I have read over 10 bad bosses stories since i came to nairaland. I know a lot of people do not understand how to manage other people especially people working for them or under them. However, i also know that if you are a boss or an employer of labor, you must see a lot of in competent, lazy, rude, ass kissing and eye service employees. Lets talk about it, i will start with mine:
I resigned in 2008 to run y own organization. I resigned because of a bad boss whose laziness turned out to be an advantage for me. Because my boss was always late and too lazy to work i had to do most of her work and that built me up in no small way. I learnt faster than my collegues how to write, run and manage projects among other things. Due to my painful experience with my Boss, when i started emlpoying staff i decided to try and be a good boss and friend to my staff. Some time ago I employed this lady to work with me, she seemed smart and seriuos and i wanted to mentor her to be my 2 1C: for the first month she was the perfect assistant, till one evening. Me and the office crew would usually hang out after work on fridays along with a few friends, that friday she said she wanted to talk to me, then she told me about some problems she was having at home, howshe wanted to marry one man and her parents refused. I advised her and gave her all the support i could, from that day, it became a nightmare for me. She would come to the office and all she will want to do is talk about the latest development on her family crisis, sometimes i would send her to a meeting and my clients and sponsors would call me and say she was unattentive and would divert the focus of the meeting by telling them her story. I was patient, i would counsel her, advise her to concentrate on work and all other things will follow. I even told her my own experience at the time, i was going through a terrible break up but my girl refused to listen, she was only interested in getting smpathy, she would go everywhere talking of her bad her parents are and this bothered me because i felt that no matter how bad your parents are, you owe them some respect. After one more month of this, everybody that had any work to do with us had heard this girls story, everywhere she went she will just sit with you a stranger and start talking about her problems, she was rude to my other staff because she felt there were her surbodinates even though they were older than she was, she would refuse to do her duties because shewas in a bad mood, she would come to work looking and would leave work to go and reprt her parents to one pastor or the other. One day i asked her to print out our financial reort which was the only document saved on excel and because she had asked my permission to go somehere and for the first time i refused she told me that she didnt find the ocument, i came and printed it out myself and asked her to think about what she wanted. She told me that she was not emotionally ready to work and left, she came back some days later when i had already employed someone else. Next day she sent me a text demanding for her salary, i told her that she resigned i did not sack her so i could not pay her a months salary advance, next she replied sending me insults that God will punish me because i know her emotional state and i treat her like that.
I saw drama with that girl, am so glad she is gone. Sometimes i would be scared of sending her because of her moods.

@ aisha2
Nice post - Your former employee was a physchological basket case. I have learnt to cut such a person lose ASAP, otherwise, the office environment will slowly transform to mirror his/her crappy inner self.

My story:
Back in the day, I had a subordinate transfer from a Western Europe country (same company) to a team I led. I went through hoops to make sure he got relocation allowances, etc, due to him, and generally ensured he was settled. As soon as the weasle found his feet (in 3 months), he'd started intimidating high qualified colleagues, some of whom were on a higher level than he was!

The last straw was when he went around telling people that I fought to bring him in so he can take over my job! I traced the rumour to him, he admitted (red-faced and head bowed).

Of course, I sent his a** back to his country. Talk about a "This is not the person I hired" moment.

iice:


I think i scared her. . .she resigned quickly

You probably daunt her. . . Would you be considered intimidating/overbearing, or is her confidence lacking, or both?

iice:

Yes both I don't like slow, i get irritated by slow. . . and by slow i mean slow on the uptake, slow to process. . .grrrhhh i hate repeating myself. . .no, not that way, didn't i tell you this, i told you the last time that. . .nah i have no patience for that.

Oh no! I, I, I f-f-feel like rrrrresigning from NL. . . You just intimidated me jooo 

On a serious note, keep it going iice; Energizer Bunny never jam. . . e no go see your breaklight.

OK, more seriously, I truly admire such drive in professionals, male or female, though I am on the calmer scale of the spectrum. However, if you work in Naija, you may have a revolving door until you find your rare fit in a subordinate. Don't you realize how you sometimes lose your cool with slow NL folks? (Yep, I have my eyes on you, iice)   

I found out that most young people are in a hurry. They are not committed to the job, they just want to ride a car and have stuff. In my profession, without commiittement you cant survive a week cos you see so many things.
I guess poverty and unemployement makes people to settle for anything without actually chosing a career. I was lucky i always knew what i wanted to do and am doing it right now, its tough and challenging but its worth every minute of my time, money and energy
Plus too much nollywood seems to make them dull and dumb. They have ideas you dont want to know about, most believe that some one from somewhere will just come and change your life and you dont have to work for anything

aisha2:

I found out that most young people are in a hurry. They are not committed to the job, they just want to ride a car and have stuff. In my profession, without commiittement you cant survive a week cos you see so many things.
I guess poverty and unemployement makes people to settle for anything without actually chosing a career. I was lucky i always knew what i wanted to do and am doing it right now, its tough and challenging but its worth every minute of my time, money and energy
Plus too much nollywood seems to make them dull and dumb. They have ideas you dont want to know about, most believe that some one from somewhere will just come and change your life and you dont have to work for anything

Interesting thoughts, aisha2.

I suggest you find a way of detecting such unproductive mindsets at the interview stage. If you're the headhuncho, resist the temptation of making an instant hiring decision - Meet the fellow 2-3 times.

I have learnt that it is better to fire people upfront (i.e. at the hiring stage), than at the backend (with its attendant collateral costs to the business).

iice:

LMAO. . .you no well LOL

That means I was bang on. . ."You no well" translates, "You know me soooo well" LOL!

iice:

I means you're not serious

Shakara 
Anyway, I love to read your posts sha.