“you, what are you doing idling there? Go back to work immediately. Next time I find you lazying about, I will kick you out,” says the mean-looking manager as Uwineza recoils to her work station.Poor girl, she had gotten out to stretch her body and rest her eyes after hours on the computer.Such is the daily experience of employees that are unfortunate to work under bad supervisors; call them bosses from hell. You might like your job, the company and the people, but your supervisor can make your work day a nightmare. Someone who delights in making your life difficult, is unpredictable, moody and could pass for a tyrant or work terrorist. According to experts, another common characteristic of these managers is that they find fault with almost everything their juniors do.Uwamariya Yvonne narrates of how her boss used her weaknesses to ‘massage’ his ego and harrass her. She had no choice but suffer silently since she was a single mother of two, without any other means of livelihood. “Losing the job would spell disaster for them, so I had to bear the mistreatment as I had no alternative,” she says.Her self-esteem and confidence were shuttered, but she was entrapped.With such a boss, chances are you have tried everything in the book to impress him or her, but nothing seems to work. At times you blame yourself for his actions. How to handle an abusive bossDarcy Masembe, a human resource consultant at TM International Consult, advises employees to record the written and verbal abuses by the supervisor.“This not only helps when you are filing a lawsuit, it also gives you a sense of control over your circumstances. That is necessary if you want to keep your presence of mind,” Masembe says.He also urges workers facing such a problem to always pause before answering the boss’ queries.“Keep a smile on your face no matter how painful it could be. When the time comes and your boss is questioned for his abuse, your co-workers will testify to the fact that you were always civil to him or her.”“People rarely change their personalities in fundamental ways. I kept hoping that one day my boss would realise that I was not his enemy, but that day did not come. That was a mistake, I was fired on false allegations...waiting on him to change,” Athanasie Mukarutesi, a worker at a local NGO, narrates her ordeal at her former workplace. Mukarutesi advises workers not to argue with such managers. “Such bosses want to create a fight so that they can be seen as winners.” It is advisable to document abuses by the supervisor and events that led to them. “The most strategic thing you can do to protect yourself is to gather evidence of his or her hostility and improper behaviour.According to skloverworkingwisdom.com, one should report the manager to his or her superior. “Making an official complaint provides a rationale and leverage you need to be re-assigned to a different department.” When you report, offer to share your collection of evidence on the boss’ improper behaviour.If all else fails, resign. Work doesn’t have to be hell on earth. However, if you quit the job as a result of a ‘hellish’, clearly indicate that “involuntary” resignation. This means that the boss from hell was the reason. Dr. Theobald Hategekimana, the director General for the Kigali University Teaching Hospital, points out that such abuses could lead to depression, drug abuse and even suicidal tendencies.
