I hate my boss!

It is also laughable that if you do further education past your BSN in Management or Business and throw in a MSN for good measure you are now eligible to go for middle or upper management! Doesn't really matter if you are good at it, have any people skills, or even a lot of hands on nursing care, you are now considered to be Management Material Nurses General Nursing Article

Hands up, how many of you actually hate your boss? I can imagine a fair few will be nodding their head in agreement that they hate there boss.

I search google with the words 'I hate my boss' and with that simple sentence I found 12,800,000 results.

Change the wording to 'I hate my manager' and the results add up to 58,600,000.

I am sure if I delve deeper I would be able to find more results, so what does this tell me? It tells me that we in the nursing profession are not alone in 'hating' our bosses, we are not the only profession who feels we employ idiots to 'run' business's

Who do we define the term boss?

Boss an individual that is usually the immediate supervisor of some number of employees and has certain capacities and responsibilities to make decisions. The term itself is not a formal title, and is sometimes used to refer to any higher level employee in a company, including a supervisor, manager, director, or the ceo.

But did you know that a boss can also be defined as...

Boss 3 (bs) n.A cow or calf. [perhaps ultimately from latin bs; see bovine.]

There are books on...

  • How to manage your boss
  • How to kill your boss
  • Get back at your boss

There are over 10,000,000 I hate my boss jokes!

Bosses are also being blamed on causing marital problems too!

That bad marriage - it could be the fault of your abusive boss

So there is lots of information on hating your boss. Does this make me feel better? No!

It is also laughable that if you do further education past your bsn in management or business and throw in a msn for good measure you are now eligible to go for middle or upper management! Doesn't really matter if you are good at it, have any people skills, or even a lot of hands on nursing care, you are now considered to be management material.

I have nothing against further education but some of the strangest people have msn, I do not think that having a masters in anything means you have common sense.

Most people who go onto obtain further education have access to money! We know it is not cheap to get further education.

You have to have good credit scores and have to be dedicated to working extremely hard in your studies and normally at the cost of other parts of your life.

My boss has every known degree known to mankind yet I still question her decisions, I feel her hands on experience is minimum and I wonder if she ever worked as a frustrated staff nurse.

I think doing time spent as a frustrated staff nurse makes you understand the problems and issues that everybody experiences first hand on a busy floor.

This in turn helps you have a human approach to management, that is what I believe is missing these days. You have to know how to turn things around in a crisis. You have to have very good understand how your specialty works. How to troubleshoot.

You cannot tell by watching staff how busy they are! Most rn's aren't running around like headless chickens, they are calm, confident and have excellent time management skills, so they make it look easy!

That doesn't mean to say they are having an easy day, eventually after a certain amount of experience on the floor you grow to realize running around like a headless chicken serves no purpose. You use up energy and brain power you actually need to be effective.

A lot of management staff in health care have stood still for very little time before they have climbed the ladder very quickly.

I am sure if you ask your bosses how long they worked as an basic rn on a unit, they will barely have 5 years or less!

Most of them have planned their career very carefully and always seem to find themselves in the right place at the right time.

These days I have seen advertisements for charge nurse positions with only a minimum of 1 year post grad experience under their belt. This concerns me because 1 yr is barely enough time to get your feet wet let alone have the experience and know how of managing staff and the unit.

When I was a newby staff nurse I could turn to my charge nurses and managers and they knew everything. It always amazed me.

I bet in some cases this is not true anymore.

I still hate my boss and I have to learn how to channel this emotion towards something more positive as the negativity is 'killing' me.

I have got to the stage that I worry about every single interaction between us, I suspect she is 'out to get me', I imagine she has a different agenda to me and if I don't agree she 'is out to get me'.

I have become paranoid and this emotion bothers me! I ask myself why do I really think she is out to get me?

It is a personality clash? Or is it simply 'i dont like being told'

Remember, it takes two to tango.

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
Hate is such a STRONG word. Not inaccurate just strong. :)

It gets attention though LOL

Specializes in ICU.

I don't really hate my boss, well maybe a little, but I sure don't respect him. It's just that he is a total ninny d-bag who is never there and the only skill he has is the ability to kiss ass so they made him a director. He has run our unit into the ground. It is run by his buddies who are the worst of the worst.

He is weirdly intimidated by those of us who are CCRNs and competent. If I put it all out there on this site - you wouldn't believe it and I would be terminated in a heartbeat. Sometimes I think I have landed in the twilight zone of nursing. Being smart and experienced is something I have to downplay so that I am not targeted. I am playing along and playing dumb because I like this job but I see through his management BS. If I jacked this thread too bad. My experience is that quality nurse managers and VPs of Nursing dont last very long, they want a yes man to screw over their staff. Ok I said and it's out there. Peace.

