Worst Boss Ever

Last night I had one of those nasty dreams where everything in the world is going wrong. In this particular dream it involved working at a cash register... that I couldn't remember how to work... with a line of people in front of me (as the girl next to me flew through customers)... and with my boss standing behind me going through some of my journals and informing me how terrible my handwriting was. At some point in my dream I turned to her, said some spectacular words and quit.

I woke this morning with a great idea for a blog post. "The Worst Boss Ever"

What with school and work and my lively social life my schedule was full I went to school every morning at 6 AM--ish and got off work every evening at 11PM--ish. I would have loved every minute of it were it not for my boss.

She was the most intimidating woman I have ever met and she must have thought I was the dumbest person she had ever met.

She only allowed me to work the cash register on the slowest day of the week (Monday's) because she was convinced I couldn't handle anything more--which she'd been more than willing to tell me--and even then I had to have another person there to supervise. She called me at home whenever I made a mistake (usually ending with her hanging up on me) and openly ridiculed me for things like putting a Susan B. Anthony in with the quarters.

It got to the point that I could barely breathe around her, let alone think. Which only served to exacerbate the entire situation. She was truly, and thoroughly a bully.

It took me years to be able to confidently handle a register after that job and even longer to forgive her for her disdain of me.

Fast forward through all the other fabulous and mediocre bosses and you'll come quickly to my first and last job here in South Dakota. I took this job not because I needed the money, but because I needed the time out of the house.

She was the complete opposite of my first boss. Where #1 had been openly demeaning #2 was more subtle. Nothing was ever said to me about job performance, quite the contrary, actually. She would praise my work, praise my loyalty to the company, to the employees, to her. Then she would tell the other workers how lazy she thought I was, and how she never gave me any work because she just didn't think I could handle doing it.

I endured it. Ignored it. Didn't believe it. I kept working for her.

Then I got pregnant with Remewin. It was the most difficult pregnancy I have had. I threw up so much I was bringing up blood. My immune system ceased to function and I caught every tiny bug that the kids tracked in. I was down for the count and begged my boss to drop me from three days a week to two. She graciously, magnanimously, sympathetically agreed.

Then she complained about me not pulling my weight. She made off-handed comments about women who wanted to stay home with their children. She gossiped about me behind my back.

Again, I endured, ignored and disbelieved.

Things came to a head when I contracted the flu (for which I'd gotten a shot) and a sinus infection at the same time, all while dealing with my Mischievite's newly discovered propensity for asthmatic coughing spells. I was sick and out of work for about two weeks (which was really 4 days). One day when the Mischievite was having yet another fit of asthma she showed up at my house to give me a lecture about taking my job more seriously.

I was so mad, so angry, so stunned that I just stood there staring at her. When she finally walked away I called Ralexwin in angry tears. We decided that it was time for me to leave my job.

And then I burned my bridge (as Ralexwin lovingly put it). I called my boss and left a message on her machine saying: "You're right. I do need to take my job more seriously, and since the most important job I have is my children you're going to have to find someone else to work for you."

That's it. I hung up the phone, breathed a sigh of relief and reveled in my freedom. I also wondered if I'd ever take a job again in my life. Evidently my personality is somewhat aggravating to persons of authority--something of which I have yet to understand.

So, whose your worst boss? What's your story?

Comments

Kaz said…
oh boy!!!!!!! Bad bosses - i have had my fair share of those. Sad enough I have not had very many jobs - but lots of bosses (one job = 8 bosses) I did not like a lot of them but a couple really stand out as jerks - my last boss at the bakery was the worst. At first he was really understanding of Kourtney and the time it took away from work, then he started being a jerk about it. He would be really sarcastic, talk about me behind my back, and the last time I called to let him know I had to miss work because she was back in the hospital he hung up on me. But I have never had one show up at my house to lecture me. That boss actually came over around Christmas after she was born with gifts from his family to my kids ( sweet huh! its sad that he turned out to be a dirt bag) I understand he had a business to run but he could have been nicer. Not like I was off having a good time.

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