How to Successfully Avoid your Supervisor... Jokes!!

If you are human and you have a job, you are probably going to have a supervisor at some point in your life. This can be difficult for many reasons. On the off chance that you have a cool supervisor, this next sentence will not apply to you... Some reasons that supervisors can be tough to work with include the fact that they can: tell you what your schedule is, give you all of your work assignments, choose to approve or disapprove of a lot of work you do, show very little gratitude, and can be unreasonable. Do those sound like amazing things to work with? No!! Not very many people enjoy being told what to do believe it or not.
 

​So how do you work with your supervisor when you are holding so much frustration inside?!?

Here are little tips that help me think through things more clearly:

1. A solid, trusting relationship with your supervisor is essential.  Even if you are building a strictly professional relationship, it is very important to be confident enough to approach them when you need to so that you can work better as a team and trust that things will get accomplished.
2. Gossip is to be avoided at all costs (even when coming from a supervisor). Separating unnecessary emotions from work will get you far. I promise. I have seen people get fired by a supervisor because of gossiping and spreading rumors.
3. Care for your supervisor even when they are being difficult (this rule goes for other co-workers too). They are probably looking at things differently and seem difficult, but they may be envisioning something you cannot see yet.
4. Be nice and courteous to your supervisor, but make sure they don’t take advantage of you. There are too many mean supervisors in the world that don’t care about how you feel. Remember this, and stand up for yourself in a professional way.
5. Be positive, it rubs off on other people (and may rub off on your supervisor).
6. Give yourself time to cope with stress. Discover activities that help you relax. You need it!

 
Remember that you can never speak for other people, but you can influence them and/or make your own life better simultaneously. I have struggled with various supervisors because of the lack of sensitivity, gratification, etc. in the work place, but I have been able to work around it because of these tools that I mentioned above. Supervisors can be difficult, but on most occasions they are necessary.
 
Feel free to complain, give feedback, etc. We all need support. Work (and mostly supervisors) can be rough.

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