When it comes to your job, there are a few rules that are worth following if you want to stay employed, show up on time – always a good one. Respect your colleagues– sound advice, but the number one rule that should be followed to the letter, no matter what – never talk badly about your manager.

Here are just a few tips to help you out when dealing with a difficult manager that probably won’t end with unemployment:

1.    Don’t talk about your manager/work on social media.

This should be obvious, don’t talk about your manager on social media. Even if you aren’t friends on social media, they can still easily find your profile and see everything you say. So, it’s best to avoid complaining on social media completely.

Anyway, nobody likes a whinger.

2.    Don’t talk to colleagues about your manager at work.

Fairly straightforward. Helpful hint – your manager also works there and could overhear you at any time of the day. Plus, you never know one day, you might be competing with a colleague and that private conversation you shared goes public.

3.    Try and work things out with your manager.

Your manager should be the one you can go to with any problems in the workplace. It should be a safe environment for everyone to work in and if you have any problems, they are the ones you go to, even if they are the problem. You should be able to air out any differences you have (in a polite and respectful manner), and if you can’t – then at least you kept your level of professionalism.

4.    Don’t talk down about your previous employer at an interview.

Big one and we see it all the time. Even if it is an ex-manager – don’t speak about them. It’s not worth it and your potential future employer won’t like it. No matter how bad you thought your previous manager was, it’s important to keep your professionalism during interviews. If you have to say something, say “the style of management wasn’t for me” and leave it at that.

5.    Do talk about what your learned.

During the interview it is a good idea to bring up things that you learned from your previous employer, even if it was a bad experience. You can always turn a negative into a positive and the ability to do this will definitely impress your potential future employer.

So there are our 5 tips for working with a difficult manager. It is a fact of life that eventually during your career you will work with manager (probably more than once). With a little common sense and professionalism, you should be able to deal with the difficult situation with no added trouble.  

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