Devil Bosses

Inspired by the Meryl Streep movie "The Devil Wears Prada," Washington Post business reporter Amy Joyce described several "devil bosses" in her Life at Work column last Sunday.

The article made me recall a few nasty bosses of my own -- including one tyrannical Iraqi woman who inflicted upon me the fear and intimidation tactics she'd learned growing up in a series of British boarding schools. But none compares to the woman who made all employees in her department stay at work during a two-foot snowfall that ended up closing the entire company for two days. We all had young children in day care and school whom we needed to get to -- and then get home safely -- but she was oblivious, even as afternoon darkness fell. We knew she was largely clueless and not intentionally endangering our children, but we were all so intimidated by her past tirades that we couldn't stand up to her. Finally, one of her male counterparts intervened, and we all were allowed to leave.

Devil bosses certainly can make your life hell, both before and after you have children. (Check out the AFL-CIO's Bad Boss contest for some unbelievable stories.) However, once you have kids, the power dynamic shifts even further because bosses have the power to make your family's life miserable, too. So, tell us a story about your worst boss, and what he or she did to ruin your life. If you dealt with the boss particularly cleverly, please let us know how.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  July 14, 2006; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Conflicts , Free-for-All , Workplaces
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