Top 10 nightmare bosses

1 The Weakest Link
The worst boss I ever had wasn't bad - just terribly weak and scared of anyone more senior to him. I started as a junior counter assistant in a shop, and after a couple of months my boss made me Stores Manager. Great, so far (apart from being on the same pay). I more or less ran the stores side of the business. All was well until a semi-retired senior manager came to us to end his working days, and resented my position at my age. He constantly found fault, and eventually my boss became too scared to back me up on any of the imagined mistakes. I was called in and sacked on the spot, without references, because this elderly senior had told him if I didn't go, he, my 'brave' boss, would be on the scrap heap.

2 The Toy Soldier
About four years ago, I had a boss who was in the territorial army and - you've guessed it - brought his toy army persona to work with him. He couldn't stand being contradicted or challenged. After a disagreement over a pretty insignificant issue, he took me by the elbow into a private room, backed me up against the wall, banged his fist on the table and screamed, 'What is your problem?' I made a complaint and took him through grievance procedures, but sadly, nothing much has changed. Human resources are obviously scared of him too!

3 The Hypocrite
I work for a man who unfortunately doesn't realise I don't have the super power of mind-reading. There are different rules for me and my colleague. She gets to take 10-minute smoking breaks six to eight times a day, while I get dragged across the coals for chatting to someone for a few minutes. My boss even dragged me into his boss's office once to complain I wasn't doing enough overtime, and that I worked too fast. I exposed him this time though. Each year during my appraisal he praises the quality of my work. So, when confronted, I argued that he couldn't complain that I do the work too quickly if he's already said that it was done well. Was he embarrassed when HIS boss agreed with me!

4 The Shirker
My old boss was a right waster. He was so lazy that he employed a new office manager to do all his dirty work for him. He never paid bills, so it meant us office staff got all the complaints from people he owed money to. He even bought his wife a big car out of the company's budget! I'm glad I left that company to work for a more honest manager, who pulls their weight.

5 The Stinker
My old boss used to go jogging at lunch-time, and come back and eat his lunch - still dripping with sweat. Yeuk!

6 The confidence zapper
My boss is driving me mad and I've only been working here seven months. The only training I have had is for things I will never need to do and I've had no training whatsoever for what I'm actually doing. My boss completely humiliates me by pointing out my mistakes at the top of her voice. She makes people spy on me and if I do anything wrong - no matter how small, they tell her and she has another go at me. Due to all of this, I've completely lost my confidence and feel I'm useless at my job. She has done this before to people who have eventually left because of her. Now I'm looking for a new job because I really can't take any more - she is making me physically ill.

7 The Promoted 'Friend'
The publishing company I worked for won a new account and a 'friend' of mine was promoted to head this project. From day one it became obvious she didn't have a clue. Trying to hide the fact that she couldn't handle the job, she had several people sacked, blaming them for her mistakes. After going way over budget she asked people to take a pay cut, which we refused. I put myself out of this misery by sending a polite letter to the publisher, asking to be put on another project. A few months later, this boss-from-hell was asked to leave. I went to her leaving party to celebrate. I have now left the company and started a business with my husband. We're doing fine!

8 The Bully Boy
In the last place I worked, my line manager was an alcoholic and frequently took time out for mental health problems. I needed sick leave after damaging my vocal chords due to my job - I had to lecture to 300 students without a microphone. When I returned, the bullying started. The next few months were hell and in the end I took him to Personnel for bullying. It was all very unpleasant and it was suggested to me by the female HR officer that I would probably like some time off 'to do some shopping to help calm me down' (can you believe it!?). It was also suggested that as I lived alone I probably had no one to talk to and this would have made me feel more bullied. At the end of this fiasco, the bully kept away from me but picked on other people. Many of them then blamed me for making them the target! I found that my route to promotion was blocked and so I left the job a year ago. However, in my new job I find it difficult to trust others and struggle to feel 'part of' the place. The thing that gets me about these bullies is that they change how you feel about yourself. I've just heard that my ex-bully was admitted to a psychiatric institution, but how many 'victims' go the same way?

9 The Mutterer
My current boss is trying to push me out of the company after joining 18 months ago. She has attendance of about 40% due to various issues. She constantly reshuffles staff due to personality conflicts and I am her current victim. I made a request for some extended leave next January. This was declined and has been used since as a means of proving my 'lack of commitment'. Her superior is incredibly weak and also unwilling to admit his mistakes. Another, much better, manager has recently been put into a position below my boss to do the work she is supposed to do. I am currently seeking alternative employment. I know this is petty and uncaring, but the fact that she constantly mutters to herself is probably the biggest reason I want to get away from her!

10 Mr Wrong
My last boss always insisted he was right. The thing was, he couldn't spell and his grammar was terrible. Nothing wrong with that if he was willing to learn, but he always said both me AND the dictionary were wrong. Aaargh!