Do you like your boss(es)?

[MMMdude]

Seeing as how much of one's satisfaction with the workplace stems from the relationship with their boss; and that generally speaking us Mustachian's aren't ecstatic with our jobs one would assume that in many cases we do not like our bosses.  Is that the case for you?

For myself I do not like my immediate boss.  He provides poor direction and is often condescending without knowing it.  Numerous direct reports have had issues with him.  His boss, who I also deal with on a daily basis is a bully in my opinion with his contact criticism and "high performance culture" he is trying to drill into the Finance team.  His take is that before his vaulted arrival we were all working on the wrong projects and just generally failures.

[CU Tiger]

I like both of the folks who supervise me, but still want to retire early. My dislike for work is centered on me wanting to spend my time like I want, not on disliking these people.

[JoeBlow]

I like my immediate boss and his boss and generally enjoy my work.  I have a pretty flexible work schedule.  If it wasn't for that, I would be looking to RE faster.

[Tom Bri]

I am very fortunate in having good bosses as far up the chain as I have met...4 layers. I have been with this company 5 years, and need to leave. I have been putting it off the last two years mainly because I know very few companies would give me the flexibility I needed. Now I have my degree, and am putting out resumes, hope to be gone in the next month or two.

[Lordy]

Is that the case for you?

No. Most of my bosses have been very good to work with. I also give them feedback on what I need from them to do a good job.

That, of course, doesn't change the fact that I look forward to not having a boss in the future :)

[ditheca]

Wow, 5 in a row!

I like my boss and his boss.  Just like CU Tiger said, FIRE for me is all about wanting more time to spend time on the things I care about.

[MMMdude]

What do you all like in your bosses?  Seems like my employer could learn a few things.......

[Bearded Man]

I've noticed these threads tend to attract a specific crowd. If I post a thread asking if people like their job, the vast majority of respondents will say they love their jobs. Even when statistics show 70% of workers are unhappy, and 81 of IT workers are unhappy. Nevermind the fact that this is a early retirement forum. That is what would happen..

[Zikoris]

Totally. To be far, it doesn't take much for me to think a boss is fantastic - I've had so many awful ones in the past that my baseline is pretty low. I'm thrilled if someone isn't a dick to me, leaves me alone to do my work, and effectively solves problems when they come up.

[okits]

I've noticed these threads tend to attract a specific crowd. If I post a thread asking if people like their job, the vast majority of respondents will say they love their jobs. Even when statistics show 70% of workers are unhappy, and 81 of IT workers are unhappy. Nevermind the fact that this is a early retirement forum. That is what would happen..

Okay, I will pipe up and say no.  Am I required to provide any gory details?

[minority_finance_mo]

I've noticed these threads tend to attract a specific crowd. If I post a thread asking if people like their job, the vast majority of respondents will say they love their jobs. Even when statistics show 70% of workers are unhappy, and 81 of IT workers are unhappy. Nevermind the fact that this is a early retirement forum. That is what would happen..

Okay, I will pipe up and say no.  Am I required to provide any gory details?

I also have my misgivings. I have a great deal of respect for my former boss. My new boss (new department) is checked out and generally seems only interested in adding cumbersome processes. Regardless, I've learned bosses need to be won over more often than not, and I'll do it in this case also.

[Zamboni]

My current boss seems bright, reasonable, and generally fair-minded. He has the decency to leave me alone to do my work.

In the past I've had some truly horrible bosses and some great bosses. It can make a big difference in how one feels about work, no doubt about that. Now that I've instituted a "no asshole rule" in my life with the FU money to back it up, I won't be dealing with a horrible boss ever again.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I like my team leader and supervisor. Even the directors and VP of my department seem like decent people. I have been fortunate to have decent bosses at most of my jobs. I don't think I've ever had a really awful boss, but I've always been pretty low on the totem pole. If I had a higher ranking position at my company or previous ones, I might have a different opinion.

[vittelx]

Yes - he leaves me alone most of the time. That it my no 1 criteria for a boss.

Give me an assignment and trust me to be an adult and actually do it, thank you.

[undercover]

Seems like the number one criteria for liking your boss is having freedom and autonomy. That's true for me as well. I had a bit of it in my last job, depending on what I was doing. There was too much micro-managing and petty busy work in other areas. Overall, I wouldn't go back to work unless I was pretty much free doing specific tasks all day long.

[futurehermit]

Scene: assistant manager, serving as acting manager, calls me into office.

AM: sign here and here.
Me: what am I signing.
AM: your semiannual review.
Me: I am glad you brought this up.  I have been wondering how I have been doing.  Perhaps what I am doing well with and what I need to improve upon.
AM: I haven't really been paying attention to you.
Me: How about some goals we can set for the next 6 months?
AM: Wide - eyed stare, mouth agape.
Me: after uncomfortable silence, during which it appears AM really has no idea what to say.  How about I work on x...
AM: sure, and I will ask around to see how you are doing on x and get back to you.

