Advice on how to work for terrible boss ....

[robnplunder]

So, my firecalc numbers keep giving me hint that I need to work two more years to enjoy finer things in life when I RE. The problem is, my job is a high paying cushy/easy one but my boss is a page out of the movie, The devil wears Prada. I kid you not. This guy pretty much acts like the movie's evil boss (egotistic, selfish, condescending, demeaning, .............). So, somewhat in humor, what are your thoughts & advices on hanging in there for the next two years? I can pretend he's wearing no cloths . What else?

 

[comicbookgujy]

So, my firecalc numbers keep giving me hint that I need to work two more years to enjoy finer things in life when I RE. The problem is, my job is a high paying cushy/easy one but my boss is a page out of the movie, The devil wears Prada. I kid you not. This guy pretty much acts like the movie's evil boss (egotistic, selfish, condescending, demeaning, .............). So, somewhat in humor, what are your thoughts & advices on hanging in there for the next two years? I can pretend he's wearing no cloths . What else?

I'm in almost the same situation. I have a high paying / easy job. Exactly my boss is nice, but my co-workers are nasty. They spend more time backstabbing than working and that really drains my energy.

So after having a mental breakdown from all the stress, I decided to not give a F about my career and the job has been less stressful since I stopped caring. I checked out and look at 5 more years...5 more years I will hit my magic # and then I will be free from all these crazy people while they are still at work with high blood pressure.

 

[traineeinvestor]

Sounds ... unpleasant.

Minimise contact, make sure you have some stress relievers outside the office and keep telling yourself it is only two more years.

Oh yes, and think about selling the movie rights after you've written the book.

 

[jwkde]

Any chance he would fire you and you wind up with a nice severance package that gets you closer?

So, my firecalc numbers keep giving me hint that I need to work two more years to enjoy finer things in life when I RE. The problem is, my job is a high paying cushy/easy one but my boss is a page out of the movie, The devil wears Prada. I kid you not. This guy pretty much acts like the movie's evil boss (egotistic, selfish, condescending, demeaning, .............). So, somewhat in humor, what are your thoughts & advices on hanging in there for the next two years? I can pretend he's wearing no cloths . What else?

 

[eytonxav]

Just think about all those that have high paying but extremely tough jobs with idiot bosses.

 

[pb4uski]

So, my firecalc numbers keep giving me hint that I need to work two more years to enjoy finer things in life when I RE. The problem is, my job is a high paying cushy/easy one but my boss is a page out of the movie, The devil wears Prada. I kid you not. This guy pretty much acts like the movie's evil boss (egotistic, selfish, condescending, demeaning, .............). So, somewhat in humor, what are your thoughts & advices on hanging in there for the next two years? I can pretend he's wearing no cloths . What else?

I feel so lucky to have never had a bad boss over my 35 year career. Don't get me wrong, some were better than others and there were difficult times, but I never had a boss that I hated.

Perhaps if you push back a bit now and then the boss will move on to easier pickings. OTOH, he might fire you or make it worse if he knows he bothers your. One ploy might be to tell him that there is a fine line between a mentor and a tormentor, with a wink.

I did have a guy (a senior person with a contractor I had to deal with regularly) who was very difficult to deal with and in a moment of frustration one day on a phone call where he was being a jerk I said "F*** you, (name)" and hung up on him. Interestingly, we got along fine after that and I never had a problem with him again - in fact were ultimately became friends. I think I just needed to set boundaries with him.

 

[lrak]

Any possible opportunities for a lateral transfer? I'd rather have a hard job with a nice boss than an easy job with a terrible one.

Also read "Snakes in Suits" and see if applies to your situation.

 

[travelover]

I had a few bosses like this. I was in a big organization so I moved laterally when I could, or the boss was such a jerk that they got promoted and left on their own.

Concentrate on the end game, and don't let the little stuff bug you. You will soon be in a place to not even remember this orifice's name.

 

[Midpack]

Any chance the boss may move on? I only had one boss in 35 years that I really had no respect for about 6-7 years into my career. But I stuck it out and got promoted after only working for him for about 2 years, followed by several promotion/relocations. I had a great career overall, and I am glad that I did not bail due to one bad boss. As you might guess, his ego finally caught up with him, and his career and marriage were both destroyed by his actions.

If your boss isn't going anywhere, just stay clear as much as possible and focus on the livelihood the job provides and the financial independence it's helping you build. It seems like an eternity while it's happening, but it's only a moment in your life overall. Eyes on the prize.

One day you may even laugh about it...

 

[MRG]

There was an absolutely evil boss at Megacorp. I never worked directly for her, but a friend did. I'd asked how? He responded 'this job doesn't define me, only I can'. He chose his own behavior, thoughts, reactions.... He also had the attitude that the misery was just a stage, things would change, sometime. The evil boss 'decided' one day to retire, making many folks happier.

There's a quote from holocaust survivor Victor Frankl:
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

Best wishes,
MRG

 

[Sarah in SC]

I had a terrible boss, really a sociopath, twice in my life. The first time I could leave and did. The second, I just had to wait out the situation, for a very long time (5+ years). It helped to focus on the people around me who didn't suck, and weren't crazy and mean. But I'll tell you, it takes a toll on your life, in and out of work. I'm glad I stuck it out, but it wasn't easy.
Focus on your goals, the people who are decent around you, and put the bad guy on a "virtual ignore" whenever possible.

