Customer Reviews

Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots: 201 Smart Ways to Handle the Toughest People Issues

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are two ways to read this book: as an informative how-to on negotiating the maze of corporate life or as an entertaining "field guide" to the sub-species you encounter there. Either way, you'll get your money's worth. As Jean-Paul Sartre noted in "No Exit", Hell is other people. And that is particularly true in the workplace. Ms. Oliver serves up almost 500 pages of ways to ameliorate that particular hell in a humorous but eminently practical approach. There's even a section that lets you hold up a mirror to see if - or how - you are a people problem yourself. This is a volume you'll come back to again and again, to solve a problem or just to tune up your workplace skills. Highly recommended.

Easy to read, beautifully laid out and humorous to boot, this book is a must-have reference book for anyone that works with other humans. Every personnel problem you can think of is represented by one of the numerous personality types depicted here, and easily found in the perfect table of contents. Problems and solutions are neatly and clearly outlined in each of the book's three parts, dealing with bosses, employees and also (gasp) maybe even you. Besides the wonderful, accessible format, the best parts of this book are the down-to-earth, practical solutions offered by the author. They cover every situation I've ever been in - and they really work! Highly recommended. (I also loved Oliver's previous book 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions).

This is really a review of the Kindle edition, rather than a review of the book's content. I'd like to review the content, but I've given up on trying to actually read the book. Evidently, the publisher simply scanned in the book and released the Kindle edition without bothering to check it. Here are just a few of the formatting issues:

- No linked table of contents (a huge fail for a book like this!)
- Missing footnotes / end notes
- Spaces and line breaks in the middle of words
- Missing spaces between words
- Erratically indented list items
- List bullets in the middle of a line of text
- No breaks between chapters and sections
- Section headings don't stand out
- Some headings intermingled with text

If you were hoping to read this on your Kindle, take a pass until the publishers get their act together.

You can't breathe at work because the bad bosses have sucked all the air out of the room! You aren't crazy - these bad bosses and crazy coworkers are out there and multiplying fast. Vicky Oliver's book attests to this phenomenon and validates your personal observations on the job.

By writing succinct case studies of numerous, subversive office characters (the bully, the credit snatcher, the rageaholic), Oliver accurately portrays the culture of the modern workplace as an anaerobic petri dish of toxic creatures.

How can your crawl out of this slimy soup? What makes a bad boss tick? Oliver answers these questions with insight and humor. Best of all, she offers practical coping strategies.

Do not let a bad boss shut down your job and career! Read this book and and practice its suggestions on your next business day. There is relief. Vicky Oliver has lowered the oxygen mask and it's possible to start breathing again at work.

This book delivers just what it promises--201 smart ways to handle tough people issues at work. Reading it is like sitting down with an extremely savvy friend who will not only give you a wise opinion but suggest a sensible and creative course of action. If you're confronted with an interpersonal job problem, you are likely to find just the prescription here that you need for solving it. And if--heaven forbid--you suspect you're the problem person at your workplace, Oliver has solutions for that, too. The book is arranged to make finding your particular situation very easy. The descriptions of office horrors are right on target and the writing is laced with humor.

What if you don't have a particular problem? Read this book anyway. Vicky Oliver's wisdom will help you avoid getting into hot water anytime down the road. Oliver knows a whole lot about job opportunities and pitfalls, and is absolutely frank and clear-eyed about it all. She comes up with great, workable solutions I never would have thought of, and probably you wouldn't have either. If I had young relatives who were starting out on their careers I'd want them to go armed with Oliver's down to earth wisdom.

An extra bonus--Oliver knows how to tell a funny story. This wise book is truly fun to read.

We might not realize this but more than half our waking lives are spent in the confines of the cubicles and plastered walls of our workplaces. Be it a cut-throat corporate multinational firm or a save-the-world grass-root non-profit, any workplace comes with a load of ambitions and conflicts.

Everyone one of us has had a despotic boss or an infuriating coworker who has made going to work feel like a trip to the war zone. Not only is our day a nightmare, but those frustrations stay with us ruining the evenings and perfectly planned weekends too.

We can either take the bullets lying down. Or we can resolve to do something about our office issues. That's where Vicky Oliver's book comes in. It shows us through examples that we are not alone in our troubles, and the book goes onto list various problem scenarios and gives thoughtful and practical solutions. Written in a humorous eloquent style with plenty of sidebar and tips, this book is easy and fun to read.

The book is divided into three section, "Bosses", "Colleagues" and "Problem Within" and answers any issue you might have, internal or external, that is keeping you from achieving your full potential and enjoying a healthy workplace life.

This smart and funny book is worth reading even if you're not confronted with an office problem. These insights can help address awkward situations in day to day life--it's just a good read. When it comes to office politics this book is comprehensive.

This is a fun and helpful guide to navigating office politics. The author provides humorous descriptions of the various corporate characters and the tricky situations they create as well as sound, practical advice for dealing with them. It's a winning combination. I highly recommend this book!

I bought this book thinking that it would offer some real/sound advice on how to deal with my manager and her puppets. While the book was an easy read, with some stories that just about anyone could relate to, it didnt really give me any help or direction at all. The book pretty much said to agree with your boss and fly under his/her radar. Not what I expected at all.

Vicky Oliver's book touches base with every type of personality you can imagine dealing with in the work world, whether as staff in an office setting or as a self-employed worker doing business with several bosses (i.e. clients).
The book is a thoroughly entertaining look at real-world characters in the work world. I enjoy the instant gratification of the demonstrations of a specific problem with the offering of a solution on the same page. My interest never waned, as it sometimes does often with similar non-fiction.
Written in an easy-to-read style, I appreciate the helpful advice on getting along with various personalities, the importance of networking, professional grooming pointers, how-to-be a leader lessons, supportive tips on building your self-esteem, and red hot signs to look for if your job is on the line (it all rang true looking back to when my former company down-sized.)
I have decided to get this book and perhaps Oliver's interview preparation book as well for my cousin's daughter who will be graduating from college soon and entering the work world. In today's competitive career climate, the more prepared she is the better. I also believe that she will have fun reading this book.