Their demands seem to know no limits. They get distracted easily. And when things don't go their way, they can unexpectedly fly into a tantrum.
You'd expect this kind of behaviour from a two-year-old, but it may also sound like a description of your boss these days.
Tough times are bringing out troubling traits even in bosses who seemed supportive and easy to deal with before the recession began, career pros say.
Employees need to develop some strategies to cope with bad boss behaviour, they add.
"I am certainly seeing some shocking examples of insensitive and even cruel behaviour from people in charge," says workplace psychologist Dr. Merv Gilbert, principal of Gilbert Acton Consulting in Vancouver.
As an example, he cites one employee who recently told him about approaching his supervisor to request an unpaid day off.
He needed to be at home to care for two young children while his wife, who had just lost her job, went to look for work.
"The supervisor was aware that the employee had just bought a new home and that finances were tight," Dr. Gilbert recalls.
"Rather than considering the employee's request ... the supervisor curtly dismissed the employee with, 'How dare you ask me that? You should be happy you still have a job. These are hard times.' "
And, in a parting shot as the employee left the room, the boss added, "You should have thought of this when you had kids," Dr. Gilbert says.
That employee is not the only one facing bad boss behaviour.
In the past year, Dr. Gilbert says that he has seen his caseload of patients complaining of conflicts with their boss more than double.
The big increases are in employees feeling bullied into taking on crippling workloads and in those facing regularly changing, inconsistent demands from managers, Dr. Gilbert says.
Such bosses may not even realize their callous behaviour is unacceptable because no one is standing up to them, says workplace and leadership specialist Graham Lowe, president of the Graham Lowe Group in Kelowna, B.C.
In these times, employees are more reluctant to push back, he adds.
"With unemployment being so high, employees are obviously concerned about keeping their jobs and, therefore, more likely to feel they have to take whatever's dished out so they can keep their jobs," Mr. Lowe adds.
And bosses, too, are under more stress.
"Managers are facing enormous pressures to push harder to deliver results at a time when there is great uncertainty whether goals are achievable," Mr. Lowe observes.
This all makes for a dangerous situation that corporate management should be keeping a closer eye on, because it can demoralize workers and reduce job performance, he says.
Unfortunately, top management may be just as distracted, and not addressing the problem, he adds.
So a couple of new books say that it's time for employees to develop strategies to manage their bosses.
One of the books, entitled Working for You Isn't Working for Me, The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss, recommends that employees acknowledge the reality that stress is bringing out the worst in their boss.
It also suggests that they develop ways to avoid being a victim of their leaders' rogue behaviour.
"Employees can waste a lot of time and energy trying to make sense of the situation, and wishing they had another boss," says psychotherapist Katherine Crowley, who co-authored the book with staff training specialist Kathi Elster.
Both are partners in the New York-based management consulting firm K Squared Enterprises.
"You're better off developing strategies to keep the bad boss behaviours from impacting your behaviour and your ability to do your job," Ms. Crowley adds.
The key is to stand up, not run away, Ms. Crowley advises.