Six months later assistant manager has not gotten back to me.  Manager who started about 4 months ago asks us individual employees why people keep resigning.  Would you explain to them how their middle management team pushes people away?  New boss seems mostly trustworthy, but has an entrenched team which does much of the above.  Should this be a new thread? 

Futurehermit

[WerKater]

I like my boss as a person. In principle, I also like him as a boss but he has way too many things to do and that shows. I am very independent with the details of my day-to-day work but for some strategic questions, I need his guidance. I don't know whether that's his fault. But I would like him even better if I had easier access to him.

[pachnik]

I have 2 bosses and I like them both.  They are very kind to me and treat me with respect.  This hasn't been the case at previous jobs though.  In my experience a workplace with bosses who treat me well is unusual.

[sonjak]

Yes!  I really like my boss and feel grateful every day for her. 

At my last company, I had one great boss and one horrible boss.  Over time, the latter became more and more involved in my daily life and I left almost entirely because of her. 

So I've really appreciated my current boss.  That being said, she's in the process of retiring and I am a bit scared about who her replacement will be and how that will affect my life and the other employees.  I'm hopeful though... I like my coworkers and my job and it would be nice to stay there until I retire (hopefully when I choose).

[JLee]

I've noticed these threads tend to attract a specific crowd. If I post a thread asking if people like their job, the vast majority of respondents will say they love their jobs. Even when statistics show 70% of workers are unhappy, and 81 of IT workers are unhappy. Nevermind the fact that this is a early retirement forum. That is what would happen..

To be fair, it's possible to be unhappy in your workplace and still like your boss. I've had that situation before.

Currently, I like my job and my boss (he got me this job, which was good enough to get me to move across the country).

[ketchup]

My immediate supervisor is incredibly awesome, and one rung above him is incredibly hands-off.  I'm happy with it. :D

[Luck12]

He's alright I guess, how's that for a ringing endorsement?   I don't get work dumped on and have short working hours, but on the other hand, he holds others to standards he himself doesn't adhere to.  One thing I don't like is a hypocritical boss. 

[Ftao93]

I like my bosses and colleagues just fine.  I care about most of them.  Unfortunately, corporate life doesn't foster it.

[flan]

I like my manager, and my team is pretty chill. People understand the need for flexibility due to doctor's appointments, kids, or just having an off day.

With that said, my salary could easily be a few K higher at a different employer and the benefits likely much better. I think if I didn't get along with my manager, though, I would've started applying to other positions ASAP, so it says something that I'm still here?

[asauer]

Eh.  She's fine.  I report to the VP of finance which is weird since I'm the head of org development.  So, I have to explain a lot of what I'm doing.  Also, her husband stays at home with their kids so she has a slightly altered view of how much people should work.  Other than that she's nice enough.  This is the main reason I'm not looking for a job.  I get my actual work done in like, 34 hrs/ week but I've worked for some really evil people and am not eager to take a chance of that again.

[Jesstache]

Technically, my husband is my boss and I love him (not just because I'm supposed to, ha!).  No he wasn't my boss when I married him.  We met when worked together at a completely different company, not even in the same group.  He became boss at a new company and they were having trouble finding someone to do exactly what I do.  I was SAHM at the time and dying to get back in the work force and it just made sense.  People tell me all the time what a great boss he is and I don't think it's just because I'm his wife, haha. If it weren't that way, I assume they just wouldn't say anything to me at all except for the extremely transparent sucking up types.

[oinkette]

I've had bosses I hated and bosses I've loved. My current boss is tough but mentoring and funny.  I like her.

For me, it's not my immediate boss that inspires FIRE, it's the knowledge that at any moment it could be a MUCH worse one.  I've had this happen. I want to be able to walk out the door the day that happens.

[flan]

For me, it's not my immediate boss that inspires FIRE, it's the knowledge that at any moment it could be a MUCH worse one.  I've had this happen. I want to be able to walk out the door the day that happens.

This is so true. FIRE and having FU money means when the work environment drops to less than tolerably-optimal, one can walk away!

[Jakejake]

I like my boss. This one, and the previous one, were great in that I felt I could go to them and explain I was having a problem on the job and brainstorm how to fix it instead of feeling like I had to cover things up if something wasn't going well. It feels like a team. 20+ years ago, I had one horrifyingly awful boss. Otherwise I've been pretty lucky.

[jorjor]

I like my boss. I sometimes dislike how she wants to take over the world and works too damn much. She doesn't overtly pressure people to work long hours but sometimes the pressure is just there.

