By George Tarabay

Hit play and read on:

“You’re 8 minutes late.”
“I want this project yesterday.”
“I am your manager, so I know more.”
Ok, maybe the last one is a bit of a stretch. But really, don’t you think that, somewhere, there is a boss saying the very words you’re reading to their employees?

If you heard any of these sentences in the past week or even today: I feel for you. I sincerely would leave anything I am doing and come to your office just to support you!

See, it’s not that I haven’t heard these words myself, but it’s been a good nine months since I last heard that combination of words being addressed to my left ear (I’m partially deaf in the right one) and akin a pregnant woman, nine months later, here I am delivering this piece.
We’ve all had, or have, bosses. Some are great, some are just plain…expired. I’ve had my share of the latter and at every turn of events they reminded me of one thing and one thing only: I am not employee material. No, this does not mean I have no professional integrity or discipline (ok, mom?) It just means I suck at taking orders.

I am about to seriously plug myself in this next paragraph, so brace yourselves.

As a civil engineer, I woke up one day and decided that the only time I want to see concrete is when I lay down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. It was hard, but I have an awesome team of sidekicks: my wife and my belief that things can only be so bad before they start being awesome again.
Career changes are not something out of this world, many do it, many fail and many succeed. Many do it for different reasons — mine was simple: I did not want to have a boss except the best boss I know and lived with for a long time: My wife (A clichéd joke…but a serious one!)

All jokes aside, I can’t stand a boss, I can only stand to be around leaders, and in my career I only met a few, sadly none of which I worked with. Bosses can be awesome at being horrible because some reach a point where they don’t evolve anymore, much like every human on earth ever. However, some of these people decide that no one working for them should also progress. Why? Because I represent the horrible sisters, combined with their evil mother, and you are Cinderella.

While this is their personal choice, one cannot linger in this environment and wonder why they are miserable. When I was faced with this challenge, I made a conscious decision to get up and leave. Not because I am sensitive and I brush everything under the ‘bullying’ label, but rather because I am the only person responsible for my happiness and that should ring true for anyone else, wherever they may be.

I used the fact that I had a horrible boss for my advantage. It made me anxious to find out what I really want to do in my life and devise the plan that will lead me there in a short time. I knew, it was going to be hard, I knew I will sometime doubt it, but I also knew that my gut never lies and that my gut told me that I was just fed up.

I literally woke up one day and decided that no longer will I put myself through this feeling of being oppressed and being wrongfully guided. I quit my job and ventured into my own thing with a lot of planning and a lot more of foolishness.

Do I hate my boss? No.
Do I like my boss? Surely not.
Do I appreciate them? This one is a definite no.

What I do appreciate, however, is the fact that I had to be dragged through the mud (Figuratively, that is. If your boss does this literally, then that would be illegal!) to know that I can get up and leave whenever I want. And think about it: it’s just a job.
Today, as a guy who is self-employed, I can tell you this: I surely am a cool leader to work with, I appreciate my team and consider them to be the best and make sure they are constantly happy. You don’t believe me? Ask them.
P.S. I mostly work alone…I still don’t like people (but that’s for another article).

George teamed up with us to bring you a series of short videos that compliment articles released simultaneously inside the magazine. For more on the piece that inspired this video, watch the video below and share.

George Tarabay is a local radio host, comedian, and marketing expert. For his latest updates, follow him on Instagram @GeorgeTarabay. For more on ‘Horrible Bosses’ visit Facebook.com/Georgethecomic.