Nobody is safe from mean management practices in the workplace, regardless of how much you love or hate your job. But let’s be honest, the more pressure we have put on our shoulders, the less motivated we are to add that extra bit of effort to the company we work for.

And although this can happen for many different reasons, mean managers can be a huge setback for us professionally and emotionally. But how you determine whether the management has indeed crossed the line? Buzzwords like toxic workplace are all over the place, but when it comes to real life, most of us are left scratching our heads.

Rude behavior toward employees is generally defined as a display of disrespect, a breaking of social norms or expectations, a breach of etiquette, or ignoring "accepted" behavior. It can also mean that a manager is behaving inconsiderately, aggressively, or deliberately offensively.

Rudeness can manifest in many forms, from passive-aggressive behavior, micromanaging, anger management problems, to favoritism towards one person, bullying, and many more. The mean behavior can also be used as a way to display one’s power and show superiority over others, and in this case, as well as others, you'd better run far away from it.

In such cases, setting boundaries is key. Everyone should learn to distance themselves from a manager who’s mean to them and, at some point, stop taking in all the negativity. In other cases, if you are sure that your boss is incompetent, it’s just reasonable to become a leader on your own.

Management will notice your initiative eventually, and you will likely earn some extra points just by keeping the mean person out of the loop.

Whatever happens, make yourself a top priority. It’s just not fair to allow yourself to be treated badly and purposefully disrespected day by day by someone who has no reason to do so. In some extreme cases, even the best reasoning is not an excuse for anyone to shout or offend you, whether it’s a co-worker, a manager, or a boss.