My boss at my last job was spineless (my first job out of school). He was an okay guy but no chance he was standing up to anyone on behalf of his managees. One other person was an asshole to me for seemingly no good reason and a couple others had a complete disregard for the personal lives of newer hires, but if I pushed back they would go to him and he's put his tail between his legs and apologetically tell me I had no choice. So I left. Almost everyone around my level left within a year after I did.

[NoraLenderbee]

I like my boss. He respects his people and treats them well. In return, I work hard and with integrity and, when he asks for something, I do my best to deliver.

I have been lucky--I've been blessed with a few terrific bosses, and most of the rest have been at least OK. I did have a couple who showed me what NOT to do. One lied, belittled, and regularly threw her team under the bus. She promised upper management the moon and then turned on us if we pointed out that she'd promised things that were impossible. She ignored anything she didn't want to hear, like if you brought up a problem. If you reminded her of it, she would say, "I don't remember that" with a laugh, and That Was That; the problem literally no longer existed to her, and you were stuck with it.

The other was the mother of all control freaks who expected me to read her mind. No matter how much I did, she moved the goalposts every time and complained that I didn't achieve what she *really* wanted. Nothing was ever good enough. She also went behind my back and undermined me repeatedly. It was miserable. I was so happy when I quit that job.

[AnEDO]

I've been lucky with good bosses as well.  I realize however, that things can change very quickly.  FU levels have been fully reached and FI is only a few years away so I doubt I would put up with a bad boss for long.

[Digital Dogma]

I've had worse. I like him more when he lets me manage myself, which is about 95% of the time, since I get all our deliverables done on time every time.

Can't say I'd be any better as a boss.

I don't mind my job in general it keeps me active, allows me to be outside as often as I'd like, and I can see my actions improving the environment around me (that is my REAL motivation, not a paycheck or a pat on the back from the boss).

[The_path_less_taken]

I've never had a worse boss, and I started work at 16.

I've applied to two jobs today.

I came so close to punching him the last time he screamed at me like a wolverine with his nuts caught in a trap...I turned around and went to lunch. (it was an hour into the shift).

The other option was make sure I had bail money on me...

So as not to skew your results, I've had bosses I liked. But this ain't one of 'em.

[tthree]

To be fair, it's possible to be unhappy in your workplace and still like your boss. I've had that situation before.

Describes my work-life perfectly.

[Ockham]

I like my bosses. They're pretty laid back and good at communicating. They also stay out of my hair, giving me plenty of autonomy in my work.

[sunshine]

I have two bosses and they are siblings. They co_own the business. One is as nice as can be. I've never heard her say a bad word. The other is always always putting in barbs about the other boss to the staff. She's a big one for having to one up everything. Thankfully I see the good boss every work day for maybe 10 min and the other maybe once a week if that. I'm glad I don't see the bad boss much. If I had to I'd surely get fired.

[rockstache]

Totally. To be far, it doesn't take much for me to think a boss is fantastic - I've had so many awful ones in the past that my baseline is pretty low. I'm thrilled if someone isn't a dick to me, leaves me alone to do my work, and effectively solves problems when they come up.

+1 This is me exactly. My boss has a few triggers that really make him upset, but I have learned what they are and how to avoid them, and he pretty much leaves me alone.

[$40Kby40]

I've been at my current job for about 6 months (moved to CO from GA). When I took the job, there was no permanent manager in place. Our new manager actually started at the same time as I did and also moved from out of state. Well, he has stepped down recently and is our new coworker.
Tonight will be my first time working w/ him...seems like it could be weird.

We don't have a new manager yet, but one of the techs from days (who -I think- everybody agrees should be the manager) will eventually fill that position.

[big_owl]

I saw my last boss twice in six years, talked to him (via phone) only for my year-end review each year.  One year the day before my end-year review he actually asked me to write what my goals were for the past year because he had forgotten about doing that with me. 

As far as I can tell I don't really have an actual boss anymore.  I work with project managers as an engineer and my "boss" is whomever the project manager is for the particular project I am on.  So they don't care one iota about long-term development goals. 

At first I was appalled at how little my employer cared about personal growth and goal-setting, I tried to be proactive but nobody cared.  Now I don't really care either and just do what I want on my own within the framework of my projects.  It's actually pretty nice since I could probably go weeks without actually going into the office and nobody would know as long as I was on status calls.  And if I want to learn more about something then I just schedule some training on my own and nobody cares - I'm not even sure where it gets charged to. 

Only bad thing is that there's nobody to advocate for you, but eh, once you let that go it's pretty liberating. 

[Albert]

I like my immediate boss. We work together on projects from time to time. He is competent and doesn't try to over manage. The previous one who is now two levels above me I didn't like all that much as a person, but he was still an acceptable boss. I also know the head of the department quite well and from the three I like her the best. With people above that I don't have any contact.

