It doesn’t matter where you work, or what you do.
T.M. Logan
At some point in your life, you’re probably going to find yourself working for a terrible boss. The boss who takes credit for other people’s work. The manager who delights in humiliating his staff. The ‘team leader’ who flies into a rage at the slightest provocation.
In one of my previous jobs – as a journalist on a national newspaper – I once wrote a story based on research into so-called 'corporate psychopaths'. In other words, people who exhibit the characteristics of a psychopath, but in a normal working environment. Such people tend to be manipulative, arrogant, callous, impatient, impulsive, superficially charming and prone to anger. They also break promises, take credit for the work of others and blame everyone else when things go wrong.
Sound familiar? Because according to the research, law-abiding ‘corporate psychopaths’ vastly outnumber those who actually commit crimes and end up in prison.
In my new thriller 29 Seconds, my protagonist Sarah Haywood finds herself up against a powerful, highly accomplished boss with a stellar reputation and the power of ‘life and death’ over the careers of those below him. But her boss has a secret psychopathic side too, a side the world doesn’t see: that of a serial predator with a track record of sexual harassment going back decades.
So, when Sarah is offered the chance to make him disappear from her life, will she take it?
I had a lot of fictional source material to draw on when I created Sarah’s boss, Alan Lovelock, for 29 Seconds. Terrible bosses are more common than we’d like to think – so it’s no surprise there are a lot of them out there in books and films. In no particular order, here are some of my best (worst) terrible bosses from the world of fiction. But which one do you love to hate the most? Pick your poison…
Gordon Gekko – Wall Street
A classic narcissist, self-centred, venal and totally ruthless. Has no qualms about manipulating and corrupting those who work for him. Summed up by his most famous line: ‘Greed is good’.
Franklin Hart Jr – Nine to Five
The archetypal sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. Permanently on a short fuse and delights in humiliating his female office staff.
Les Grossman – Tropic Thunder
A masterclass in shouted threats and expletive-filled rage. Enjoys repeatedly reminding his staff that a retarded monkey could do their jobs. Just vile.
Ebenezer Scrooge – A Christmas Carol
The granddaddy of all terrible bosses, he set the benchmark for others to follow: miserable, cold-hearted and mean-spirited. As Dickens wrote, “The cold within him froze his old features…”
Miranda Priestly – The Devil Wears Prada
Scarily close to some bosses that I’ve known, which makes it all the more unsettling to see her in action. Arrogant, demeaning and excessively demanding, she makes requests that are almost impossible to fulfil.
Henry F Potter – It’s a Wonderful Life
Must surely rank as one of the greatest villains in film history – a cold, corrupting and deeply cynical businessman, who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
29 Seconds is out in paperback and ebook now, published by Bonnier Zaffre
