Famously bad bosses

By Paul MacKenzie-Cummins | Wednesday 14 May | 15:40

The film The Devil Wears Prada highlighted the tyrannical vice that bosses from hell have their poor suffering underlings locked into. Meryll Streep's characterisation of the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly bears more than a passing resemblance to the reality that the number of bad bosses is on the increase in the UK. We explore some of these bad bosses!

Real-life bad bosses

Gordon Ramsay
With a tongue as sharp as the knives in his kitchen, Gordon Ramsay has been voted TV’s biggest bully by numerous polls and is an honorary member of the Britain’s Most Unbearable Bosses club. Viewers of Hell’s Kitchen and The F Word will see Ramsay using profane language and behaving like a short-tempered martinet of the kitchen. And in real life, “he is exactly the same as you have seen on television…charming and always foul-mouthed,” according to one food critic.

But he didn’t get his Michelin stars just by being hot-headed and swearing at his staff. In fact, for all his profanities, Ramsay has managed to keep 80% of his staff for the past 10 years.

Simon Cowell
The mastermind behind the phenomenal success of talent shows including X-Factor and Pop Idol, is as famous for his sharp tongue and dismissive put-downs as he is for wearing high trousers and tank tops. Often seen berating his fellow judge, Louis Walsh, Cowell has faced widespread criticism from groups such as the Family And Parenting Institute who are concerned that his behaviour could send out the wrong message about bullying.

However, his on-screen ‘will they, won’t they’ flirtation with Dannii Minogue and his appointment as patron of children’s charity Kidscape, have put paid to that and he even topped a Trust Medical poll as the ideal celebrity boss.

Jennifer Lopez
Possible the most annoying person in the music industry, Lopez maintains that she is simple girl living a simple life as nothing more than Jenny From the Block, whilst her bikini-clad figure parades about the place with a mink coat draped in diamonds and howling “I’m real.” Of course you, Ms Lopez.

When she was engaged to marry actor Ben Affleck, Lopez allegedly fired all of the female staff because they were female and could ‘distract’ Affleck’s attentions away from her. And, when she appeared on Top of the Pops, she was said to have insisted on 10 dressing rooms to accommodate her 100-strong entourage.

Sir Alan Sugar
The man who delights in shouting “You’re Fired!” to candidates in The Apprentice, describes himself as “the most belligerent person you could ever meet.” Sir Alan’s bullish approach is to push people as far as they will go to test how well they cope under pressure, and to surround himself with yes-men as much as possible. In the first series of the show, Tim Campbell was preferred as overall winner despite the fact that the equally bullish Saira was the obvious candidate. Why? Simply because he can dish it out but, he can’t take. Then again, Sir Alan is worth an estimated £850m, so what would I know?

Fictional bad bosses

Basil Fawlty
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty is an incompetent, xenophobic, manic control-freak who has delusions of grandeur. Often finding himself on the receiving end his wife Sybil’s verbal and physical abuse, Fawlty takes out his frustrations on Manuel - the hapless Spanish waiter who is subjected to a pummelling on a regular basis. With comments like “Manuel, you're a waste of space,” and “Manuel, THIS…is a smack,” it is fair to say that Basil’s man-management skills lack a certain je ne sais quo.

David Brent
The king of faux pas, Brent’s approach to management is to be a friend first, boss second. But dancing around like a chimp in The Office, being politically incorrect and believing that he is in the running to be the next chief executive of Microsoft, make David Brent nothing short of a walking disaster. When notifying his staff of impending redundancies, he said: “Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that Neil will be taking over both branches, and some of you will lose your jobs…I know, gutting. On a more positive note, the good news is, I've been promoted. So, every cloud...”

Blackadder
The cynical and opportunist Edmund Blackadder is perhaps the least likely candidate to win the Manager of the Year Award. If he existed in the real world, he would almost certainly be the centre of numerous employment tribunals over his treatment of his dogsbody, Baldrick. Of annual leave: “Baldrick, take a short holiday. [Pauses for a second.] Did you enjoy it?” And, upon his appointment as the new Lord High Executioner, he addressed his staff: “Now, if you play straight with me you'll find me a considerate employer, but cross me and you'll find that under this playful boyish exterior beats the heart of a ruthless sadistic maniac.” Not exactly the breath of fresh air you expect with a new boss.

Montgomery Burns
The Simpsons’ ancient tycoon, who has owned casinos, opium dens and prisons, and is best known as the chairman and chief executive of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, claims that the recipe for success is simple: "Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business. When opportunity knocks, you don't want to be driving to a maternity hospital or sitting in some phoney-baloney church. Or synagogue." He has been know to ‘encourage’ his workers to finish their lunches quickly by whipping them, cut costs by stealing their clothes and selling them, scrapping health insurance and, even more dramatic than that, ridding the plant’s canteen of tartar sauce.