Unemployed? 5 Tough Things Your New Boss Might Not Say (but that you should know).

I guess I don’t have to put a paper bag over my head to tell you how bosses think because you can’t see me. Yes, in my other life I was a boss. Besides defending the actions of police officers I never met, the next most bashed group I feel compelled to defend is bosses. Here are the 5 most common complaints I have heard.

1. My boss does not take into account that I have children. You’re right he or she most likely does not; and if they do, they probably should not. Supervisors’ jobs are not the same as that of subordinates. It is the responsibility of managers to get work done – period. That means if they permit excuses to keep tasks from being accomplished, then they are not doing their own jobs. Or worse, if they unfairly dump your work on co-workers who are childless, they foster ill will on the team. Take your family obligations into consideration when seeking employment to ensure compatibility. Frustration takes place on both sides when an employee signs up for a job with hours that are impossible to keep due to child care conflicts.

2. My boss does not care when I get sick. Again, it is the boss’s job to ensure that work is completed. Some do come across as heartless. However, you should not let this keep you from taking care of yourself. If you need to take time off work because you are ill – do so even if others including your boss are displeased. However, know that habitual absences can result in a change in your work status. If you are coming back to work after an illness, be sure not to return until you can do your job sufficiently, with as little accommodation as possible. If you get too sick to work regularly, get ahead of the problem rather than forcing your boss to take action you may like even less than say seeking a voluntary disability separation.

3. My boss is too demanding. I usually seek more information when I hear this complaint. At first during the explanation it does seem that the boss is expecting too much. However, as the conversation progresses inevitably I learn that the person started out at a high level of productivity during the probationary period but slowed down after being vested. I know that after working like a dog, one probably does get tired; however, it is human nature for a person in any relationship including employer-employee to expect consistent behavior. Start out your new job at a pace you know you can keep. The easiest way to do this is by being yourself. If you go for being the energizer bunny, not only can’t you sustain this level, you will become irritable. And a bad attitude is about the worse thing you can bring with you to work.

4. My boss thinks every time I am on the telephone that it is a personal call. This complaint also has required my investigative skills to get to the bottom of things. Interrogation results suggest that in the past the employee was busted, and counseled about spending excessive periods of time on personal calls. But the employee feels rehabilitated and has cut back on time spent on personal calls. Now the employee is resentful because he or she is trying, but still the bad reputation is there. Word to the wise: It is a lot harder to dispel a perception than it is to avoid one from the start. Personal calls, short visits with other employees and other social behavior is going to occur in the workplace. Bosses know this; however, what generally causes a supervisor to raise the issue and order change is when the work is not getting done.

5. My boss’s leadership style leads to my low morale. I brace myself and ask the question about what this means because there is a shotgun pattern of complaints rapidly fired. He won’t let me sell Avon; he won’t let me take a full hour for lunch; if I’m one minute late, he docks my pay; the dress code is not casual enough; he won’t let me display amusing posters or other novel objects in my workspace, etc. Whine, whine, whine is what a boss hears. Moreover, most of these types of complaints are really not pointing the finger at the boss, but really in the complainer’s own face. Besides, no one should have so much power as to dictate your morale. Attitude and enthusiasm is a personal maintenance requirement. Over the years, I have noted that a factor which correlates with those I’m told that have low morale is low productivity . I don’t know which one comes first, the low morale or the low output; but I know this, high producers are so busy that they do not seem to have time to neither gauge nor grasp the nebulous concept of “low morale”.

Don’t want any problems out of your boss? Focus while you are at work, endeavor to do your job well, and show up with a great attitude . Things still may not be perfect, but you minimize the likelihood that you will have boss trouble; and you know what they say: “if the boss is not happy, nobody’s happy”!