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  |  Succeeding & Surviving  |  Office Politics  |  Boss overheard criticism
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Boss overheard criticism


question
'Not long ago, I was letting off steam to a colleague about some things going on in the office. I also made some less than flattering comments about my boss's abilities (or lack of them). What I didn't know was that my boss was in the room next door and overheard most, if not all, of the conversation.' --Laurie

answer
Bitching about colleagues and superiors on company premises is almost certain to scupper your meteoric rise in the workplace. If you've been caught red-handed here's how other iVillagers suggest you handle the situation:

'What a nightmare! Keep quiet and stay cool. If your boss is hellish to work for I'm sure this is not the first (nor last) time this happened to him. Try to make it up by being helpful and friendly (but don't over do it). Just pray the whole thing blows over.' --Anna

'The best thing to do is nothing. There's no way an apology is going to right this situation. Just pretend it never happened and carry on as usual. Hopefully your boss will get someone else's back up and he'll soon forget about you.' --SophieP

'Bite the bullet and approach him sooner rather than later. You'll probably have to eat humble pie for a while, but it's either clear the air or get cleared out!' --Pat

'Be frank with your boss. Let him know what's upsetting you. Explain how you would prefer to be given instructions, and what specific changes might help improve the situation. Who knows - he might be thankful for the feedback. You should also take a step back and see how you could improve the situation by doing things differently.' --Joanna

'From this bad experience, I would learn that you should confront the person who's annoying you FIRST. That's the most professional and most satisfactory approach. If I knew my boss had heard me complain about him, I'd confront him face-to-face. Your boss may now feel that he doesn't know what else you are keeping from him. Talking frankly about the problem should restore the previous confidence he had in you.' --Morivivi

Go to your boss immediately, apologise and clear the air. In the future, really learn from this mistake and only let off steam with people who do not work with you!'--Amy

Live Q&A on Ask The Expert
Employment lawyer Rachel Lewis advises on your work-related issues

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