Comments on: Freelance Writers: Do You Have a Bad Boss?

By: What is Your Most Important Piece of Advice to Up and Coming Freelance Writers? | The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:15:55 +0000

[...] no means am I the final word on the right and wrong way to start freelancing. Goodness knows I’ve made my fair share of mistakes (like the time I went months thinking one of my male clients was [...]

By: Jenn Escalona

Jenn Escalona — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:42:15 +0000

See? Now that is a nice boss! Perhaps, if you do decide to full time freelance, you can write up a little business plan including a description of the type of boss you would like to be. (I don’t know why I never thought of something like that until just now. I think you make me creative!)

We have to be related. There’s no other explanation.

By: Bumbles

Bumbles — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:59:37 +0000

I’ve had the same boss for over 15 years and we are like an old married couple. I love him dearly. Other issues are driving me towards the freelance world – I only hope I will be as awesome a boss as he has been to me.

I especially like that he understands when I am late each morning because I had to play with the kittens and their cute noses each morning. I confuse Glenn Close & Merryl Streep too – are we related?

By: Jenn Escalona

Jenn Escalona — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:30:49 +0000

Damn, J, that is crrrazy. I don’t know how you were able to up with that for so long. I admire your fortitude! I hope that everything you learned there led to your current good job so at least you got a little something out of that bosses “mentorship” aside from a two hour commute and a dust allergy. Cripes.

You are very right that a bad boss can be a damaging experience. At both places I detailed in my post, morale was sinking through the floorboads and business was floundering. There’s something to be said for a positive work environment.

By: J. Anderson

J. Anderson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:20:26 +0000

I was “headhunted” directly out of school by a woman who was a friend of the family. It sounded fantastic: bio-technical writing that I could accomplish from working at home. In reality, however, this woman changed my job description a thousand times, started changing the hours she was requiring me to work, and eventually had me commuting upwards of two hours in rush hour traffic toward Boston every morning (not quite what I signed up for). Incidentally, she also loathed lateness, something that comes goes hand-in-hand with long, unpredictable commutes.

She berated me daily, frequently stopped to check up on me without actually telling me what I was supposed to be doing (and then seemed annoyed when I would ask for any kind of clarification), and played musical cubicles with me until I was finally sitting (Milton-style) in a dust-bunny encrusted desk in the Document Control room. She hired me knowing exactly what my current level of experience was, and yet when she decided I couldn’t move through Adobe InDesign as quickly as she wanted, she demanded I sign up for courses to “get better”–all at my expense, of course.

When my contract “ended” (and after she detailed exactly why I was a terrible worker and immature), it wasn’t a moment too soon. It was an incredibly damaging experience, and I still marvel daily that the people I work for now acknowledge what a fantastic job I do, give me vacation time and bonuses, and tell me how hard-working I am.

By: Jenn Escalona

Jenn Escalona — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:30:47 +0000

What a control freak! It really sounds like he had some ISSUES. He wanted to visit your home to see how you lived? That’s… too much. I’m a firm believer that a control freak should never be put in a position of leadership. They don’t delegate and it leads to things like, well, THAT.

My “light switch training” boss had the same mindset. There was also an incident where he told me I typed too fast and should slow it down. Craziness.

Eh, Meryl Streep is a big fan of The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer and I’m sure she won’t hold one little slip against me. (I’m just making it worse, aren’t I? Kidding, Meryl! Call me!)

By: Yolander Prinzel

Yolander Prinzel — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:13:25 +0000

I’ve had one truly awful, terrible, evil boss. He would have ideas while in the bathroom and come running out with his pants unzipped, run into my office, stand beside me and zip up his pants while telling me his idea. He moved out of his multi-million dollar home into a condo and wanted to give me some antiques but first wanted to visit my home to see how I lived. He told me I was gaining weight and needed to start working out with his trainer–which he would gladly pay for. He said he hated my hair and that I looked like I ran through a wind tunnel so I should go to his salon and let his hair stylist do whatever he felt was best, again, at his expense. He once gave me a bonus check and told me he hated my car and I was to buy a new car with the check. There is so much more, but I want to save it for my book When I finally left because I realized money wasn’t that important to me, he hired my replacement and when she started gaining weight, he wouldn’t let her eat at work unless her food was approved by him. He would inspect her lunches from home and take out things that he thought were too fattening.

Oh and, Meryl Streep is going to sue you.