[golden1]

I just switched to a new boss and so far, so good.  I am in R+D and I am actually doing R+D instead of process optimization, so that is a plus. 

My most recent ex boss was similar to the one described above in the review scenario, no guidance and no feedback whatsoever.  He also worked remotely.  On one hand it was nice having him at a distance and no micromanaging, but on the other hand I was on my own for pretty much everything, and had no real support.  I ended up having to do manager duties, organizing projects, cost justifications, etc... without the power to get things through.   I personally had to present things to the head of our company and if he didn't like my idea or presentation, I got very little backup. 

The only other boss I have had in tech was an old Taiwanese guy close to retirement.  He was okay, not great but not a bad boss either.  He also did not give great feedback.

The worst boss I can remember was as a teenager in retail.  I worked at a jewelry store for a year in high school.  I was 16 and paid $4.25 an hour (1990).  The guy had me doing sales plus all his accounting, inventory, keeping the store clean etc... Basically I was an office manager and did everything except making and repairing custom jewelry.  I worked 20 hours a week, and more like 30 hours during holiday season which on top of school work was rough.   He was incredibly strict, and after having me dust the store one time he went around with a white glove (yep, an honest to god white glove) and touched every surface and yelled at me if I missed an area.  Then he asked me to do inventory, and when I told him I forgot exactly how he did it (I was 16 and I had been shown only one time before, a year ago) he started screaming at me.  It was really horrible.  I got another job shortly after that and I was so so happy to leave that place. 

[merula]

I really like my boss. I'm learning a new job and he's been available for all of my questions, but mostly lets me do what I need to get things done. He's also a really cool guy in general.

When I found this site, I was transitioning from a boss who had been good and then realized life would be easier if he made promises he couldn't keep (meaning that I trusted him long past when I should have realized the change), to a boss who meant well but was completely unqualified for the job. It was an awful situation. My last review, the only negative thing they had was that I needed people to like me more. Umm, excuse me? Not only is that incredibly sexist, but everyone likes me way more than they like you.

In my prior job, I was doing everything I could to make my FIRE date earlier. Now, my goal is SWAMI.

[firewalker]

Immediate manager buffers us from all the corporate garbage except what comes direct via email. When I've made a true blunder, I'm given only an appropriate level of correction and no more. She is soon to retire and I will be subject to the new-boss lottery. I'm looking for a plan B.

[JetBlast]

I have a boss, but to a large extent I'm the boss. So, yes, I like my boss. I have a chief pilot that is my supervisor, but unless I have some issue he might be able to help with I see him maybe a couple times a month. That's usually if I see his office door open while in the crew room and I poke my head in to say hello. In a way scheduling is my boss as well. We bid for our schedules, but have to follow the schedule on the trip once assigned. I can't just decide to sleep in a couple hours because I feel like it and delay a flight.

Other than that I'm in charge. I'm final authority on the operation of the aircraft. Just show up on time and I'm pretty much left alone to run things as I see fit. This is why I'm not in a huge rush to FIRE. I am working toward the FI part, but I'm not counting down the days until I can pull the plug.

[Bearded Man]

My managers, all eight of them don't actually manage anything. What they do is literally cause problems by saying yes to everything without consulting with anyone that has to do the work. Having a crappy manager is the key reason why most people hate their jobs I'll bet.

[EllieStan]

It's weird because after I got hired, I LOVED my boss. This year, I am getting frustrated with her.

She is a nice person and a nice boss. You can tell she cares about others. However, she's extremely disorganized, while I'm the type of person whose wardrobe is organized by colors and who makes lists of lists.

What happens is that my boss doesn't communicate well. She gives us indications, then changes her mind or makes other plans but doesn't tell us. Or she will ask a vague question out of the blue, and if we honeslty tell her ''what do you mean by...?'' or ''I don't know what you are you talking about'' (because her question is so vague) she will get impatient.

She's constantly forgetting her keys, scheduling 2 meetings at the same time almost on a weekly basis. She constantly drops the ball, and although I'm usually there to pick it up, as I am networking my way into our field I am becoming worried how this might impact my career.

Another thing that bothers me is that she doesn't acknowledge my work properly. These past 2 months I've had plenty of example of my work being praised in our network (and receiving feedback by email and through our social media accounts), and then she will endorse my success as the ''team's good work''. But weirdly enough, when I spend significant amount of time to help our contributors tackle the work and the work ends up having recognition, she fails to mention my name.

It's to the point I started to get paranoid and started documentating EVERY initiative I make, as well as keeping every email of congratulations I receive. I'm keeping every proof of my good work, where my name appears (and when it doesn't, I document it). I might not work there for years, but if one day it's my position on the line, then I want to be able to argue my case. Because despite all this I still love my job!