BOSS AND EMPLOYEE
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Relationships are part of the very fabric of your character’s life. How well or poorly they get along with others oftentimes comes down to personality, so carefully consider the positive traits and negative traits of your story’s cast. Another factor that can pull characters together or create friction is motivation, so keep each individual’s goal—both at the scene and story level—in mind as you write.
DESCRIPTION:
RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS:
An employee and boss who are friends or even family members outside of the business
An employer recognizing the strengths of their employee and encouraging them to pursue their own goals
A boss soliciting and valuing feedback and new ideas from the employee
A boss treating the employee as a member of the team rather than a cog in the corporate wheel
A relationship in which the employee feels comfortable approaching their employer for any reason
A relationship that is strictly business with no real personal engagement
A boss who is constantly cleaning up the messes up their unprofessional or incompetent employee
A micromanaging employer who shows little trust in the employee
An employee who doesn't think much of their boss and shows no respect
Either party being afraid of the other (because one person is tied to someone powerful, one has made threats against the other, etc.)
Either party feeling stuck, wanting to end the relationship but being unable to
An immature or rebellious employee who is always making trouble for the employer
An employee and boss with baggage from a former relationship (them being former rivals, lovers, etc.)
CHALLENGES THAT COULD THREATEN THE STATUS QUO:
A financial downturn that results in the employee not being paid consistently or regularly
The business relocating to a distant place
The employee causing an accident or disaster at their place of work
The boss getting caught breaking terms of their employment
The employer giving the employee a bad performance review
The employee discovering the business's involvement in illegal activity
The employer setting the employee up to fail
The employee funneling information about the business to a competitor
The boss asking the employee to keep a difficult secret
The employee's personal beliefs conflicting with new company policies
The parties developing a relationship outside of the workplace
The boss showing preference to the employee over other workers
The employee asking the employer for favors (hiring a family member, advanced pay, etc.)
The boss turning down the employee's request for a raise
The employee needing to telework or call out sick for personal reasons
The boss criticizing the employee in front of others
Either party being accused of discriminatory or abusive behavior in the workplace
The employer changing the terms of the employee's contract
Discovering a personal connection through a third party