Perhaps one of the two most stressful spots to be in right now is jobless or saddled with a despotic boss with few options to run to. Both issues are addressed in two recent articles from BusinessWeek Online, and while the blatantly Machiavellian approaches pushed by their writers are more than depressing, the reader comments provide a great antidote, insisting that recession or no, employer mistreatment won’t be tolerated and work/life balance should be preserved.

“This isn’t the economy to choose pride over practicality…”

Jeff Schmitt, author of “How to Handle a Bad Boss” won’t tolerate sniveling. In his own words: “You were cheated or unfairly smeared. Welcome to the real world.” His article on how to deal with an abusive superior is peppered with headings that advise us to “wait,” “play the game,” and “don’t jump to conclusions.” As he points out, yes, these may not be the best of times for leaping off-board over petty grievances with our bosses. We have to be realistic and consider our chances of finding employment elsewhere—but when do we cross the fine line of realism into cynicism? As reader BD comments: “The worst thing you can do is tolerate a bad boss in hopes of something better down the line. I’ve been there. Sure, been fired too, but I’m stronger for it today.”

“This is not playtime, everyone—this is real time.”

Compared to Jason Calacanis’ hiring rant though hiring rant, Jeff Schmitt’s acerbic article is the journalistic equivalent of an adorable, fuzzy kitten. In “How to Hire—and Get Hired—in a Recession,” author Calacanis is here to blow a modern mythos straight out of the water: Work/Life balance is for sissies. Or at least for the willingly unemployed. If you are not a self-confessed workaholic nor have a Blackberry surgically grafted to your hand, Calacanis won’t be surprised if you are out of a job and can’t find an employer willing to hire you.

While there may be some truth in his comment that children need mommy and daddy to have a job even more than they need mommy and daddy to be simply, well… around, reader comments show hope in the belief that no recession is forever and busywork and obsessive overtime makes workers slide back into old mentalities of efficiency over effectiveness. As commenter A.J. puts it: “This writer seems like an inexperienced blowhard who is in love with his theories of how things should LOOK like they are getting done ( i.e., stay at your desk until the boss goes home) rather than with producing results by hiring productive, efficient, talented people. Honestly, even in a recession, the best people (and the healthy people) won’t put up with manipulative behavior and disrespect.”

These days may be finding some readers worse for financial wear, but it’s refreshing to see a lack of tolerance for draconian mentality regardless of current circumstances.

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