Got a difficult boss? It’s actually better for you

If you take a survey of all the employees, it is very obvious that more than 90% of people would complain of having a bad boss at their workplaces. Having a good boss ensures a good working environment and a healthy growth in any organization but below points which demonstrate that having a bad boss may actually be good for you.

Image courtesy: punchedclocks.com

Everyone loves appreciation which gives you recognition for all your hard work but appreciation only lets you achieve what you think is achievable by you; there are so many cases where criticism has enabled people to achieve what they would have never imagined to do. Criticism by your boss for work lets you outperform yourself every time you perform a new task, it may be in the favour of your boss but eventually even your performance would increase gradually and make you more skilled. Criticism if taken as a challenge can make wonders for you and gives a great sense of accomplishment if you prove the challenger wrong.

There is no justification for abusing your employees and people who report to you and should never be tolerated but if your boss constantly demands improvement and pushes you to achieve more then it’s quite imperative that he/she is very well aware of your capabilities and recognises your potential to perform better. Being satisfied with your performance may subconsciously alter your performance and growth in any organization as a lot of your peers would be constantly thirsty for better performance and growth in a competitive work environment.

There are a lot of cases where people who are reported as strict bosses in professional environment are actually very good people in person and it is a compulsion for them to behave accordingly as being overfriendly reduces the fear from subordinates and ultimately makes them negligent. A lot of great leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs are reported to be difficult bosses to handle but ultimately what they have done for their organizations, employees and this world is very much evident and praiseworthy.

Life would be far too good in organizations if people get true leaders as their bosses who actually empower people, recognise their efforts publicly and care for the employees well being and growth in the careers but such people are very difficult to be found. If you are facing the worst conditions and people in your office right now then the only point of motivation would be that if you have already faced the worst then whatever comes next shall be easier for you. For example if you ask a fresh engineering graduate to work directly in an IT organization, he/she may find the work difficult/challenging but if they have worked in a call-centre even for a month before then the work in an IT company becomes much more simpler to tackle.

For start-up founders who have had bad bosses in their previous jobs, whenever you lose the sight of your goals you should just to remember the faces of the creepy/cunning managers you once had; it can act as a booster for you to try and work more towards your goals.

In the end, you should never take it personally as it is a part of your job. It’s always advisable to learn from good people and challenge yourselves with bad people if they are unavoidable.