If you suffer from having a boss that absolutely drives you nuts and you go home dreading seeing your boss the next day but can’t get out of the situation, there’s hope. Here is a quick survival guide. This may not help you long-term, but hopefully it will help you in the near-term. And eventually, maybe you can find a job with a boss that doesn’t drive you bonkers.

As far as terrible bosses go, the 5 most hated kinds of bosses include those that call you the wrong name, want a personal slave, want a best friend not an employee, treat you like crap, or are the spastic/drunk boss.

Unfortunately, if you fall into one of these categories, you are not alone. There are thousands of bosses that fit within this category just within the United States. I cannot say whether these bosses are also the most hated on an international level, but I can’t imagine them being much worse than this.

Whether you have one of these bosses inside the U.S. or somewhere else in the world, here are 4 tips that can help you survive on a daily basis until you can find another job. Most of us aren’t financially set for life and can’t quit on a whim. So remember these tips on how to survive your boss:

1. Remember It’s Only Temporary.

Although you may think you will always be doing the same thing and working for the same terrible boss, the truth is it’s only short-term. In the near future, your life will get better and you can work for someone else.

2. Exercise

Exercise is a great way to get in shape and release that stress, particularly if you do intense sports like kickboxing or running. These will allow you to get out your negative energy and help you stay in shape. This is a great feeling especially when you are in better shape than the boss.

3. Vent About Your Boss

Even though it may seem a little childish, it can make you feel better. But only backtalk your boss in your head or when you’re absolutely 100-percent positive they’re not around. Generally, it works better when you complain about them to friends outside of the office. Sometimes you just need to vent and then you can be constructive and go on.

4. Active Social Life

A lot of my friends try having such an active social life that work is only the thing they do between playing. That way, their day feels shorter, and they enjoy their life more. You might hate work less if you’re thoroughly exhausted from having so much  outside of work.

Try these tactics. I used to have a job that I absolutely hated and a couple of these did help me on a daily basis. Even though you hate your job and you don’t think you could find another one because of the economy, hold on. Eventually, the economy will get better; in the meantime, keep your eyes open for a new job.

It may be worth it to even take a lower-paying job and then pick up an extra job on the side. Depending on how severely you hate your current boss, this might work for you. Also remember, no matter what your insecurities tell you, what they are paying you isn’t worth it your dignity. So start looking for another job and stay alive.

Every boss can’t be loved by every employee. But that doesn’t mean that every boss needs to be Michael Scott from NBC’s The Office. Thus, in order to minimize resentment, a good boss should understand some of more common reasons why employers hate their bosses so they can respond swiftly and effectively.

1. Employees need respect. One of greatest complaints that nearly every employee has about their boss is a perceived lack of respect. Most employees feel their bosses don’t respect their privacy, their ability, and their personal lives (yes, employees have a life outside of work). As such, employers should go out of their way to show respect to each employee in the organization. Remember that respect tends to be reciprocated; as such, showing respect to employees is one of the most effective ways to win their respect and loyalty.

2. Employees dislike micromanagers and under-managers. A bad boss is like an overbearing parent. A good boss, by contrast, treats employees like adults — that means giving employees plenty of space and freedom to accomplish their work. Bosses should never spy and should strive to maintain privacy. In short: if your employees are good workers, don’t micromanage. Just step back and let them do their thing.

However, be careful to avoid the opposite of micromanagement — under-management. Under-managed employees receive little or no support (material, emotional, financial) from their bosses. While the lesser of two evils, inadequate support also leads to resentment as well as apathy on the part of employees. After all, if the boss doesn’t care, why should I?

3. Employees, like bosses, don’t think they’re getting paid enough. Rare indeed are the organizations in which employees feel they’re well paid. (It’s probably human nature to feel under-appreciated.) Still, a good boss can help placate disgruntled workers by making the pay philosophy of the company clear and by finding other ways to compensate workers.

4. Employees tend to dislike meetings as a rule. Meetings are a necessary evil. That being said, employers can make them less annoying and less intrusive by planning meetings carefully, imposing strict time limits, making goals and action items clear, and by creating an environment where employees can voice their opinions openly without fear of retribution. It might even be helpful on occasions to seek feedback from employees as to how meetings could be made more effective.

5. Employees need to feel appreciated. When creativity or hard work is unappreciated, unacknowledged, or unrewarded, employees — just like everyone else — tend to feel resentment. In turn, resentment can lead to apathy. This is why it is crucial for bosses and managers to show they both see and appreciate the work being done. A little acknowledgement goes a long way — in fact, verbal affirmation can often be as rewarding for employees as a raise or a promotion. Well, almost.

