Though I'm not usually one to delve into the negative, sometimes it's damn entertaining to trade war stories. Let's talk about our worst bosses ever!

B.H. was a deeply neurotic and insecure trophy wife who ran an event planning company her husband owned. I suspect he bought the company (and gave her that job) so that she's have something to do once their kids got into high school.

I worked with her for nine months. During the course of that time she:

1) frequently got so angry with me she refused to talk to me
2) said things like "are you TRYING not to answer the phone?"
3) cried about her marital problems
4) asked me to falsify documents
5) talked constantly about her Atkins diet (which was probably the most annoying thing out of all these)
6) asked me if my friends were lesbians
7) wanted me to find a picture of a woman we were interviewing for a position because we "don't want to hire her if she looked like shit"

Share yours!

My worst stories aren't about my boss, but about our company controller (incidentally, the boss's mother. Weird and wrong? YEP!). It's become an office joke that she hates me, and even compared to the nasty treatment she gives just about everyone (except, of course, her darling boy), her behavior toward me is truly unbelievable. Most recently, she decided she just couldn't stand my speaking to her at all, about anything. After I asked her a quick question as we passed each other in the hallway, I received a long email requesting that I "follow office procedure" (totally invented) and not come into her office or ask her questions in passing. Instead, I am only to email her questions or information. She is the controller, the accounts payable manager, and the HR director, so any and all questions or discussions relating to them above must be submitted via email (and answered within, oh, a week or so).
Now that's STILL nothing compared to the freakout she had a while back when I came by the office on a Saturday to pick up something I'd forgotten at my desk. She was there so the office was open, but she didn't pick up the phone when I called to let her know I was coming, nor did she read the email saying the same thing. Therefore, when I walked into the office, she was shocked, horrified, and offended that I would simply "waltz in as if I owned the place." She actually followed me out to my car, ranting about how I thought I could do anything I wanted and how she knew I got "some sick power trip" out of ignoring rules.

It's almost hilarious at this point, though too tragic to quite make it.

I was an intern in a University in Colombia, and I was to work as a Graphic Designer for the Press & Publications Office (composed of only boss). As all recent-graduates, I was full of myself and certain that I knew EVERYTHING and if anyone thought different they were sadly mistaken (and very aware of my superiority complex). When things started getting a bit uncomfortable for me, I just pushed those thoughts away because I was "overreacting". Months later (yes, months), I realized it was not just me, but my boss was actually a fucking jerk.

* He asked for a Graphic Design intern, and when I arrived he had totally forgotten and had nothing ready for me. I worked in a chair in a corner of his desk with MY laptop (a heavy motherfucker I hauled everyday to the University) because he just didn't feel like asking the administration for a desk and a PC for me. What would've happened if I hadn't brought along my laptop? Well, three months in I decided I would stop bringing my laptop to work because it was physically exhausting and dangerous for em to carry it every day. Two hours later, I had a desk and a PC. I was pissed.
* He blamed me for many of his own mistakes when I was absent from work. For instance, I would do the editorial design for a book, and I submitted it to him to check for mistakes, but he never even looked at it until a month later, and then demanded I correct it overnight. Since that was IMPOSSIBLE and it took me at least a week, he told his superiors I was the one holding the publication back.
* He asked me several times to help him work in off-school projects, but never offered to pay ("Please design a logo for this political candidate, he wants me to help him").
* I had problems renovating my visa, so I asked him to scan and send me a letter from the dean as soon as possible. He never did. One week later, when I returned visa-less, he claimed I had never called him.
* I would be working my ass off with last-minute work and he would play Farmville or Pool on facebook shamelessly.
* He was married, but he had an affair with a lady from Venezuela. He skyped with her during work hours in front of me, and I knew his wife. Such a disgusting jerk.
* He was a full-blown hypocrite.

Ughhh, just thinking about him makes me want to punch something!

I realize I must have been holding back because the 2 stores I wrote about my bitchface controller are really mild and inconsequential. Let's see... how about her constantly telling me that she doesn't understand why I was promoted, thinks I'm overpaid (this is from a woman who's bought 2 new Mercedes since I've worked there, and I drive a banged-up used car), and doesn't believe I'm able to head up projects successfully, or that I'm a "princess" or "selfish child" for inexplicable reasons.
She also spends hours composing rude emails to me (despite being "too busy" to respond when I need something) or complaining aloud within earshot of the rest of the office whenever I need assistance, ask a question regarding any of her departments, or -- GOD FORBID -- get any piece of any of her myriad procedures wrong.
She also makes her office assistant sit and listen while she regales her with horrifying stories of her teen years, when she would have blow-job competitions with her friends, or her drug-addicted years, when she was cavorting around Mexico with gross guys doing crack.
YAY FOR PROFESSIONALISM

my teenage cousin died in a car accident, and when i told my manager i needed the day off (for the funeral) he said "Did I know this person? Then why should I care?"

