How to Tell when a Boss or Co-worker is Crazy and when It’s Time to Quit or Look for Another Job

I no longer work for anyone else thank god, but I’ve had my share of insane co-workers and bosses over a twenty year period. Let me tell you on more than one occasion I wish I’d just quit or started looking for another job rather than put up with the things I did. Here are the signs that you are dealing with someone that belongs in the local psych ward rather than out in the real world working with you.

1. The person is more interested in what is on your computer screen than their own. Seriously if your co-worker and or boss is spending a lot of time staring at your computer screen, or commenting on what is on your computer screen rather than doing their own job, you’ve got a problem. I actually had one co-worker who did this. Her cubicle was behind mine. Instead of sitting down and working on her own computer she would stand up in her cubicle and watch my computer screen all day while commenting on what I was doing on a regular basis, this included her reading my e-mail over my shoulder. It gave me the creeps, literally!

2. The person spends a lot of time telling you how they would do a job, and how their way is the only way, and just what their way is. If you are working with a co-worker or boss who is unwilling to accept that you have a different, but successful way to get a job done, and insists that you do it exactly the way they said in exactly the order they said, it’s time to run in the opposite direction!

3. The person insists on taking over jobs that have been assigned to you by others. Ok, if others have entrusted you to do job assignments and you have a co-worker or boss that is so controlling they take it away from you, then you’ve got a problem. The person who assigned it to you expects you to do it, and if the crazy person does it and does it wrong, you are going to get blamed. Remember, if it has happened once it will happen again.

4. The person spends a lot of time in your cubicle using your computer and desk when you are at lunch, or off running an errand, and when you come back they don’t want to go back to their own office or cubicle. You should be suspicious right away if a co-worker or boss is insisting on working in your cubicle when you are not there. Most companies make sure there is an extra computer and or cubicle that isn’t being used for those times when someone’s computer might not be working, or they just need to get away from their work space.

5. You come back from lunch or an errand to find your co-worker or boss going through your desk drawers. Sometimes clerical staff do keep essential keys and such in their desks but I always made sure everyone knew which desk drawer they were in so no one had to hunt through my entire desk. If this person is going through your whole desk when you are not there, they aren’t looking for a paperclip, post-it note, or pen!

6. The person won’t let you get a word in edgewise during staff meetings, instead they interrupt you, or discredit whatever you have to say at every opportunity. When your thoughts and ideas aren’t being respected or listened to, it’s time to move on to a different job. You don’t want to work somewhere where you are not allowed input, because if you are not allowed input in staff meetings, you are most likely not going to be allowed input on anything else that relates to your job either.

7. When this person finds you making photocopies or typing up a letter in business format, (any task which is easy or you’ve performed thousands of times) and insists on telling you how to do it anyway, and then gets angry when you tell them you already know how, you’re in trouble. If your boss or co-worker does this, they are a control freak, and it’s another sign it’s time to find a different job. If they don’t trust you to do something as simple as photocopying, how are they going to act when they see you doing a job that really requires some forethought and preparation? Guess who they are going to try to make crazy right along with them?

These are the signs that you are dealing with a psycho at work. If they are happening to you now, do yourself a favor and quit if you can afford to, or start seriously looking for another job. This co-worker or boss wants someone they can control 100%, not a co-worker or employee. They think it is their job to drive you just as insane as they are. Get out now while you can, and before they get the job done.