My experience is that quality nurse managers and VPs of Nursing dont last very long, they want a yes man to screw over their staff. Ok I said and it's out there. Peace.

I get it. There's a comment we use at work that "this is the place where incompetence is rewarded." I've seen the people that are chosen for promotions. Those that are cheerleaders for the higher up's are given positions they are not qualified for. Management knows that they will do whatever they are told and not rock the boat. The less management has to deal with, the better. The good nurses on the units will literally kill themselves to make sure nothing happens to the patient thus covering for their incompetence or laziness. I feel like you that if I gave out specifics, I'd be identified and fired. No wonder burnout is so prevalent.

Specializes in OB, Med/Surg, Ortho, ICU.

I'm sorry to hear so many of you have problems with your boss/manager. I've been very fortunate, and after hearing some of these stories, shall not take a good boss for granted. My thoughts are with those who are struggling. On another note, you enlightened me as to boss being an actual definition for cattle. That's how we call our cattle home ("come boss"), but I always thought it was just slang.

Specializes in Geriatrics.

Nursing use to be my passion. It's not anymore. Work harder, work faster, and leave on time. Jugle, you better know it all and don't use your ouwn judgement. Very career depressed right now...must work and make at least what I make now just to get by!!!! Don't know what to do...

As a manager, I do not want anyone on my team who does not get along with me. It just adds too much weight to an already busy day. I fired a nurse last summer because she detested me, but could never explain why. She did not keep it a secret from her colleagues, or from me. Eventually, I decided, "Who needs it?"

Getting a new job is not easy, but better to do this than get fired.

Managers are human, just the same as staff. When our comfort zone is threatened, we will 'fix' it, just the same as anyone else would. Good luck!

Wow! This is horrifying to me!! I would suggest taking some management classes to learn how to manage yourself so your comfort zone is not threatened. Maybe some self esteem enhancing books/classes. Others livelihoods have been entrusted to you. Please honor that.

Can't say anymore. Too mad.

Specializes in Psych.

I love my boss. She worked her way up to RN over 10 years in health care, though - and worked as an RN for probably three or four years before moving up the food chain.. and she often says time on the floor is a necessity for knowing what is going on there.

Specializes in med/surg, neuro, ortho,cardica,pacu.

Bad experiences do and will occur as a result of poor management and weak leadership. If you ever have a really good nurse manager and effective leadership, do not ever quit that job! Effective leadership in healthcare is very difficult to find.

Your article is EXCELLENT Thanks for posting it.

Specializes in Pedi.

If I didn't know better, I would think this article was written by one of my co-workers. Job satisfaction is at an all time low amongst my co-workers and if asked why staff morale is so poor, almost unanimously they will blame our manager.

I, personally, do not hate my boss but am finding it incredibly challenging to go to work lately because when she is mad at you (and she is currently mad at me), she goes out of her way to make your life miserable. Our turnover lately is incredible... those who found other jobs, took the first one that came along and were gone a minute after it was offered to them. In this economy, many feel stuck but people aren't even being picky now and just taking the first thing that comes along so they can get out of what is basically an abusive relationship. Several others have stated that they are leaving the minute they are offered something else. We are losing talented nurses for the sake of TPTB's egos. We are not going to be able to easily replace them either because 1. in this economy, people aren't really apt to leave their secure jobs just "for something different", 2. we are the lowest paying hospital in the city so in order for someone to leave their job and come to us, they'd have to take a pay-cut and 3. our hospital has a horrible reputation amongst nurses for the way staff is treated.

Specializes in none.

i hate my boss so much that whenever i heard her name my blood boils.

All I can say is WOW... this is borderline creepy! I hate my boss as well but to be googling it. REALLY???? makes me not want to be a nurse. All I ever seen in these blogs are Nurses that just crab about everything. What's up with that? In all honesty I came to this webpage to be encouraged. Do all Nurses really hate eachother as much as this webpage makes it seem? This is in refference to the very first post.... with all of the googling on hated bosses.

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
All I can say is WOW... this is borderline creepy! I hate my boss as well but to be googling it. REALLY???? makes me not want to be a nurse. All I ever seen in these blogs are Nurses that just crab about everything. What's up with that? In all honesty I came to this webpage to be encouraged. Do all Nurses really hate eachother as much as this webpage makes it seem? This is in refference to the very first post.... with all of the googling on hated bosses.

I am sorry you feel that way but there are lots of blogs and lots of articles to read on this web site, if you chose to read mine and complain then I suggest you go find something you find suitable and avoid those that appear to creep you out

This is my blog and I find it therapeutic