AND THEN HE LAUGHED.

i was too distraught and shocked at the time to report him, and i regret it every. day. i should have quit, and he should have been fired.

Mine isn't super tragic or consequential, but still pretty funny. It involves my manager, who we will call Bob, and another exec at my company who we shall call Susan. The email chain went like this:

From: Bob
To: Maureen (me)
Subject: Item

Maureen, will you please ask Susan if we have such-and-such item?

From: Maureen
To: Susan
Fwd:Item

Susan, please see below.

From: Susan
To: Maureen
Re: Item

Yes we do have that.

From: Maureen
To: Bob
Fwd: Re: Item

Bob, please see below.

Seriously? Why couldn't Bob just email Susan and leave me out of it??

My current boss is pretty bad. I was hired by someone else when she was on maternity leave, three days after she got back she took me into an office and started screaming at me for things I couldn't have possibly done, making massive sweeping accusations 'I don't know how you could have got this job, you are clearly incompetant and lazy' (?!?) the other deputy was left out of it so I dunno what I'd done to endear myself so completely to her. At the moment she has me on a performance improvement programme where I have to cc her in all emails (and then she comes back with tiny amendments in wording so I have to resend) and weekly progress meetings so she can micro manage to the 100th degree (nb HR tell me this isn't bullying as it's under the heading performance improvement (?) so my boss can basically do what she likes). All this is depressing enough but its the personal things that really get me I run a volunteer programme for the staff & we were going to a local childrens hospice to garden/spuce up the grounds. My boss was working from home the week I set this up so I had to email for her permission (if I didn't get it I couldn't go), she didn't reply to my email so one of my colleagues had to go in my place then on the day of the trip she walks in and says 'why are you here? Shouldn't you be gardening or something?' (suggesting that yes she had read the email) when I replied that she hadn't given her cnsent so no I couldn't go, she said 'well I saved you a trip didn't I? Anyway it's bad weather anyway' and flounced off. I can't bring myself to hate this woman because clearly she has issues, so I'm trying really hard to stay calm and get a nice new job and then I can put as much distance between her and me as possible, cause let's face it I am better than her rubbish! Thanks for letting me vent guys, just sometimes this gets me down...

My former boss was a gamut of awful, but one story in particular is absolutely horrible. We had to go to another office across town, so we got in her car. I was already uneasy, as she is a horrible driver, never signals, always cuts people off, etc. As she was pulling out of the driveway, backwards and way too fast, she hit someone on a bike! Thankfully the guy was ok, just scared to death, I'm sure. He drove away and so did we. But the worst part was how humorous she found the whole thing, going so far as to tell everyone in our office and laughing about it... Not sure why she felt the need to advertise her atrocious driving skills, but it was definitely something I did not want to be associated with! I heard she moved out of town -- I can only hope that is the case and our streets are a little safer now!

Oh, where do I even start?

She is a power hungry individual.

1). Miserable with her home life
2). Uses profane language daily to the extent of not being a word anymore
3). Beats on her desk. Slams the telephone down. Throws things. Yells.
4). Sweet as pie on the phone to you, and cuts your throat as soon as she hangs up
5). Called me a bitch, whore, and said crude comments about my appearance and self. - Contacted the "higher ups" and they say that there's nothing they can do about it because it's her word vs. mine.
6). Pawns ALL work off on me and then takes credit for it.
7). Refuses to learn new tasks, saying she just can't do it. She doesn't know how.

Oh boy, I could keep going.
I really need another job!

While I have quite a few from a particular boss I had several years ago (including one where a former coworker quit suddenly, and the boss responded by 1. trying to convince everyone that he was dangerously unbalanced and 2. informing everyone of some very very personal things he had told her), my worst occurred shortly after I'd had an unexpected death in my immediate family. I took some time off work, which was completely cool, but when I returned things got weird. On my first day back, the boss decided it was time to have a heart to heart about the death and basically attempt to force me to "open up" - right when I got to work. I didn't even have time to turn on my computer. When I didn't pour my heart out (I'm a private person and don't really go in for sobbing at work), the boss proceeded to tell everyone how I "wasn't doing well" behind my back. My mental status was announced at staff meetings. Luckily my co-workers were pretty aware of the crazy and didn't listen.