideas and presenting them as their own, thus reaping the benefits of your hard work. Meanwhile, you haven’t received a salary raise or even a “thank you” from him! Boss be like: “Please submit your ideas to me today so that I can submit them as my own tomorrow.” Employees certainly are discouraged when bosses steal recognition for their work or ideas.
The Mr. India Boss: In every office, there is always a boss who is never there. They are always double-booked for meetings, running from “important thing” to “even more important thing,” and on the rare occasion you see them in the flesh, they have a phone to their ear and a line of people waiting outside their cabin. They are so hard to get to that sometimes employees squeeze their way in for chats while the boss is on the way to the bathroom, the conference room, or their car. For some bosses, the office is just a stop between their meetings or parties. They never stick around to have chats with the staff, let alone check the performance or growth of the company or respond to staff mails.
The Hypocritical Boss: There are some hypocritical bosses who will always say, “Our company is a happy, closely knit family. We are not just a team, but a family.” Families are permanent. They are bound by emotion, not contract. At home, love is assumed. At work, it is not. A workplace is a place of contribution, not identity, and when a workplace starts sounding like family, it often brings confusion, blurred roles, and misplaced expectations.
The Detective Boss: This is a special breed of human who believes that if they aren’t monitoring how many times you go to the washroom, productivity will crumble down. They track when you are online, how long you take to respond to an e-mail, and probably even count the number of cups of tea, coffee, or glasses of water you drink.
The Confused Boss: Bosses ask for one thing, wait until you’re nearly done, and then ask for something else. If you’re expecting that this time they’ll require no changes, your bad day at work is about to get worse. Most of the work that bosses give is just a waste of time. Employees take 2–4 days to complete the task, but all you hear from your boss is, “Why did you waste your time on this? I need the file in A format and not B format.” When you do it in “A” format, he will ask you to do it in “C” format. When you do it in “C” format, he will ask you to do it in “D” format, and so on and on… Finally, the “B” format that was initially done by you will be approved.
The Disinterested Boss: It’s been a long time, and your boss still makes you wait for a meeting that was scheduled for 4 pm, and it is already 7:30 pm, but he is busy watching a football match. You are tired, you have a deadline, and your annoying co-worker won’t stop talking about her favorite period drama. Such bosses are real headaches. You spend countless hours preparing for a meeting that will only be delayed, cancelled, or misrepresented by your boss simply because he is not bothered.
The Bizarre Boss: Some bosses have a unique way of talking. My boss uses the “So and So language,” such as “Email so and so and ask him to give some discount,” or “Call so and so and inform him to book a flight to so and so at so and so time,” or “Usko documents de do,” or “Isko phone karo.” But yeh “usko” means “kisko”? He expects us to understand his language as we have been working with him for a long time. Hearing his “So and So language” makes me forget my own English.
The Poor Communication Boss: Some bosses do not communicate properly. They speak in codes. Once my boss sent me a file with a note: “UDN.” I didn’t understand what he meant. It seems he wanted me to discuss the file with him, and “UDN” meant “urgently discuss now.”
The Bully Boss: In many offices, the staff is not allowed to sit in the boss’s cabin. They are made to stand, listen to his nonsense talks, and clear documents while standing as the boss sits comfortably in his chair. The boss must understand that we are humans and have legs made of bones, not iron rods fixed with Ambuja Cement. They also yell at you, dressing you down in front of other workers. Even passing by his cabin makes you cringe. The bullying may take place in person or via email. Either way, you hate working for this person and want to leave.
The Discouraging Boss: When a boss keeps a “good employee,” his own life is made much easier by the employee. The boss knows the job will get done and done well. No extra staff will have to be appointed or trained. It's great—for the boss, that is. For the employee, you don’t grow at all, and your boss holds you back because you're too good. They will never inform you of any appreciation mail sent by your clients. Such discouraging bosses may try to restrain you from working with other people, give you dull reviews or recommendations to keep you with them, thus leading to your efforts being taken for granted. There are some who consistently shoot down ideas that aren’t their own, resist change, and hold staff to impossible, vague standards. Thus, employees are discouraged from bringing up new ideas as their inputs are not valued, holding back the employee’s growth.
