A wise poster wrote that "how hard you work" is not the determining factor. You can work harder than that creepy boss ever imagined any human could work, and she will give you no credit, because she cannot even imagine it.

In one job, I worked late all the time in Purchasing. And I found out that one other person, Kathy H., worked late almost every night in Accounting. Neither of us got any real credit, even though we had great results. The hicky small-town-yet-pompous bosses seemed to believe we were pitiful, because we worked while they drank. Then they went bankrupt.

Better tactic: Get there early every day, even if you just goof around rather than working. This sort of thing makes more difference than it should, more than you might imagine.

Good luck!

You are right, these days one must be grateful to have a job. I have worked at the same social service agency for over 18 years now...I focus on the pluses...but for about 13 or 14 of them we were exposed to a miserable and inadequate, insecure and paranoid individual. We were too stupid to open our mouths and report our concerns until we reached the breaking point, and even then it was ever so discreetly.

But my point is that if you can hang in there long enough, eventually the matter may resolve on its own. In our case the rumor was she was asked to go after multiple complaints or concerns; she claimed "it was time" to enjoy retirement.

We were very fortunate to get a young and forward thinking woman; now I do not dread going in every day and know she will be helpful if not supportive. The whole staff behaved as if we had been abused for years, unable to make the simplest of decisions because we felt we had to ask permission.

Few people stay at places many years now...so keep that thought in mind...and tolerate it while you keep looking for something better. You may be unhappy now, but struggling to pay routine bills will make you even unhappier.

So feel free to hate him/her. They will never notice.

I would advise to just put up with it, if possible. Try not to think about the discrepancies in salaries; maybe because your friend for whom you got the job is part time, she receives no benefits and, so, "earns more". If you are having difficulty with finding other employment, just focus on your job and get your satisfaction there.

That may be possible, except, a big exception, if you have a "bully" for a boss. The practise of bullying in the workplace has no other option other than to leave, to save your sanity, your self esteem, your job. According to the literature which I researched after a horrifying experience I had at the hands of a bully, there is no rhyme nor reason on whom they "target" except that they will pick on those who excel in their work, ask too many questions, or, in anyway, is perceived by them to be a challenge to their power. They usually do not know their own job well and create conflicts to keep them busy. You will get little support from co-workers because they are just relieved they are not the target and will often be complicit in the bully's schemes against you. The bully manager can cook up any story, even one of threatened physical abuse and have your close co-workers endorse the story; they will not fire you, just intimidate you with repeated "counsellings". It is a terrible situation and Human Resources does nothing. We need an article about bullying in the workplace. You have to leave and dream up some story about "why you left your last employ...." A year or so later, you will hear that the bully was escorted out of the bldg because she lost clients or failed in a manner that cost the company money, not because she almost destroyed employees.

If she is not "targeting you", then be grateful for that. If she is just a liar, a gossip, etc, or doesn't do her own job very well or with very good ethics, that is her problem, not yours, and she will be accountable sooner or later.

A cardinal rule everywhere I have worked is that you never discuss salaries with your co-workers. "What you don't know won't hurt you"; better not to know, if you need a job. Don't talk about her to the others; try not to be in the group if they are. Humor is good. And, I agree; I would do a great job for my own satisfaction but I would not stay late, take on too much more, come early, etc...sounds like she wouldn't value it. Just find something in your work you enjoy, if only the personal satisfaction of a job well done; enjoy your co-workers, if possible; and take your paycheck to the bank!

All this Boss from Hell talk reminds me: How come just about everyone who complains about their boss on Web sites like this is the perfect employee?

Always the hardest working, the most talented, the nicest, the most cooperative, etc. etc. And yet all around them are slackards and dunces, all lorded over by tyrants just waiting to grind them under their heel each and every day.

Just wonderin'.

Wait her out. Keep your head down, avoid conflict, and just do your job.

If your Boss from Hell is as bad as you say, she will piss-off upper management at some point and she'll be gone.

It will be a ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead moment.

She was so bad, she was comic-book evil. Example: When she couldn't reach her real-estate agent by cell phone, she commented, "He must be out spreading AIDS." (He was gay).

I had a good relationship with the executive director and I went to him to express my concerns with my new supervisor. He wouldn't stand up for me, even though I was certain this woman was aligned with the deputy director who was going after the executive director's job.

How it played out: Within a month of my talking to my executive director, he did indeed discover that his own job was in peril. The board of directors refused to renew his contract after 20 years of service. I found another better-paying job in another state. I did manage to drive my supervisor into psychotherapy before I left. Two years after I left, the executive director was replaced with the deputy director. Shortly thereafter, my former supervisor, who had turned over seven staff positions in three years (she only had four staff) was fired--and escorted from the building, which was not standard procedure.