The worst boss I ever had

I’ve had quite a lot of different jobs, in lots of different industries. I’ve worked in a Museum, an accountancy firm, a metal casting company, a college…to name a few. In those jobs, I’ve worked for all kinds of different people, managers with very different approaches to the way an office should be run. Most, I’ve got along with, some I haven’t, but when I think about my worst ever boss, the thing that I remember is the awful way she’s treated me. Every day, she put me down, made me feel inferior, told me I was useless, that I wasn’t working fast enough or hard enough, and made me believe that even though I was working the best I could that I was being downright lazy.


And I’m writing about this terrible boss, because she is still my boss, and she’s probably yours too.

That’s right; it’s me.

This morning, I had a project to do, so I got myself ready, booted up my computer, and sat down. After I set up my document, I stopped, because my boss said, “You know, this is a hard project. It’s going to take you ages, and what makes you think you’re qualified to do it anyway?”

My confidence left me. I stared at the blank screen, and couldn’t do a thing.

“See,” said my boss, “you don’t even know how to start, do you my dear? Why don’t you just run along and do something easier?”

Sometimes, I listen, but today, I decided not to. I straightened my posture, put my hands on the keyboard, and did the project anyway. It took me just over an hour, and really wasn’t that hard at all.

I think there are lessons to be learned there. Firstly, no-one is ever harder on you than you. Secondly, if you don’t have faith in yourself, who else will? And thirdly, and probably most importantly, always treat yourself with the same respect you would treat others.

And there ends my lecture for today.