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Bad Boss of the Week: Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko

By Brie Hobbs on Friday, July 24, 2009

This week’s bad boss is corrupt corporate raider, Gordon Gekko from the 1987 film Wall Street. Gordon, played by Michael Douglas, is a dishonest Wall Street player who values the almighty dollar above all else. His unprincipled priorities leave no room to value companies or employees beyond financial profit. His love for money does not even flinch in the face of illegal activities.

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If you’ve had a bad boss who would stop at nothing for a buck, here are some tips to help you survive the greed:

Money can be a great motivator, but it can not buy you happiness. Don’t get caught up in the highly contagious greed.
If faced with illegal or unethical demands, choose to do the right thing no matter what, even if means finding a new job.
Help your boss realize how their decisions impact others.
Find value in things outside of work.

Share your bad boss stories at www.100worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

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Bad Boss of the Week: A Christmas Carol’s Ebenezer Scrooge

By Brie Hobbs on Friday, July 17, 2009

Ebenezer Scrooge – the self-centered, tight-fisted, hum bug in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – is this week’s bad boss. His constant malice, degrading demeanor, and entire lack of work/life balance make him the classic bad boss.

While there’s a great deal to be said for hard work, knowing how to balance business with life is an important and necessary skill that eluded Scrooge for much of his career. He spent most of his life at work and expected his employee, Bob Crachit, to do the same, only reluctantly giving him Christmas day off.

Have you found that your work/life balance can be more work than life? In order to keep pace with a workaholic boss, here are three things you can do to reprioritize your life and still meet their expectations.

1. Discuss and understand your employer’s expectations
2. Take time to evaluate your goals and priorities
3. Establish an agreed-upon plan in advance, including deadlines and time off.

To view a clip of Ebenezer Scrooge in action, click here.

Share your bad boss stories at www.worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

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Bad Boss of the Week: In Good Company’s Carter Duryea

By Brie Hobbs on Thursday, July 2, 2009

In Good Company’s Carter Duryea doesn’t have any over-the-top quirks, personality traits or attitude issues that make him impossible to work for. In fact, he’s quite likeable – even charming. What makes him this week’s bad boss is his inexperience. His lack of work experience causes him to have tunnel vision and he fails to focus on his clients’ needs.

Carter replaces a highly qualified twenty-year executive veteran of an advertising company after a corporate takeover. When Carter takes a mature, and seemingly conservative, client out to a hip-hop concert, his ostentatious sales approach exposes his inexperience as he fails to connect with his client. To watch a clip, click here.

So how do you cope with an inexperienced boss? Start with these 4 tips.

Recognize and acknowledge the skills they have
Be patient
Guide and teach them
Give them time and space to grow

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Bad Boss of the Week: Arrested Development’s Gob Bluth

By Brie Hobbs on Friday, June 26, 2009

Gob (pronounced “Job”) Bluth’s colossal incompetence and complete lack of qualification and experience make him this week’s Movin’ On Up Bad Boss of the Week. Gob is a deficient magician who is briefly appointed – by his mother – to be president of the family business, The Bluth Company, on the sitcom Arrested Development.

Hopefully, you’ve never had a boss so incompetent, inept, and unfocused that they’ve managed to make their office into a pool room, turn their desk into a massage table, and cost the company $45,000 in damages – all within their first three hours on the job. But, if you’ve ever had a boss who left you wondering what dark magic they used to get where they are, here are five tips to help you manage the situation and successfully work with a truly bad boss.

1. Manage up
2. Don’t undermine their authority
3. Support the strengths they have
4. Focus on doing your best job
5. Take responsibility for the things you can

Have you worked with an incompetent boss like Gob? How did you work through the situation?

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Bad Boss of the Week: The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly

By Brie Hobbs on Friday, June 19, 2009

With a penchant for manipulation, a demand for the impossible and a sub-zero demeanor that would cause anyone to shudder, The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly is the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week.

Well done, Miranda! Your self-serving ambition and lack of respect for your employees and human beings in general make you a nightmare of a boss and our Bad Boss of the Week.

