DO YOU HAVE post-traumatic boss disorder?

Understanding the full impact that a former (or current) boss is having on you can help you heal and move forward, says Greta Solomon

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Twenty-five years ago, in my first job after university, I worked as a junior in a fashion PR consultancy. One day, my boss sent me to the office of an editor to present some client images to her. She gave me strict instructions of exactly what to say, to guide the editor to choose her preferred image. But the editor chose a different one and, despite my questioning, there was nothing I could do about it.

'You stupid girl!' my boss exploded on my return, and gave me a dressing down in front of the entire office. This type of behaviour became standard, and after three months of walking on eggshells, being ultra stressed, tearful, and dreading each day, I left, along with three of my colleagues.

This wasn’t what my boss was expecting.

Her parting words to me were that my career was over, and that I'd never get another job in media. Her power and influence would see to that.

Shell-shocked, I somehow managed to pick myself back up. I got work experience at a women's magazine and became a journalist — a role I still happily hold today. I'd love to say that I never looked back. But that awful experience never fully left me, despite having had many excellent bosses since.

It wasn’t until I recently stumbled on the term post-traumatic boss disorder that it all made sense. Todd Cherches, the CEO of a US consulting company, coined the term to describe a series of horrible bosses he worked for as an admin assistant in Hollywood. When I read about his experiences, I realised that painful memories stay alive until you find a way to process them.

A widespread problem