What should I do about issues with my manager?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

When dealing with a difficult manager from the perspective of our faith, we must balance spiritual endurance with practical wisdom. The Church Fathers teach us that our environment is often the "gymnasium" for our salvation.

Here is how you should handle the situation with your manager:

1. View Him as a "Crown-Maker"

In the writings of the Fathers, specifically in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, it is noted that a superior who provides frequent opportunities to bear insults, contempt, or nitpicking is actually helping the subordinate obtain "crowns" of martyrdom and patience. If you were left without any reproach, you might fall into the "thorns of vanity" or "audacity." While his behavior is annoying, see it as a spiritual exercise to kill your own ego.

2. Practice "Quiet Obedience"

The Desert Fathers, such as Abba Anthony and Abba Sarmata, emphasized the power of staying in one's "cell"—which in a modern context means staying focused on your specific duties. If your manager is nitpicking, satisfy his requirements with precision and without backtalk. By being beyond reproach in your work, you take away his "ammunition." As St. Paul instructs, work "not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart."

3. Professional Boundaries and Honesty

While we are called to be meek like Jesus, we are also called to be "wise as serpents."

• Documentation: If his nitpicking is truly "ridiculous" or impeding your ability to function, keep a professional record of your work and his specific requests.
• A Calm Conversation: After you have prayed and your anger has cooled, ask for a brief meeting. Approach it not with "You make me mad," but with "I want to make sure I am meeting your expectations; I noticed you have many specific corrections lately, how can we streamline this?"

4. The Spiritual Barrier

Do not let his behavior penetrate your inner peace. St. John Chrysostom reminds us that external circumstances only harm us if we allow our internal state to be corrupted. If he is being fraudulent or violent in his words, that is his sin to carry before the Lord. Your responsibility is to ensure that your reaction is not also a sin.

5. Seek Counsel

Often, we lack perspective when we are in the heat of frustration. Speak with your Father of Confession. He can help you discern if you are being treated unjustly (which may require you to look for a different job or speak to HR) or if this is a cross you are meant to carry for a season to grow in humility.

Summary of Action:

1. Pray for him by name before you walk into the office.
2. Submit to the nitpicking where it is not sinful, as an act of humility.
3. Perform your work to the highest standard so he has no legitimate ground for complaint.
4. Disconnect your self-worth and your spiritual state from his approval. Your goal is the approval of, not a man.

Do not let this man keep you away from the Sacrifice/Liturgy and the Holy Body and Blood this coming Sunday. Resolve to deal with him professionally, but keep your heart for.