Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job

Chapter 6. Lying

About Lying

"Wow," he says, "I guess winter's not over yet because I think I've got the flu. I gotta get home and eat some chicken soup and crackers."

You nod sympathetically and tell him to take care of himself. But as you fuss with the windows to get some of that fresh air, you see a much more sprightly version of your TOT skipping to his car. And, eureka, he throws his briefcase into the trunk, pulls out golf clubs and throws them into his buddy's waiting SUV.

Almost every kid has tried faking illness to get out of school. Unfortunately, there's always a mom or dad who sees through that brilliant scheme—and it's off to school once again.

Unless you were the most saintly of children, you can now recognize the signs of faux illness, so when your boss starts moaning and groaning on every sunny day, you smell a rat. You can't yell "Liar, liar, pants on fire," if you want to keep your job, and so you bite your tongue and try to ignore your gnawing aggravation.

But Why?

Brace yourself ... sometimes, bosses lie. Okay, with that shocking news out of the way, let's delve into why they lie and what you can do about it.

There are two main types of lies told by TOTs: those that cause damage and those that don't. Most office deception falls into the white-lie category. For instance, Golfing TOT wants to impress everyone with his dedication. But even though he does stay late and cranks ...