 

[robnplunder]

Any chance he would fire you and you wind up with a nice severance package that gets you closer?

None. Wishing for that for some years.

 

[tryan]

Worked for a tyrant for 12 years ... the dept was a revolving door everyone sending resumes while working for the guy. Then trashing him in the exit interview. He finally "got the hint" after being passed up for a promotion and being demoted via a reorg. HE LEFT (and, come to find out, was LAID OFF from the next job) ! Karma!

Ironically, being the only senior person left ... I got his job.

 

[brewer12345]

ThinkGeek :: The ThinkGeek Annoy-a-tron

 

[robnplunder]

the dept was a revolving door everyone sending resumes while working for the guy. Then trashing him in the exit interview.

After number of these, he became very careful with e-mails and such so that he won't leave any evidence of harassment behind. And he kept moving up in the org.

 

[Live And Learn]

I worked for one of these for 2 years. Actually this person started out super nice for the first year and then turned WICKED on me. And it was personal ! I don't know what I did but I went from being the favorite to being the black sheep. It was AWFUL and I spent many late nights doing useless work because I was told to do it. I spent a lot of time in tears. I started looking for a lateral move but before that could happen the boss made a lateral move !

 

[robnplunder]

Any chance the boss may move on?

If your boss isn't going anywhere, just stay clear as much as possible

No chance of his moving on. Moving up, yes.

I tried to minimize my interaction with him. Then, he confronted me one day, demanding to know why I have been ignoring him .

 

[W2R]

So, my firecalc numbers keep giving me hint that I need to work two more years to enjoy finer things in life when I RE. The problem is, my job is a high paying cushy/easy one but my boss is a page out of the movie, The devil wears Prada. I kid you not. This guy pretty much acts like the movie's evil boss (egotistic, selfish, condescending, demeaning, .............). So, somewhat in humor, what are your thoughts & advices on hanging in there for the next two years? I can pretend he's wearing no cloths . What else?

Been there, done that, during most of my career as a federal employee. Although I constantly explored transfers to other positions, I wasn't able to make one happen that made financial sense. My pension and federal retiree health care were in the balance, so quitting wasn't a choice I wanted to make. I decided that I was a grown-up and that I needed to suck it up and power on through.

I coped with the stress by pushing myself to ever greater levels of LBYM. Although I always had my retirement accounts maxed out, the worse the head games were, the more I poured into my taxable investment accounts too, and/or paying off the house. Being FI was my goal because it would put ME in control and I could retire.

In retrospect this was all for the best because otherwise I would have been stuck in "one more year" mode and I would not have saved as much as I catapulted towards ER. But gosh, what a ride!

 

[robnplunder]

Any possible opportunities for a lateral transfer?

Tried it a few times. Although I work for a megacorp, there are limited openings for lateral transfer for my position But the worst thing about this is, as soon as I apply, my boss gets alerted and things don't go well afterward.

 

[Live And Learn]

I decided that I was a grown-up and that I needed to suck it up and power on through.

pretty much what I did also. It also helped to remember that in general all things equalize over time and that she was only creating very bad Karma for herself and that her payback would be a b*tch.

 

[robnplunder]

One option which I contemplated was to kowtow to this guy for everything. He's from a 3rd world culture where this is expected. But it is against my integrity, pride, personality. Because of this, I get into major confrontation with him about once a year (things build up, and I had to push him back when it reaches a boiling point).

 

[robnplunder]

I decided that I was a grown-up and that I needed to suck it up and power on through.

Great that it worked for you. For me, it has been hard to do when a boss acting like a 7 year old brat is waiting at every turn to pounce on you. Perhaps, I buy him a few toys to play with.

Once, I sneaked in a book on how to manage people in his bookshelf. Someone beat me to it. There was the exact book already on the shelf .

 

[W2R]

Great that it worked for you. For me, it has been hard to do when a boss acting like a 7 year old brat is waiting at every turn to pounce on you. Perhaps, I buy him a few toys to play with.

Once, I sneaked in a book on how to manage people in his bookshelf. Someone beat me to it. There was the exact book already on the shelf .

I never said it was EASY to do. Just put all that energy from your anger and desires for revenge into saving more money than your boss would ever think was humanly possible. Becoming FI is a great way out of this situation.

Or at least, that is my only suggestion. Wish I had a more palatable solution for you.

 

[ERhoosier]

Sounds like it may be best to minimize non-essential interaction with boss, keep collecting those nice paychecks, & 'run out the clock' until RE. Might help to set mental boundary to NOT think about him or the office after you go home for the day, although that can be surprisingly difficult to do.

 

[Bestwifeever]

One option which I contemplated was to kowtow to this guy for everything. He's from a 3rd world culture where this is expected. But it is against my integrity, pride, personality. Because of this, I get into major confrontation with him about once a year (things build up, and I had to push him back when it reaches a boiling point).

At this point, two years from FI, I think I would sit on my pride and integrity and try to keep my personality out of it. And maybe no one told your boss what his third world culture expects, so forget the kowtowing. You are pretty close to your goal so maybe just suck it up til you get there. Remember the adage about arguing/ wrestling with a pig, I think it is....