Either language school owners are incompetent or they are off their rockers and I have seen a few in my time. From a Danish expatriate who ran her school from a wooden shed in her garden saying that her daughter kicked her out of the house because she did not like the son-in-law to a school director that decided to call to announce a lesson she told me earlier the same day was cancelled until the new year. She expected that I retrieve her message at any and every moment at that point, drop what I was doing and run over. All these events have taught me what I suspected all along, it is better to manage my own resources and eventually open my own business. In the meantime I have to make do with these character types. It is all part of life anyway, cannot choose the personality of your employer but they can choose who you can be! Here are some tips on dealing with instability that can be applied to other employments
- Stay clear of the line of fire
- Try to get on the good side of the employer. That may be by coming in earlier or doing an extra favor so that the employer will be pleased. It may sound false but if it gets you security go for it.
- Don't expect too much from the employer especially if they are tight minded and likely to blow over incidentals like photocopies and the use of a tape recorder
- Show some comprehension when the employer is looking for a listener. It shows that you care about the human side of what motivated him to act in a certain way
- Let trivial remarks roll off your back especially if the employer suffers from mood swings and cannot be accountable for making a statement that is out of place
