How to Confront a Passive-Aggressive Boss

Passive-aggressive behavior is an indirect expression of anger intended to avoid conflict but to still express the displeasure of the person acting. Often a passive-aggressive person will deny being angry, avoid conflict, and feign ignorance when confronted. It's especially difficult when the passive-aggressive person is your boss, because that affords myriad ways to express anger. Passive-aggressive people are highly averse to conflict and so express their pent-up frustration through indirect means. They may spread rumors, ignore requests, or "stonewall" which is when they shut down to the point where you can't accomplish anything with them.

Instructions

• 1

  Keep records of every interaction with your boss. Save copies of emails, faxes, memos and keep logs of phone calls. Passive aggressive bosses often deny having said or done something when confronted. You must have hard evidence if you are going to confront your boss.

• 2

  Call out your own mistakes before your boss has a chance to find offense. If you do your best to recognize and apologize for any mistakes you make, you make it difficult for you boss to justify any passive-aggressive action.

• 3

  Confront any passive aggression directly. Cite specific instances where you feel you were wronged and ask your boss why he did what he did. Better yet, ask what you may have done to offend your boss and listen attentively without defensiveness. Showing your boss that it's okay to directly talk about issues will help to reduce passive aggression in the future.

• 4

  Present the evidence to the human resources department or your boss's supervisor if direct confrontation with your boss doesn't work. Make sure that you only address matters where you have evidence of any offense. Stick to the facts.