Have you heard that joke about the horrible boss?
With so many tales of terrible bosses, you can probably think of at least one horror story right away. Popular TV shows and movies have depicted all manner of disagreeable bosses, from domineering and deceitful to fumbling and foolish. But are bosses really that bad?
Whenever you share any kind of relationship with someone, disagreements can often occur. The relationship between bosses and workers seems to be particularly fraught with potential problems, perhaps due to the inherent imbalance of power.
So how do you deal with your boss, despite having disagreements?
Many people simply leave their job when they experience dissatisfaction – according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 2 million Americans voluntarily leave their jobs every month, despite the current period of business uncertainty with unemployment rate at 7.8%.
A study by Harris Interactive indicates a full 74% of people would today consider finding a new job. A separate study by Accenture reports the reason for employee’s unhappiness, with 31% reporting disliking their boss as the reason.
US employees indicate that direct supervisors are key influencers when it comes to job satisfaction and engagement, according to the global workforce index survey by Kelly Services Inc. The survey found that 61% of U.S. respondents believe their direct manager or supervisor has a significant impact on their job satisfaction or engagement. The survey also found that 42% of U.S. respondents have changed employers within the past year.
Clearly the relationship we share with our boss plays a big role, not just in our work day experience, but in our overall quality of life. But even if you and your boss aren’t always seeing eye to eye, there’s no need to quit your job. Below, Sadhguru offers an entirely different perspective on relating to your boss:
Trouble With Bosses?
Sadhguru: Somebody has become your boss because he is in some way more qualified than you. You may believe that you are better than him but he has gotten to that position because of some qualification, some capability, some influence – something has delivered him there. Even if he has gotten there by corruption, he is more capable at using corruption. One way or the other, as the social situations maybe, he is more capable, which is why he has landed up there.
A stenographer in the office can type very well but if the boss sits to type he might be a bad typist; but still he is the boss. So the stenographer may think, ‘That guy cannot even type properly, why is he my boss?’ He is not your boss because he types better than you; he may not know a damn thing about typing. He is your boss because he knows many other things which you do not even know. So the question of him being a boss has come with a certain capability and an overall view; most of the time a boss need not be talented for anything in particular, but he has an overview of everything. He has a way of keeping people together and making things happen. You may be individually good but you may not be capable of holding things together.
Make Yourself Indispensable
If you are in some position, instead of having a grouse about your boss, do your job so well that without you, your boss and your company cannot exist. Make yourself indispensable. With this indispensability, power will come. If you keep yourself busy complaining, you will not do your work because you think, ‘This man is a fool, why should I work fully for him?’ Now you are dispensable and the company can drop you or your boss can kick you out at any time. Work in such a way that without you he cannot exist. Become so useful that without you he cannot function; that is the way to grow. By complaining about somebody you will not grow.
People who have reached the top did not grow by having a grouse against somebody. They grew because they just did their best. We do our best, but my best and your best may not be on the same levels. We will grow according to our capabilities. If you are constantly looking at somebody and comparing yourself, there will be somebody above you wherever you go. It does not matter how big you become, there will still be somebody above you. So you will always have a grouse and you will always think, ‘That man is not as good as I am, why is he up there’. So you will always make yourself unhappy wherever you are.
You just do 100% of what you can do in that given situation, then you will become indispensable to the company, the boss and the whole situation. In this you grow. If you have more capability than him, naturally the company will make you the boss anyway.
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