To conclude, let me observe that most of the reasons that employees hate their bosses are not related to background, personality quirks, or other things beyond a boss’s control. Rather, most — if not all — of these concerns could be assuaged if the boss would simply be aware of them and take steps to reduce their occurrence. Of course, that’s easier said than done, mostly because there are a myriad of ways that employees annoy their bosses — but that’s the subject for another day.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Kari Whitaker is a technical as well as creative writer. In addition to articles on education and careers, she also enjoys writing short stories, essays, and poetry.

Benjamin Welch has been a college instructor in writing and composition for nearly six years. When he’s not teaching or playing golf, he offers advice for students seeking information about online education and online degrees.

So you’ve been working at the same job for awhile. You haven’t been promoted or transferred. You’re doing the same thing you did when you started. You haven’t gotten a raise despite several favorable reviews. Worst of all, you can tell work is getting to you. You’re more anxious somehow. Maybe you’re even developing a bit of a temper. Basically, you’re in a dead-end job.

The problem is this: you know you’re in a dead-end job and yet you feel powerless to do anything about it. But why? Why not quit? Why not find something more meaningful? The purpose of this article is to examine some of the possible answers to these questions and to investigate how people like you can escape the mire of a dead-end job.

Ignorance

One of the most common reasons that people stick with dead-end jobs is precisely that they don’t recognize them as such. Maybe they think a promotion or a raise is just around the corner. Maybe they’re convinced that if they endure just a little longer, it will all be worth it. Frankly, this attitude is the same kind of wishful ignorance that accompanies most of the slot machines in Las Vegas, only in this instance they’re gambling more than just money — they’re wasting their professional lives, one quarter at a time.

Another variety of ignorance is the belief that there aren’t any better jobs out there. This kind of ignorance is based on the assumption that dead-end jobs are the rule and not the exception. (Sure, you’re in a dead-end job but so is everybody else, right?) People who think like this tend to be anxious and pessimistic — two characteristics which, not coincidentally, also happen to be symptoms of being stuck in a dead-end job.

Contentedness

As strange as it sounds, some people stay in dead-end jobs because they’re actually content — not with their work but rather with their compensation. These people value comfort and routine, and they love the consistency of a regular paycheck. As such, the prospect of venturing into the unknown or taking a temporary pay cut in order to pursue a new opportunity is unacceptable. Or, at least, it’s less acceptable than staying in a dead-end job.

Apathy

On the surface, the symptoms of apathy may seem similar to those of contentedness. The difference lies in the motivation: whereas contented workers remain in dead-end jobs because they value routine or because they feel adequately compensated, apathetic workers stay with jobs because they simply don’t care. Apathy is an absence of all feeling — for good or for ill — and as such, apathetic workers don’t have strong feelings of any kind toward their job or toward work generally. They simply exist in a gray twilight that stretches from nine to five.

Fear

Though ignorance, contentedness, and apathy share some of the blame, it is certain that the single most common reason for people staying in dead-end jobs is fear. One reason for its prominence is the shear of number of fears available — fear of the unknown, fear of risk, and fear of failure, to name but a few. People fear being under-qualified or under-educated for better jobs; they fear being unable to meet financial obligations; most of all, they fear ending up worse off than they were before. Is it any wonder that Henry David Thoreau declared that “most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them”?

So how do you escape this “life of quiet desperation” embodied in the notion of a dead-end job? How do you overcome ignorance, apathy, and fear? How do you learn to take risks when you’re predisposed to comfort and security? Alas, the answers to these questions, which are fundamental to the reasons why people stick with dead-end jobs, elude simple explanations. They are as complex and as varied as each individual. And yet, this is precisely the purpose of this forum — to pursue these questions and to identify strategies that will allow each individual to make educated decisions.

The key, of course, is knowledge. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to make choices about a potential career change or about furthering your education. The good news is that there’s hope. Figuring out that you’re in dead-end job is just the first step. Once you realize that you’re in a dead-end job and, more importantly, why you’re staying, then you can take steps to combat ignorance, fear, and even apathy and get out of that dead-end job once and for all.

At this point, your tendency might be to resist. Maybe you think your job really isn’t dead-end (ignorance) or that you really do like your job (contentedness). Maybe you’re not motivated (apathy) or maybe you’re feeling anxious (fear). If so, perhaps you should consider this final, telling question: if you’re really not stuck in a dead-end job, or if you really didn’t want to do something about it, then why are you reading this in the first place?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin Welch has been a college instructor in writing and composition for nearly six years. When he’s not teaching or playing golf, he offers advice for students seeking information about online education and online degrees.