I’ve been working, in some form or other, since I was 13; that’s 26 years of my life spent in the workforce. We could probably take out a few years while I was doing my Leaving Cert or completing the final year of my degree, but for most of my school- and college-going years, I was working at least part-time.
I’ve worked as a waitress in a golf club (terrible, would not recommend, put me off golfers for life, #yesallgolfers); behind the deli counter in Spar; as a sales assistant in Boots on Grafton Street (yes, stocking shelves in that three-foot-wide shop was a nightmare); dressing outrageously and being rewarded for it in Urban Outfitters; in Zara, as a cashier; selling overpriced baby clothes to rich people in BT Kids; serving drinks at a hotel casino night; living out my Empire Records dreams in a music shop in Galway; giving cheese recommendations to tourists in Sheridan’s; handing out flyers in shopping centres; hosting a radio show with Dublin City FM; sub editing and, later, working as a production editor at The Irish Times; writing a weekly fashion column; presenting fashion slots on TV3 and RTÉ… I’m leaving some out, but in short, I’ve had more than 30 different jobs, in 30 different companies, with 30 different bosses. And I can probably count on one hand the number of jobs I’ve had that didn’t make me cry.
The truly comforting thing – this is not, I promise, just another trip down moanory lane – is that I’m not alone. Research from Stagwell shows that 1 in 3 people say they have a toxic boss; up to half of those have had nightmares about said boss.
But what, I can hear my mother asking, does that even mean? What’s a “toxic boss”, and how do you know you have one?
A toxic boss, according to US News, can be someone whose management style incorporates any – or all – of the following: micromanagement; a lack of boundaries; dismissiveness; unfair treatment; inconsistent behaviour; or blame shifting.
Of course, there are also the more obvious symptoms: public humiliation (shouting, screaming, unfairly criticising you in front of colleagues); sexual harassment (still far more prevalent than we’d all like to think) and/or discrimination; constant belittling and criticism of your work or self; promising rewards for working overtime or outside of your job description (but, of course, never delivering on them). I’m sure you have some of your own you could add.
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