How do I deal with my boss in this situation??

@NovaBlaze, my most difficult client in one job was my biggest fan. My greatest forte at work is creating good relationships with my clients.

It definitely can take some time to gel with other people. It's encouraging to hear that when a relationship has had a bad start, that doesn't mean it's doomed.

I've come into a company into a position that has not had much visibility until I came on board. And here I have been offering the company major improvements to their website and to their marketing campaigns. I have increased Google rankings, traffic, and revenue significantly, and I am successful at what I do.

My boss is less intelligent, she is not a huge success, and she had to recently take a course on prioritizing tasks at work. She is 51 years old and is having to take a course you should take when you are 22 years old? She hasn't progressed very far in her career, and she went to a not so great college.

I think part of her bullying ways towards me are due to envy. And I think her micromanagement of me is a way to feel in control of me.

I offer ideas, really good ideas, that the company has implemented across all their global websites. And those ideas have made the company more money. My boss rarely can give me any congratulations and kudos for my good work. Rarely.

I've also had to coach my boss everything about my field and what I do. She had NO clue coming into this role, managing me, and I am sure that she resents that because I know far more than she does about my job and work. It can't feel good to have your own employee training you on the job.

So there's that too. But yea, I think overall I do show respect to all those I work with, always with the goal of creating positive relationships. But she wants to cut me down and make me feel bad. She also kind of alienates me on our team and has been rude to me in front of other team members.

She doesn't like me, and that's unfortunate, but I am there to do my job and to the best of my abilities. Maybe I can changes bosses.

I'm savvy enough to know that my boss simply wants control and this is her way of exerting control. It also communicates a lack of respect and a lack of trust in me to get things done correctly.

I don't see any work produced by my boss - not one single ounce of work - not a single presentation or report. She has never presented in any of team meeetings, even though each of us others do, including those she manages and her own boss.

So what does she do, I wonder? She likes to micromanage and bully.

My ideas have been implemented globally and are benefitting the whole company. I have impacted website traffic and revenue positively.

My ideas have all been to make the company more money. I am doing my job - and I am doing it well.

I would never speak to my boss as though I don't think she's smart or competent. I am guessing though that she is not very competent, and I don't think she's that bright.

What really needs to happen, or what I want, is that I get promoted to a global role and am managed by someone else. My boss has even asked me if I would be better served working in a different department.. at first I said no, but when I talk to my boss's boss on Monday, I will mention it as a question to put on the table.

Yes, that sounds right. It used to be that when a company was struggling, they'd lay off some of its workers. Now there's a new strategy -- fire people who violate company policy, even if they've not enforced that policy before. It costs money to do layoffs. First, there's usually a severance payment to the employee. Second, the tax rate the employer pays for unemployment insurance can increase.

I don't think they quickly resort to firing in my company. One employee who got fired, for example, was given a warning a year before to get his act together.

My boss now has made it ver clear she doesn’t care for me. I was following her on instagram and vice versa. She removed me and stopped following me, too. Ouch. Geez, could she be more obvious or more petty?

Today I brought to my boss’s attention her harsh and punitive tone with me at times. She tried to twist the narrative to be that I’m misinterpreting her. BS. That’s gaslighting and deflecting all responsibility onto me. I should have known that this is the type of response I would get from her. Next I speak with her boss about her poor treatment of me on Thursday. I used the words “bullying behavior” with him and mentioned that I hope we can resolve it before I feel I have to take it further. I will not go to HR however, after reflecting more on it. I will simply inform him of the issues and will offer solutions one of which is to report to someone else. My boss is the one who had raised the question.

Well, I've now met with my boss's boss about my boss's treatment of me. And now it's the time of annual reviews. I get to write my own review of myself, and my boss does too. I told her boss that if there is great discrepancy between mine and her versions of my review, that this should be a red flag in support of me not being treated fairly.

Last week, I had a 13-hour work day. We had an all day work conference, followed by an hour long cocktail hour, followed by getting into cars to go into the city for 2 more hours of socializing, with pizzas and axe throwing. It was an insanely long day. I couldn't even go out Friday night because I was so exhausted from the long day on Thurs.

