Bosses Need Help, Too

Holding an important position in the corporate world is a stressful job. Couple that stress with the responsibility of leading a team of people, and you might find that you have one seriously temperamental and impatient boss. Much of the frustrations in management come from having too much on their plate, and getting no help when they most need it. If you notice that your boss is overwhelmed (but know that he or she would never ask for help), it might be time to start thinking about what you can do to help them out on your own accord. Usually anything you can do to for an overstressed boss will be noticed and appreciated; and who knows? Maybe helping your boss out will also improve the inner-office environment and make things more peaceful for you, too.

We’ve compiled a list of ways that you can be an asset to your boss when stresses are high.

Book Your Boss a Chauffeured Vehicle to Their Next Big Meeting

Especially if it’s in a new city, navigation can be one stress-inducing task, and an already anxious boss doesn’t need any more anxieties added to their day. A small thing you can do to show your boss that you recognize their workload and care about their stress levels is to book a chauffeured vehicle to ferry them to their next big event. Chances are, your boss is so busy that they won’t think about how they’re getting to the event or meeting until they’re standing on the curb looking for a cab.

A chauffeured vehicle will offer your boss the chance to unwind a little before yet another meeting or business dinner. If they get stuck in traffic, they can use the extra time to take a nap or get more work done. However they spend their commute, it will be time that is valuable to them, and they will be thankful to have it.

Help Them Delegate

Delegation, especially in a tense business environment, can be a precarious and often neglected territory for your boss. Many bosses are details-oriented and a bit on the controlling side, which means they are willing to shoulder far more work than they should just to make certain that everything is running smoothly. This is a problem, for two reasons. First, refusing to delegate expresses a boss’s lack of confidence in their employees. Second, it also creates an environment where the leader is under exorbitant amounts of pressure. They have very little time to think creatively or couple their work time with vital relaxation time. Then they end up being one of those people who is pushed to the wire for every second of their day, and they usually aren’t very pleasant to be around, meaning a tense and stressed-out work environment is not far behind.

You can help your boss immensely by formulating a delegation schedule, something simple and succinct, that they can read over quickly. Then they can decide if the delegations are suitable. Sometimes all your boss needs to visualize a lighter workload for themselves is a piece of paper with everything literally spelled out for them; once the tasks are distributed and your boss gets to exhale, they will be incredibly grateful to you.

If All Else Fails, Stay Out of Their Hair

Some bosses are truly beyond help. No amount of effort that you make to reduce their workload or help make their job easier is going to be beneficial or help the work environment. So what do you do when your boss absolutely refuses to be helped in any way? You stay out of their hair until the storm passes.

Sometimes all a manager in a high-stress position needs is to be left alone, and that means you might need to reconsider your decision to have a 30-minute meeting with them regarding the quality of water in the water cooler.

Part of being a great employee is knowing when to back off, and using your best judgment to spot those times is almost as valuable as knowing when to step in and relieve your boss of some of their stress. Balance is key in the tense world of business, and achieving that balance in your work life is one way to become employee of the year.

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