There's always something that we hate about our bosses, no matter how nice they are personally. It may be the way he replaces all his p's with f's. It may be the way he parts his hair. It may even be the way he tells corny jokes you are forced to laugh at. No matter what they do, their actions are always put on a spotlight and there is always something that we can nitpick about them.
But there are bosses who are more horribly hellish than these. They are the ones who seem to get on your nerves no matter how hard you try to be patient. I have had a share of my experience with different types of bosses. Let me tell you some of their weird personalities and demands. (Don't worry, sir/ma'am, I won't post your name here).
The Diva Boss. He was very picky in his hotel accommodation. (Aren't they all?) I remember before he entered his hotel room, I had to check the room first. Complimentary toiletries should be complete. The lights should not be dim. If they were, I asked the housekeeping if they could temporarily change the wattage in the lights. The room should have a view. There should be 3-in-1 coffee in the minibar. If all of his demands were not met, he bitched all day long to us, affecting his mood in our meeting.
The Indecisive/Not-so-Smart Boss. He could not make a single willful decision. While it is a good practice to consult your team to get their inputs on the matter, a good leader should be the one to make the analysis and make his own decision--and stand by it. My former boss always met with us and asked us what he would do. Then when something didn't work out, he was the first one to point his fingers at us.
The Aloof Boss. There's such a thing as micromanagement, the one where your boss seems to check on you every minute, and there's also a thing where the boss talks to you only when there is a problem to be put out. This boss of mine belongs to the latter category. He seemed to avoid his employees like plague. Maybe he was afraid to hear complaints from us or that we would ask for a cash advance? Or maybe he couldn't express himself that well? Or maybe he really just didn't care? Whatever his reasons were, he spent more time holed up in his office than knowing what was going on with his employees. So we also avoided him just as much.
The Unreasonable Boss. When his flight was cancelled, he insisted for us to find a way he could board a plane on the same day. When the hotel was fully booked, he said we should find a way to give him his usual accommodation. When we complained that the target was too high, and the logistics budget was too low, he growled that there was always a way to achieve our goals. 'No' was something he didn't accept as an answer. He thought he was the only one who had the right to say 'no' to us.
The Dirty Old Man Boss. I had a boss who chose beautiful girls for his staff. He was always putting some double meanings in his jokes. He was touchy feely with us (eeww!) We made sure we were always a few feet away from him when he called us in his office.
Thank God I survived these bosses unscathed.
But there are bosses who are more horribly hellish than these. They are the ones who seem to get on your nerves no matter how hard you try to be patient. I have had a share of my experience with different types of bosses. Let me tell you some of their weird personalities and demands. (Don't worry, sir/ma'am, I won't post your name here).
The Diva Boss. He was very picky in his hotel accommodation. (Aren't they all?) I remember before he entered his hotel room, I had to check the room first. Complimentary toiletries should be complete. The lights should not be dim. If they were, I asked the housekeeping if they could temporarily change the wattage in the lights. The room should have a view. There should be 3-in-1 coffee in the minibar. If all of his demands were not met, he bitched all day long to us, affecting his mood in our meeting.
The Indecisive/Not-so-Smart Boss. He could not make a single willful decision. While it is a good practice to consult your team to get their inputs on the matter, a good leader should be the one to make the analysis and make his own decision--and stand by it. My former boss always met with us and asked us what he would do. Then when something didn't work out, he was the first one to point his fingers at us.
The Tyrannical Boss. He was the smartest boss I had all right, but he was also running us like a military camp. What he said was always right. Act first, before you ask. Else, we would hear him berating someone with the foulest words our mothers told us never to use. When he arrived at the office, you could practically hear sounds of hearts beating and teeth chattering. The curious thing was, he seemed to be enjoying every second of it.
The Aloof Boss. There's such a thing as micromanagement, the one where your boss seems to check on you every minute, and there's also a thing where the boss talks to you only when there is a problem to be put out. This boss of mine belongs to the latter category. He seemed to avoid his employees like plague. Maybe he was afraid to hear complaints from us or that we would ask for a cash advance? Or maybe he couldn't express himself that well? Or maybe he really just didn't care? Whatever his reasons were, he spent more time holed up in his office than knowing what was going on with his employees. So we also avoided him just as much.
The Dirty Old Man Boss. I had a boss who chose beautiful girls for his staff. He was always putting some double meanings in his jokes. He was touchy feely with us (eeww!) We made sure we were always a few feet away from him when he called us in his office.
Thank God I survived these bosses unscathed.
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Movie Recall: Horrible Bosses (2011)
My Review: Although the motive of the characters to kill their bosses is immoral, the light tone of the story kind of makes me turn the blind eye and go along with their plan. After all, who wouldn’t wish to have their boss ‘eliminated’ if he/she is a dictator or a sex harasser or an embezzler? The actors are funny in a subtle way so the audience wouldn’t hate them for planning out something gruesome such as murder. The horrible bosses are actually the stars of the show: Jennifer Aniston is convincing as a sexy bitch boss, something that moviegoers will find very different from her usual roles. Kevin Spacey is believable as a controlling martinet who is greedy of power. The most indispensable actor here is Colin Farrel. He could have been replaced with any other supporting actor, and he wouldn’t be missed. (What happened to his career anyway?)
Anyway, if only to convince the bosses out there that their days may be numbered if they don’t transform into a more humane form to their subordinates, a copy of Horrible Bosses should be accidentally slipped into their files to wake them up from their megalomania.
Trivia:
While director Seth Gordon encouraged most actors to improvise their lines in various scenes, Jennifer Aniston stated she did not need to because her lines were "beautifully choreographed".
Jennifer Aniston wore a brown wig to make her character a brunette and more oversexed, a departure from her usual lighter roles.
While Stacy talks to Dr. Harris in the dental clinic, an "elevator music" version of Gnarls Barkley plays.
The glasses worn by Jennifer Aniston at the dental clinic are custom made Oakley Radar Path.
Naomi Watts and Sarah Jessica Parker were considered to play Julia.
To promote this film, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada set up a 12-foot Voodoo doll resembling a corporate boss in downtown Montreal. People were given the chance to vent their office frustrations on the doll by stabbing and hitting it with large needles. They were also encouraged to share their best/worst boss story for the chance of winning passes to an advance screening of the film.
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