Every man who works in an office or holds a managerial position has run into a boss acting strangely at least once. Promises, hints, subtle jabs — sometimes it feels like it’s all designed against you. In reality, it’s no coincidence: toxic bosses know how to use psychological tricks to keep their employees “in check.”
Here are six of the most common manipulations and how to handle them.
Vague Promises: The “Someday Maybe” Promotion
Classic move. You’re promised a promotion or bonus, but the conditions are so vague that you can’t verify them. You work hard, deliver results — and the boss just piles on more responsibilities.
Goal: test your persistence and make you overwork, using your desire to reach the goal as bait.
How to protect yourself: clarify everything. Ask directly: “What exactly do you consider good work?” If the boss can’t answer, you have the upper hand.
Too-Good-to-Be-True Job Ads: “$200,000 Salary and Dream Skills”
A classic bait-and-switch. The ad looks perfect: high pay, a top position. You arrive, sign the contract — and then the surprises begin.
Goal: test your attentiveness and your ability to ask the right questions.
How to protect yourself: always clarify the details before signing. Ask directly about finances, deadlines, and conditions. A manipulator finds it harder to deceive an attentive candidate.
Shifting Responsibility: The Subordinate Spectacle
The boss promised to solve your problem — housing, project, bonus — then puts on a whole show: calls colleagues, scolds them in front of you, promises a quick solution… and then asks you to wait again.
Goal: delay responsibility and make you accept new conditions.
How to protect yourself: have a strategy. Sometimes it’s best to prepare an exit plan — e.g., a resignation letter ready if you have an alternative. Otherwise, you risk believing new promises.
“Gotcha?” and “There Are Three Candidates”
When you’re put in competition with colleagues while being tested for honesty, it’s a classic: the manipulator withholds information to exploit your uncertainty.
Goal: trap you through trust and the desire to pass the selection process.
How to protect yourself: understand that most decisions have already been made without you. Your weapon: information and cold calculation. Don’t let emotions drive your actions.
The Provocation: The “Red Flag for the Bull”
The boss skillfully hits your ego: a remark, doubt, minor criticism — and suddenly you’re defending your point. The conversation is redirected, and you play by their rules.
Goal: test your reaction and divert attention to personal traits.
How to protect yourself: act like you didn’t hear it or tactfully steer the conversation back to the main point. Counter-manipulating the boss is risky.
“We’ll Pay Later”
You go on a business trip, spend your own money, and the boss promises to reimburse you later. “Later” can stretch for months, and inflation can eat up a significant part of the money.
Goal: use your desire to do something nice for your family or yourself as bait to get free work.
How to protect yourself: evaluate the risks in advance. If “later” could take a long time — demand guarantees or decline. Otherwise, you become a pawn in their game.
