Bossy Co-workers

Dear Bolton Carley,

I’m tired of this woman I work with.  She is constantly bossing me around even though she does not rank above me.  She literally puts her hands on her hips and tells everyone else in the room what they are doing wrong.  Yesterday, she told me that I should have used blue ink instead of black ink on a stupid title.  It takes all my willpower to not scream, “Shut up!” at her.  What should I do instead?

Dear Bossed Around,

Everybody has a bossy pants at work.  It’s a shame you have to deal with her.  Being a control freak myself, I have to think one of the following scenarios might be true:

1.        She needs the money and can’t afford for anyone to screw up a project.

2.       She has no control over her home life or her sex life (uh-oh!) or some other sector of her life, so she focuses on work.

3.       She likes to be in charge and doesn’t necessarily realize she’s being a pain in the arse.

That being said, these are your best options when dealing with Bossy Pants:

A.      Limit your time with her, but be very prompt and accurate in your work.

B.      Suck up to her and thank her for her efforts in getting this all done correctly.  Guaranteed she will be thankful to hear she’s appreciated and take mercy on you (if no one else)!

C.      Take an interest in her personal life.  Ask questions and get to know her.  Most people when engaged become less hard core on the topic at hand.

Then again, you could just call her out as a bossy bitch and complain to your co-workers like the rest of the American working force.  (Note that said advice giver was being facetious, not serious.)

Sincerely,

Bolton Carley