By Emily Baucum, OzarksFirst.com

We’ve all had hard-to-please bosses, but what do you do when your boss’ behavior is abusive?

A bully boss is not someone who is pushing you to do your best. It’s someone who is always right, always needs to win and makes personal attacks.

It boils down to a power struggle. Here’s how you can take control.

Jill Elliston says she loves being a nurse, but hated going to work.

“A nurse I knew was recently let go of her job because her employer was demanding that she work a lot of hours off the clock,” Elliston says.

She left her job, a decision psychologist Rita Westermann says 84% of people with bully bosses make.

“In the great majority of cases, really the only valid thing to do is to leave, unfortunately,” Westermann says.

But why hang it up when there’s no guarantee you’ll get another shot?

“In today’s economy, this problem is even worse because we all know if you have a job right now, you’ve got something,” Westermann says.

That’s why Elliston felt “powerless,” she says.

They have a lot of books in this office, but there are actually no laws on the books in the United States dealing with workplace bullying.

“See if your workplace has a harassment policy, a general harassment policy,” Westermann says.

After that research, she recommends taking action.

“Going above your boss’ head,” Westermann says. “Have someone either on your boss’ level or above your boss’ level confront that behavior.”

Office politics may make employees afraid.

“Afraid that people will retaliate,” Elliston says.

But Westermann says when your work is under a microscope.

“This costs the workplace billions of dollars in lost productivity, absenteeism, increased healthcare costs,” she says.

Elliston turned her negative experience into a positive.

“I don’t want the eggs in one basket anymore,” she says.

She didn’t want a carbon copy of her last boss, so now she’s in charge.

“Definitely is an empowering feeling,” Elliston says.

She’s training to be a legal nurse consultant.

“If people are sitting at home frightened, scared to death to go into work tomorrow, there is something that they can do tonight,” Elliston says.

Westermann says there is always going to be another job, but you can’t replace your health.

If leaving your job is just not a possibility, she suggests seeing a therapist or confiding in someone who is not a coworker.

A lot of people may think they’re alone in this, but actually a lot of people deal with bully bosses.

If you’re in this situation, we’ve put together a list of websites that can help you out.

http://nojobisworththis.com
http://www.mobbing-usa.com
http://www.innovations-training.com

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