When you’ve got a problem in the workplace, the most common advice is to raise it with your boss. After all, part of their job is ensuring you can perform your role in a productive and sustainable way.

But what do you do when your problem in the workplace is your boss? There’s a useful quote that sums up why you might feel especially stuck in this situation: “You can’t discuss malaria with a mosquito.”

Three in 10 workers – the equivalent of 3.4 million Australians – say they dislike their manager. But sometimes quitting just isn’t an option.Credit: Photo: Louise Kennerley

The irony of having a bad manager is that you can’t discuss it with them, as they’re usually the source of the problem.

Research conducted in 2021 by YouGov on behalf of the Australian College of Applied Professions found that three in 10 workers said they disliked their manager, the equivalent of 3.4 million working Australians.

Their bad behaviour might show up in different ways – like a manager who takes credit for your work without recognition, or one who feels threatened by your skills, or even the type of boss who automatically says no to........

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