The Boss from Hell. He flaunts his authority in your face. He blames you for his mistakes. He takes credit for your great ideas. You’d never admit it, but you privately fantasize about his demise.  Hey, desperate work lives call for desperate measures, right?

Before you execute some evil plot to "deep-six" the boss, take a deep breath. Your mug shot plastered at post offices across the country is not likely to enhance your career prospects. There are better ways to beat this curse.

We've all worked for a jerk at one time or another. In fact, I think the same bad boss gets rotated around so that we all get an equal opportunity to be treated like garbage. Whether the boss is a he or a she, it's frustrating, stressful and unnecessary. But it happens.

You could just grin and bear it, but this seldom works longer than 20 minutes, when the urge to "moan and groan" returns with a vengeance. You could rally others to your cause to protest his management style, or lack thereof, but then you'd get pinned as a troublemaker.

In the end, you're left with only two choices: You can resign yourself to it or you can just resign.

If you choose to resign yourself to it, you'll need a plan (barring, of course, some unforeseen occurrence like the boss being kidnapped by aliens). If you decide it's better to just resign, you'll feel some temporary relief, but unemployment isn't going to make you feel better for long. Eventually it will dawn on you that the boss won and you lost.

To survive the Boss from Hell, you'll need to strike a deal with the devil. Start by taking charge of yourself. Here’s how:

Control what you can control. Okay, it's a bit cliché, but it's true. Your frustration and stress do nothing to change the situation. You can choose to be frustrated and stressed - or you can choose not to be frustrated and stressed. Either way, the outcome is the same. The fact remains -- your boss is a jerk - and you have little control over it.

Find common ground. Work relationships, like family relationships, come with sometimes irritating and annoying behaviors. Family relationships survive because love is shared and helps holds it all together. But work relationships are generally loveless, so you need to find other connecting points. Both you and your boss may share common goals - earning a living, learning new skills, having a life, to name a few. It’s in your best interest to look for similarities rather than differences.

Talk to your boss. If you open a dialogue about your stress and frustration, you may be surprised at how receptive he might be. Bad bosses often don't know how bad they are until someone openly communicates with them. If you're worried about your ability to discuss it calmly, try presenting it in writing. Be specific. Bad bosses are notoriously poor at reading between the lines.

Get straight with yourself that you have some value. If your boss doesn't see it, then you have to show him. Point out your accomplishments. It’s not bragging if it's true. Let the boss know that you aim to advance your career in spite of him.

Make your boss look good. Even though you might find this distasteful, you'll make yourself shine. Sooner or later, the boss will realize how important you are to his success. Upsetting you will be the last thing he wants to do.

If all else fails, wait it out. Sooner or later, your boss will be promoted, transferred or fired. Since most people get a new boss every two years, your situation is just temporary - it's not your life. Eventually you'll have a new boss. Just knowing this should bring a smile to your face.

Of course, you still have the option to quit anytime, but you don't make good decisions by getting away from something - you make them by moving toward something. Bailing out is akin to stepping out on a ledge, which has never been a particularly good strategy. There’s no place to go but down.

If you do decide to leave, give yourself some time to identify the qualities you want in your next boss - and prepare interview questions that will help you assess whether a prospective boss measures up. Interview your prospective boss as carefully as he interviews you.

It's better to know the bad habits at the outset than to discover them one month into the job. You may find that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.  

© 2005, Career Planning and Management, Inc., Boston, MA.  All rights reserved.