And now, my small team, including my boss, has to volunteer today for 2 hours. Even though I elected to work from home for the next 2 weeks, I have to meet my boss and teammates today for volunteering.

I feel very bad humbug about this today. I do not wish to see or spend more time with my boss right now. I want and need distance, and doing this today forces me to see her and interact with her on a very fake and false level. I have to put on a big smile and pretend to be happy.

In the meantime, I am writing as thorough of a self evaluation/review as I can. I want to be sure to cover all important points from the last year regarding my achievements, the challenges encountered, the core competencies I've demonstrated, and areas/opportunities for improvement and growth. Those are the questions I must answer, so I am being thoughtful and thorough. And I am convinced that my boss is going to low ball me in her own review of me.

If she does, I hope they fire her vs let her get away with it. These reviews are read by all the important higher ups, including our VP of Marketing.

I am seriously on edge during this review period. Mine is due on Thurs. I have to get through this volunteer activity today and the rest of this week somehow.

I skipped the volunteer activity and said I was sick. I’m really low spirited. I was approached by Facebook meta today about a job. I’m going to explore it.

Yep, @Have Hope, looking at other options is always a good idea. If nothing else, it gives a perspective on your current situation.

It sounds like you are running out of energy to deal with your current work situation.

Do you get some time off over the Christmas period, or do you have to work?

@NovaBlaze, I am most definitely out of energy. I feel depleted, deflated, wounded, and punctured. My only solace is at night when I get to sleep.

I get a little time off over the holidays, but not enough.

I am at the end of my rope. I hate how I feel.

I am starting to think my company is cultish - and I don't fit in. I am non conformist, so I do not follow the social norms there.

All employees, for example, where the brand's sneakers to work every single day. I do not. I wear my boots and my heels. I wear the brand's sneakers maybe once per week for our team meetings and for any team or company events and that is all. Everyone else looks exactly the same. And if you're not in love with sports or the brand, you stand out like a sore thumb, which is ME.

Employees are cheerleaders of the brand. As for me, I'm like, this is a JOB, not my life.

My boss wears the brand's sneakers and apparel nearly every day and is the biggest cheerleader of them all. It makes me totally sick.

I will explore this other opportunity and see what it's about. I am cautious about jumping at the first opportunity to leave. It has to be the right opportunity.

Last night I felt suicidal. I thought about doing it. Then I thought who would take care of my cat, and how would my cat survive? I would also hurt my whole family if I did this, especially my mother. My mother years ago made me promise I would never kill myself. I've been like this before and I've attempted a few times.

Once again, I feel this way. I want it all to end. The pain, the hurt, the anguish. I am in immense emotional pain and it won't stop.

My boss treating me this way is the culprit, and finding myself in yet again, another position at work where I am being bullied and ostracized. And that cuts me deeply. It's an old wound, from having been bullied so frequently at work (I have a whole separate thread on this topic). This is the 7th job where I've been bullied.

I am at the end of my rope and just want out of this life and off this planet. I don't want to be here anymore.

If you’re having these thoughts and feelings, I really would urge you to seek immediate help from a professional mental health support person, doctor, or emergency services.

Don't worry, my friend.. I am not in crisis and I don't need a professional. These are just feelings, and this too shall pass.

I will not take action or do anything to harm myself. I've been here before, many times, and it will pass.

However, that being said, I am very bah humbug right now. That job opportunity with Facebook/Meta was a total scam, so I just had to go through the process of securing my Facebook account and resetting my Password, and checking my bank account for fraud. I just went through fraud on my debit card, as it is. That's twice in two months too.

So right now, I hate life, I hate people, and I hate this corrupt world we live in. Bah humbug.

That’s good to hear. I know these thought processes can be coping strategies at times, without there being any intention to act on them.

It will soon be a New Year, with new opportunities.

@NovaBlaze, yes, it's a coping strategy I would say.

And yes, it will be!

I am now looking into taking a vacation in Mexico in March - on my own. I looked at Jan/Feb, but I won't have enough accrued vacation hours available to me. I hate it when companies make you accrue or earn your vacation days. Vacation should be allowed whenever you want to take it.