The Moody Boss: Sometimes, I feel my boss’s mood controls the office atmosphere. If he had a fight at home, then he takes out his entire frustration on the staff, as he has no voice at home.
The ‘OK, Let’s Call a Meeting!’ Boss: Meetings are called to discuss and solve issues. Most bosses will call a meeting at the drop of a hat and then rip every iota of context from it so that it has no value for the employees or the company. My boss frequently calls for court meetings in his cabin and does a post-mortem of every microscopic issue in the office, even if the broom is not proper, or the brand of the tea/coffee, or the quality of the dustbins.
The Narrative Boss: Such bosses create their own narrative just to prove themselves right and mentally harass employees. They are very good scriptwriters and can certainly give a boost to Bollywood.
The Unpredictable Boss: Such bosses can go either way. One day they may be nice and friendly at work, and the next day, they may have a mood swing and be mean and strict about your work. With them being unpredictable, employees may feel uncomfortable at work because they never know what their boss will be like next. An employee may think it is okay to do one thing at work and then get reprimanded for doing the same thing because their boss has mood swings and is unpredictable.
The Time Boss: My boss has a fascinating relationship with time. In his world, everything is urgent. “Can you look at this?” usually means “Drop everything, including your lunch, your dignity, and your plans to ever leave this office before 8 pm.” He expects us to finish all the work the moment he spells it out. In fact, before we even start the work, he calls the client and asks whether they got the e-mail/offer. Even when he is having tea or lunch or is on the way to the washroom, he will assign work, as time is precious and should not be wasted. The workload often feels like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon, while the boss stands on the shore shouting that the teaspoon is too big and we should be using a coffee stirrer.
The Accurate Boss: My boss is a “stickler for accuracy,” but he always follows the rule: “I will redo everything you do, but I need you to do it first so that I can criticize you and your work, which is actually perfect—but I will make it imperfect by picking up unnecessary flaws that I create on my own because I am the boss.”
The Gossiping Boss: Such bosses are not concerned about the productivity of the company. They have their favourite employee who has nothing to do but report every minute thing happening in the office. These are the reporters who deliver day-to-day breaking news to the bosses before and after office hours. Come what may, they are the people for whom the boss is always deaf, dumb, and blind. Their only job is to keep a watch on employees, and for that, they are rewarded under the table in cash and kind.
The Relaxed Boss: This kind of boss is easygoing. They are nice, friendly, and make work a fun and enjoyable place. They are easy to talk to, meaning you can discuss your problems comfortably and ask questions. Also, a relaxed boss trusts you with your work; they will let you work freely without breathing down your neck. Having this type of boss should make the working experience much better. But alas, such bosses are hard to find.
Finally… something to say to every boss:
Dear Boss,
It is time you understand that we do have an individual personal life. Our lives do not revolve only around the office calendar. You have always motivated us to work more and more, but if our work is actually contributing to your company, we will be happier if we get a hike or a promotion. This will only help us work better for the company. Your “mere words” cannot run our house. We never argue with you. We just explain why we are right. Every time we sit for lunch, you come up with something important that has to be done on the spot. Please understand—the lunchtime is the only vacation we get. Else, the whole day, we are just slogging for you and your company for a peanut salary.
We are not robots. We request you to kindly consider us as human beings who have feelings and need understanding, not just constant task monitoring. Please respect our right to silence the phone, close our e-mails, and turn off texts/team notifications once we are at home or on holidays. Your first and most important responsibility should be to treat every employee with dignity, listen to their opinions, converse with kindness, and pay them what they deserve, thus promoting a positive work culture in which employees are fulfilled, engaged, and motivated to perform at their very best.
