In an ideal world, we’d have the best boss ever. One who understands that sometimes we need to arrive five minutes late to work, that our workload was perhaps too big for the given amount of time or that we might have plans after work and can’t stay back late.

But unfortunately for the majority of us, that’s not always the case. Here are seven tips that can help you deal with an unfair boss.

#1 Assess The Situation

Take a step back and observe from the back seat. Determine why your boss is acting the way they are. Is it because they’re having a bad week, have a lot of work on their plate, or even have some personal issues outside of work? It could be resolved with time and a fair amount of communication. But if they’re straight-up lying, being deceptive and making fun of other employees to the point of bullying, it’s not on.

#2 Learn The Triggers

Identify what gets under your boss’ skin; whether it’s leaving things to the last minute or rocking up five minutes late. Make sure you avoid sending them into fits by working around their triggers. You could polish up on your time management skills so you’re not spending all night frantically finishing your work before the deadline, or making sure you get to work 15 minutes early so you can skip the daily lecture.

#3 Get Everything In Writing  

If you notice your boss is one to change your words or even worse, change what they asked you to do after you’ve spent time completing their requested task, then it’s probably best you start getting everything in writing.

An easy way to do this is to take notes while you speak to them (don’t forget to date!), then review them after to check for any ambiguity and confirm with them via email so they also have a clear record of the given task.

#4 Don’t Let Them Change You 

When you’re in a toxic environment and have to constantly report to a dragon boss, it can be extremely draining.

It’s important to make sure that you don’t let your boss change YOU and your reputation (unless it’s for the better, obviously).

#5 Don’t Burn Bridges 

You don’t want to have bad blood with your boss, especially if you want them to write you a reference for another job sometime in the future. So make sure you always remain professional in your dealings with them. And this also includes your work colleagues; having a shitty boss means you will need to get your frustrations out but you shouldn’t always lay it on your colleagues, save it for friends and family.

#6 Know When To Take It Higher

Sometimes you can only do as much as you can, and the odds are it’s probably not just happening to you. So when your boss crosses the line and it impacts your ability to be effective at your job, it might be time to take the issue higher.

There are strict laws in place to protect employees from harassment at work and if you feel your boss is breaching those restrictions, report it to HR. There are also government organisations like Fair Work Australia in which you can report these issues as well.

#7 Jump Ship

You’ve done all you can, and you’ve decided the job isn’t worth it anymore. You might have to cut your ties and jump ship. Just make sure you’ve done your research on the new job and you’re not just walking into the office of another crazy boss!

Monique is studying a Bachelor of Media with PR & Advertising at UNSW. She is a lover of animals, chocolate and is a travel enthusiast.

(Lead image: The Office/NBC)