I want to hear stories about bosses

Worst boss was when I worked at a restaurant / convenience store like a roadside stop. The business hired backpackers and people who were on working visas trying to get residency. She was so dodgy, she would make people work longer than they were paid, give unreasonable workloads especially to the cooks looking for residency, long hours with no help in the kitchen and it was busy. She would also let her kids and grandkids take what they wanted and eat what they want without paying even though it wasn't her business. Talked to backpackers like shit and expected them to do things they had no idea about. Didn't pay people properly, night shift was the same rate as day shift. The owner would come to visit every few months and she was perfect while he was there, helping in the kitchen and letting staff have breaks which never happened before. She would whinge to the owner about all the lazy staff (except if her own children had been working, they were the only hard workers) when all she usually did was the ordering. That was it. The bookkeeper suggested she started doing shifts so they didn't have to pay as much in wages and she refused saying she was too busy. Her children that worked there were shocking, one of them was a gardener that never even turned up for work most days, counter staff had to cover his jobs but she still made sure he got paid full hours. The others would refuse to do certain jobs like clean toilets. So many people would complain about how rude she was to customers too I would cringe whenever she actually had to face customers. She ran the business down majorly and the owner has nobody to blame but himself as he refused to talk to anyone but her.

Best boss ever.
Super flexible. Gives bonuses. Extra money in our pay just because. Can leave whenever needed, ie to go to the shops etc.

Is harsh on us and critical, expects perfection but that’s because takes pride in business.

When I was 19 I worked for a family company where the parents were bosses & supervisors their kids. They were nasty a*holes and abused us, expected us to work 12 hour days for no extra pay and tried to add Saturday mornings unpaid (I refused) but they drove BMWs and came and went as they pleased. The slightest infraction had you humiliated. It was awful. Thanks to the confidence my boss below gave me, I wouldn't let them get away with it now!!

Then I went to work at a uni with great benefits, had the absolute best boss who didn't micro manage, fostered a positive environment, made sure we had opportunities and was incredibly flexible. I stayed with her for many years, getting promoted to her second in charge and running the department when she took leave.... until an ambitious new director ripped the uni apart. Environment turned toxic so I took a redundancy. Boss retired. Apparently it's a crap place to work now.

I’ve had several sexually inappropriate bosses, porn on work computers that they left on purpose, constant comments on looks, clothes, what they would do to me... etc
I’ve had the unreasonable ones who expect me to work with gastro, leave my kids to come in on a day I wasn’t meant to and act like I’m grateful for that treatment.
I now have a boss who pays the men cash bonuses, gives them extra holidays and lunches off site all expenses paid- he hates women with a passion and treats us like we are stupid.
I’m still searching for a good boss

I’ve had a boss who basically fired me from a busy restaurant (where I was a waitress) because I didn’t say hi as I walked through a busy kitchen with orders. Another got upset with me for wanting to go home to my daughter who was being sent home from daycare with high temps. (She was 7months old and exclusively breast feed)

And I’ve had amazing bosses who stood up for me when I’ve made the wrong choices and proved they’ve had my back through thick and thin. (Even after only being with them a short time) I’ve always tried to go above and beyond for the amazing bosses. The not so amazing have got me doing my job. Amazing bosses are far and few between (12yrs between my 2) and countless jobs.

I’ve had horrible bosses and some amazing bosses. It really is the luck of the barrel.

My hubby has been with the same company now for 7-8 years and I’ve worked on and off for them in that time. Hubby basically runs the place and gets a say in some of the big decisions. Just recently, and I guess because of how hard we’ve been working since covid, his bosses called us into their office and asked how we’d feel if they bought a house (any house we wanted within a certain budget) and they’d buy it for us to live in. Plus many many other amazing things they’ve done for us over the years. I’m a firm believer that if you do your job well, go the extra mile and build a relationship with them then your boss can be just like family. At least in our case that’s true. We feel very blessed after reading all the negative stories. Know what you’re willing to put up with and walk away if you need to. We are proof there are some incredible bosses out there xxx

I've been in the workforce for 32.5 years and have only ever had 3 bosses. I've had the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Ugly (7 years) - oh my god where do I start? He was a biggot and hated females. He'd always gives the ladies the worst possible jobs to do. if you were talking to a colleague, he would come and stand between us with his back to the woman. In meetings we weren't heard. If we had an idea that everyone else liked, he'd say no to it, then months later, he'd suggest it as his own and take the credit for it. We were ridiculed. We were bullied. The kicker came when head office issued bonuses to everyone. Not one of the 5 women I worked with got a bonus. We got a letter telling us our bonus has been distributed amongst the 9 men we worked with, because we didn't perform. When I left, I had to return some documents about privacy and had to sign a non-disclosure form. When I walked into the workplace, he was walking out the same door. He looked at me and said "Oh its you, You're an insignificant piece of fluff"......while I'm glad there was nor physical harm, mentally he damaged me and I didn't work for 11 months after that.

The bad - (20 years) I had a female boss for 20 years of my life. You could tell her mood by the way she walked into the office. You knew to stay away if there was no eye contact. She was never ever nasty, but with the way she asked for things, she did make me cry on numerous occasions. Every time I'd knock on the door to see if she could take a phone call, she'd roll her eyes at me. Every time I'd need to get a signature on anything, she'd just stare. She thought she was better than all of us as she was well off and really didn't need to work. Fridays were always the shining light. If you ever needed anything, Friday was the day to ask for it. I will admit, at Christmas she was very generous with her gifts. i think it was her way of saying sorry without actually saying the words.

The good - (5.5 years and still going) He's the boss and I'm his 2IC yet I tell him constantly what to do. He has no idea of the volume of work I do as he doesn't know the admin side of the business. Medical field, he bought the practice a couple of years ago and inherited me from the old boss. This is the first time he has been a boss. He knows how to treat people like people, and it shows when he treats his clients. He rewards his staff constantly and if you do a good job, he tells you. This is where I am now and finally, after so long in the workforce i am heard. I am respected. I am loved in the workplace. I love my job.