Ever had a bully for a boss?

[Aristus]

41. Yes. Worst job I ever had.

He was an intellectual bully, rather than physical or verbal bully.

One of the very first things he told me after he hired me was: 'You know, the people here compete to see who can be the first one at the office in the mornings."

I still remember, with dread, waking up in the cold darkness of my apartment every morning, willing myself to get out of bed and schlep to the office for another day of mind-games from that guy. I wanted to be there first, because according to him, getting there first was worth competing for.

He would set you up for a task, let you know his expectations, tell you to formulate plans to achieve the task, and then tell you to do the opposite of what he had just prepared you for. He had a degree in industrial psychology, and must have thought it great fun to psych out his employees.

I admit to being poorly equipped to handle such goings-on, and not very good at my job. I imagine that's why he fired me after three months. He was the first boss to ever fire me, and I took it hard. Especially since I had given up a not-very-good-but-better-than-this-bullshit-job to go to work for him.

I was unemployed for five months after getting fired, and it was one of the worst times in my life. The shame, the humiliation, the sense of failure.

That guy was an irredeemable asshole...