The boss is ... well ... the boss.

• Author: Hoover, John
• Position: Business & Finance - Essay

IF THERE IS ANY belief in the universe more ubiquitous than the belief that there is a universe, it is that bosses are idiots (aka iBosses). How many among us were socialized from early childhood to believe that bosses are the bane of a working person's existence? Movies like "Office Space," "Nine-to-Five," and "Horrible Bosses" filled theaters. Songs such as "Take This Job and Shove It" and television shows like '`The Office" filled the airwaves. Scott Adams' "Dilbert" is a desk calendar icon. Our parents complained about their bosses at the dinner table. We took up the crusade during preadolescence and complained about our teachers and school administrators. After graduation, we settled into an adult lifetime of projecting our unresolved adolescent rebellion issues on the most visible and available target--the boss. Bosses depicted in media have no character development arc. Bosses are boobs in frame one and they remain boobs through the closing credits. The bottom line: there is no known redemption for bosses.

The loftier perspective is to view the vise-like pressure the boss is feeling as an opportunity for you to help ease the strain and do for your iBoss what you wish the boss would do for you. In Aesop's Fables, Androcles saved his own life by removing the thorn from the paw of his natural enemy, the lion. If you have been raised to believe the boss is your natural enemy, you can turn the tables by deliberately and systematically engaging in acts of kindness and helpfulness.

Turning one or more of the following Killer B's (boss bashing, boss blaming, boss bickering, and boss baiting) loose on your boss might seem like fun and, ultimately, a fair thing to do in light of what the boss has forced you to suffer. In the end, though, you will be the one who gets stung--perhaps literally and figuratively.

Instead, put a kibosh on the Killer B's and you will find yourself not only being nice to your boss, but you may end up even liking your boss. Just changing your behavior in the following four ways can turn your boss and job into something you may very well like instead of hate:

Boss bashing. Do not be part of a conversation that your boss could not walk into unexpectedly without your needing to do some serious damage control. When you find yourself headed toward the "B" topic with friends, family, coworkers, or perfect strangers, turn around and walk away from that evil place as quickly as possible.

Keep yourself and your reputation on...