If you’ve had a bad boss like Miranda, who not only expected but demanded the impossible from you, like a flight home in the middle of a hurricane or a pre-release copy of the latest J.K. Rowling novel, follow these tips to help you succeed in you career without having to acquire super-human powers:

1. Manage Expectations
2. Recognize What You Can and Can Not Control
3. Anticipate Needs
4. Offer Alternative Solutions
5. Communicate Your Successes

Employers often set standards high to inspire and motivate employees to be their very best, but if you feel defeated by your boss’s unattainable demands, practice the above tips for achievable solutions that will help you succeed no matter what.

Share your bad boss stories at www.worstbosses.com. For more information about 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best and the Movin’ on Up Bad Boss of the Week, click here.

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Bad Bosses: Have You Worked for One?

By Brie Hobbs on Friday, June 12, 2009

Most of us have had a bad boss – or two – in our work history. From the irrational to the absolutely, even clinically, insane, bad bosses and their impressions leave catastrophes in their wake. But, if you think that the icy, fear-inducing Miranda Priestly or the awkwardly dense Michael Scott couldn’t hold a candle to a chart-topping bad boss you’ve had, now’s your chance to share your story.

Express Employment Professionals is working with best-selling author Jim Stovall to gather stories for his next book, titled 100 Worst Bosses – Learning from the Very Worst How to Be Your Very Best. To share your story, visit www.worstbosses.com. Your identity, the employer’s identity, and the company’s name will be altered to maintain your confidentiality. If your story is selected to be among the 100 Worst Bosses stories featured, you will receive an autographed, pre-release copy of the book.

Need some bad boss inspiration to help jog your buried memories of an awful boss? Visit the Movin’ on Up blog every Friday in June and July for our highlighted Hollywood bad boss of the week. Check out this week’s bad boss highlight: The ever ridiculous Michael Scott character, on NBC’s The Office, unnecessarily worries his employees when he prematurely spills the beans about their branch office closing before corporate makes a final decision.

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Falling Behind on the Job? Pick Yourself Up and Start Again

By Brie Hobbs on Thursday, June 4, 2009

With more to do at work and less time to do it in, some job responsibilities – big and small – can easily fall through the cracks. Incomplete or missed projects and tasks can affect your job performance, your co-workers, and your company. So, ask yourself if it’s time to start changing your habits. Whether you’re learning the roles of a new job, trying to break time-wasting habits, or simply don’t have enough time in your day to accomplish every assignment, follow these steps to get back on track before you get further behind.

Step 1: Admit mistakes. When you’ve made a mistake or overlooked a project, admit your error and accept responsibility for it. Set a time with your supervisor to discuss the oversight, how you can fix it, and how you can prevent the mistake from happening again. Your employer will appreciate your honesty and your desire to improve. Then, together, you can come up with a solution that will keep you on top of your tasks and performing to your potential.

Step 2: Ask for help. If you’re struggling to accomplish your tasks in a timely manner, or to understand an assignment, ask for help. Your manager or even a co-worker may be able to give you insight into how to tackle a task more effectively. They can also be a source of encouragement when you begin to feel frustrated.

Step 3: Create new habits. Bad habits like tardiness and procrastination hamper your productivity and job performance. Dr. Rob Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Montclair State University once said, “First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.” That’s why, you must first identify the habits that are overtaking you and your work week so you can begin to replace them with habits that will serve you. It takes an average of 21 to 30 days to create a habit. So make it a priority to fix your bad habits. For example, if you struggle with being prompt to work, work hard to be early for the next 30 days until it becomes a habit to arrive on time every day.

Step 4: Remember that tomorrow is a new day. Every new day brings with it endless opportunities to learn, grow, and change. If you feel discouraged and behind at work, remember that tomorrow is a new day. Starting now, you can embrace a new outlook, leaving yesterday behind, so you feel refreshed and ready to tackle your projects head-on.

When you feel overwhelmed or just bored by a project, it’s tempting to put it off. But procrastination only makes the situation worse. Before you fall behind at work, seek out solutions that will help you accomplish your projects with efficiency and ease, whether it’s simply asking for help or breaking bad habits. Fulfilling all of your job duties to the best of your ability will leave you feeling secure, proud of your accomplishments, and ready to face new challenges.