Before you murder your horrible boss...

I saw Horrible Bosses the movie earlier this week, and I loved it. But this isn’t a film review and before you run off and go to see the film on my endorsement, I feel you should know two things about my taste in on-screen entertainment:

1. Most of my favourite films have Hugh Grant as the lead actor.
2. I am the person still watching Friends repeats on E4.

So, if you’re looking for something gritty or gory, never, ever take a film recommendation from me.

But Horrible Bosses is laugh out loud funny (and it was the whole of the cinema audience chuckling and guffawing not just me). It also got me thinking about horrible bosses in general. Now I’m not talking about mildly distasteful bosses (e.g. those with an unfortunate case of B.O. or an irritating donkey laugh), I’m talking about the ones that actually drive you to distraction with their downright horrid ways.

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having one of these bosses in my employed past. OK, compared to the movie there was:

A. No sexual harassment as dished out by Jennifer Aniston’s character (the thought makes me want to barf).
B. No early morning alcohol traps set in the style of Kevin Spacey’s character (although an early morning drink may have made the days with this boss more bearable).
C. No whores or cocaine involved. This boss was far too yawn-inducingly dull to have annoying qualities extending to the wreckless levels of the boss played by Colin Farrell.

This boss, however, was the sort who made my daily life hell during the years I spent reluctantly under their rule and unearthed in me a penchant for bitchiness that I'm not usually fond of partaking in. A person who’s name that still years later I spit out with disgust. A bullyish, praise stealing, sycophant who attacked mine and the rest of the team's confidence and sanity. The type of boss who your friends and family (who have never met said boss) also hate because they are bored of you talking incessantly about how awful they are.

Unfortunately, many of us have these bosses. With Horrible Bosses style murder plans out of the question, the tips I penned earlier this month in an article titled '10 ways to get through the week' may be of assistance.

And go to see the film. You will laugh.

My weekend on a film shoot. Inspiring stuff.

Whether it's the recession, reaching-30 crises or just the normal journey so many of us take through life, lots of people around me seem to be either resigned to being depressed by work or contemplating massive career changes at the moment. Job dissatisfaction has slipped into being an acceptable but glum reality. And so the career weary amongst us find ourselves spending most of our days plotting our escape from the daily grind.

But does it have to be doom and gloom? Does the very nature of careers being 'work' mean they are destined to be disillusioning? Do we all have the power to control our own careers?

Everyone has there own views on this but after this weekend I have restored faith in the existence of career satisfaction. It just sometimes means making brave choices and going the extra mile to make it happen. I spent this weekend with a group of people who all seemed to love their work. To the extent that they had given up their weekend to travel to Wales and provide their skills for free, helping a budding film director to make her first short drama. My husband was the lighting cameraman on the shoot and I decided to go along as his camera assistant (yes, carrying boxes, passing him things and generally being an extra pair of hands).

It was hard work - Saturday was a 7:30 start and the final shots were filmed after 20:30 and then back to work at 9:30 on Sunday. But it was also incredibly inspiring to see the young director making her vision a reality and the rest of the crew and actors enjoying being part of the production. It made me wonder how many of us would actually volunteer to give up our free time and work flat out over a weekend? And keep smiling and laughing throughout.

By the end of the weekend, I had picked up a few new skills (I was promoted to script supervisor as well as general dogs body), a greater appreciation for what my husband does and his fantastic talent, and a renewed vigour to continue pursuing my own career dreams. Yes, changing careers, chasing my dream to write and starting out on my own is a bumpy rollercoaster – it’s exciting, incredibly rewarding but also scary and unpredictable. But I’m just going to embrace it.

My new motto... "Feel the fear… and write on."



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