Hating the boss

It seems like to me that it is very trendy to hate people in management, especially the person you have to report directly to.

I have had my share of bad bosses, but in recent years I have had a string of good ones. Even when I had a bad boss I didn't hate them though, I just sort of tolerated it. Not too long after I finally starting having good bosses I realized that no one has to work for a bad boss. In fact, many of the people who devote their time to complaining about their boss were not even good employees. The best employees never complained about the boss, they just found work somewhere else or promoted out from under them.

This trend of boss hating seems to be more about resentment of authority than actual performance though. I have known some really good managers who still receive nothing but contempt from some of their employees. Indeed, I see people get promoted who instantly earn ire from some of their former co-workers.

When people complain about the boss, is the boss really the problem?

Well that depends on the person and the manager. Even though my manager expects me to work 10 to 12 hours a day I dont hate hime for that. His seniors pressurise him into it. He negotiates stuff with me and is very understanding, despite the pressures that work and home bestow on him.

I have also seen the other side where managers just order people around. You are doing it just because your manager wants you to do it. You cant even think of negotiating work timings or anything else. People will eventually complain if the manager makes life hell for them. But they wont stay. There is a very good chance that they will move to another company/project. Less likely they will promote themselves out of it where i work. Promotion does not mean the manager has less control over you. So most people just leave.

I blame it on the Dilbert cartoons!

We have all been indoctrinated.