Getting in Trouble at Work?
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Boss Stories
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We've all had one -- a boss who can sometimes be too demanding or irritable. "The challenge is to find ways to deal with even the most difficult bosses you may have to work for during your career," says Peter R. Garber, author of 100 Wyas to Get on the Wrong Side of your Boss. After working for a number of bosses over his 25+ year career in the corporate world, Garber jokes: "I've finally found a topic that I'm truly qualified to write about." Below are some of the best stories submitted by visitors to this web site: The Best Visitor-Submitted Stories |
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My
boss and I were travelling together on a business trip and the hotel
we were in didn't offer a wake-up service, but we had to get to
a very important early-morning meeting. My boss admitted to me that
he made a stupid mistake by forgetting his alarm clock, then he
asked me if I had brought mine, saying "surely you were not
so stupid as to forget yours as well..." Wanting to impress
him, I didn't have the nerve to tell him that I had forgotten mine
too. The boss asked me to call and wake him up at 6:30am so that
he would have time to shower and eat breakfast before our 8:30am
meeting halfway across town from the hotel. You can guess what happened
-- I was so nervous about sleeping in that I couldn't sleep well
most of the night, exhausting myself so that when I finally did
fall asleep around 3:00am, I slept right through until my furious
boss woke me at 9:00am. Boy, was I in trouble! |
Submit Your Own Story Send us your own stories about how you angered your boss and we'll post the best ones on the web site and may use them in radio interviews and in our newsletter. Each story you enter entitles you to one chance to win a prize -- one prize awarded each month. Prizes include free copies of the book 100 Ways to Get on the Wrong Side of your Boss (by Peter R. Garber), free copies of the audio CD Creative Conflict Management (by Catherine Daw), or a free Office Politics® coffee mug, courtesy of www.Office-Politics.com. Submit your story here. |
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I
once borrowed the boss' new truck to pick up an order and accidentally
backed it into a pillar in the parking lot, causing a big dent behind
one back wheel. It was my first day with the company and I really
needed the job, so I tried to smear mud over the spot to hide it,
hoping someone else would drive the truck before the boss saw the
damage and they would get blamed. Turns out the whole thing was
caught on the video camera including my attempt at hiding the damage.
By the time I got back to the yard, the security guy had already
shown the video to the boss, and he was waiting for me. I was fired
right away. Ouch. |
I
recently had a pretty bad encounter with the National Director of
the organisation I work for. The problem emanated from information
he received from somebody who was keen on listening and passing on
information. He had heard so much and his anger in the process was
building up such that one morning in a meeting he burst, as he was
highly infuriated and made serious threats towards the alleged person
although the name was not mentioned. Later that day the executive
sat to discuss several issues, but my issue took precedence. A colleague
came to inform me about this and the possibility of being fired from
work. Quite a lot of the issues were really distorted. I approached
the boss and we had a very good discussion. Things look positive now
and I have since learnt that I can go to his office anytime to represent
myself on issues. The importance of understanding one's boss cannot
be overephasized and I will continually work towards making things
better with the boss. - S.D., Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Well,
I am working as draftsman in a construction company in Bahrain. I
am Indian by nationality. Here, my boss is also an Indian but he is
a muslim and I am not a muslim. I work here sincerely and do most
of the work for my design department. Despite this, he does not like
me and he likes my head who is an Indian muslim. Many in the office
try to do politics and say they had done the work that I had done.
As I am in an intermediate level position, I cannot do anything. He
does not interact with me either. I am really helpless. He likes only
those who polish him, which I don't like. He supports muslims only.
Where as other departments like me rather than the head of my department,.my
boss knows that the design department runs because of me but still
he is like that. Please help me. - M.V.R., Manama, Bahrain |
I'm
a trainer at a major insurance provider and my boss at the time worked
out of a different city. All of us on the "team" (office politics...)
were fairly new and our boss was downright controlling. We were having
trouble learning the functions of the various departments we were
now responsible for because we weren't allowed to ask questions of
people. Anyway we all had a bitch session and one of the "team" went
and told the boss and then confronted me in my one on one. I told
my boss that I thought she was full of it and that she was fishing
for information on the rest of the team by trying to hold this over
my head. Her verins on her forehead and neck nearly burst and she
stormed out of the room and never spoke to me again. - R.J., Concord, New Hampshire, USA |
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