How To Deal With a Boss That Lies: 15 Examples Of Dumb Lies

Want to know how to deal with a boss that lies? Then you’re in the right place.

Nowadays, bosses are often caught telling a lie to their employees to manipulate them and work according to how they want their subordinates to work.

It is true that managing a set of employees requires some discretion, but that does mean deceiving them as well. There is a fine line between the two and the latter always results to performance dissatisfaction and failure.

Here are some of the most common lies a boss tells.

But remember, most of these lies are somehow reasonable if they were said with good intentions and are actually partially true.

How To Deal With a Boss That Lies:

1. Saying that you will get a competitive salary

This is one of the many lies a boss often tells his employees. This is mostly said to newly hired and applicants to attract them to take the job seriously.

If you find that this is less than what you are supposed to get, you will think of your boss as a liar or uninformed and he will have a bad reputation among his subordinates then.

2. Saying that he is there to make you successful

A boss should never set expectations to which he cannot deliver. Telling you that he can make you successful and if in the end he doesn’t, it will only result in job dissatisfaction and resentment for you.

For all he knows, he could be losing one of the best people in his company.

3. Saying that you are all family in the company

This is a big lie as not everyone in the company came from the same happy family. Some of them could be from dysfunctional families and those with poor family relationships.

Also, there is office politics and competition in the workplace and that is not a feature of a family.

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4. Saying that the company follows a five-year plan

This is one lie that is very easy to tell. Most companies follow a three up to eighteen months plan just like every other company there is.

Employee turnover is greater than ever and you will want a higher position after three years so such five year plan is definitely not true.

5. Saying that his brother-in-law was the most suitable for the job

This is also a lie that everyone knows about. If your boss says this, he should stop kidding himself and face reality. Everyone knows his brother-in-law got the job because of his affiliation to the company.

Sugarcoating this will just result to embarrassing himself and his brother-in-law as well.

6. Saying that the job is only 9-5, salaried work

Let’s face it. In today’s world, there is no such thing as a 40-hour per week working hours.

Most of the time, you will spend 10-12 hours in the workplace because of deadlines (1) and other important stuff to finish.

Sometimes even weekends are taken away from you because of so much work. Saying or hearing this is definitely a lie.

7. Saying the layoff rumors is not true

No matter how much a boss will want to keep employees working for him, once you find out that the rumors are true, you will want to resign and leave him as well.

Obviously, there is something wrong about how he manages people which is why they are leaving him. As they say, people do not leave companies, they leave their bosses.

8. Saying the employees is the most valuable asset of the company

Of course this is a lie.

Companies can always find new employees to replace employees when they decide to leave the company.

The most valuable asset that a company has is the products and services that they sell; not the people who work for them.

9. Saying your participation is voluntary

This can often be true if the activity is not really that important. But this statement implicitly implies that joining the activity is mandatory or highly encouraged.

Most of the time employees do not really have a choice when their boss says this.

10. Saying to divorce his wife and marry the employee instead

There is already a study that proves this is a lie. When a man is already successful, his affairs usually remain as such. It is highly unlikely that a boss will marry his employee mistress.

There is only a very slight chance with this and most of the time, this is just a lie.

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11. Saying the raise of an employee is above average

Just like in attracting new employees to take the job, keeping employees is often associated with raising their salaries as well.

But this is definitely a lie if you find that for the number of years you have been working with the company and the position that you have and your salary is still not at par with people who have worked the same years as you do with the same job title.

12. Saying that you are the best person for the job

This could only be true if you, the employee, are consistently showing excellent performance and deliver really great results.

Otherwise, this is a lie your boss will tell you to keep you in the company or he has some other hidden agenda for you.

13. Saying that you will receive your raise soon

After working for some time in the company, you will definitely be asking for an appraisal (2). This can be true if your boss really appraises people every 6 months or one year.

But you know this is a lie if your boss won’t even tell you when you will receive your appraisal.

14. Saying that he has good memory so you don’t need to write a formal letter or make a record of the conversation

This is definitely a lie and your boss is probably not interested in what you have to say. He will forget all the details that you have just told him and he won’t remember the next time you mention it.

15. Saying that you don’t have a budget for such

If you are a sales rep, there is always an allotted budget for all your activities. Most of the time, you will have to ask this from your boss.

If he tells you that you don’t have the budget, it can be a lie. It is in the nature of a sales rep’s job to have a budget for activities and if your boss tells you this, there could be something he is hiding.

These are just some of the lies a boss will most likely tell his employees. Watch out for these statements if your boss tells you one as he could probably be lying to you.

Thank you for reading this article about how to deal with a boss that lies and I really hope that you take action my advice.

I wish you good luck and I hope its contents have been a good help to you.

Przemkas Mosky
Przemkas Mosky started Perfect 24 Hours in 2017. He is a Personal Productivity Specialist, blogger and entrepreneur. He also works as a coach assisting people to increase their motivation, social skills or leadership abilities. Read more here