Even if you love the work you do for your job, things can quickly go sour when you have a boss that makes you feel like you’re walking on eggshells much of the time. If you can’t stand your boss — and leaving your job just isn’t an option right now — a few human psychology and communication tricks can help you cope.

Shift the Focus

A good way to disarm your boss, stopping him from criticizing your work, making unreasonable demands or noticing that you’re five minutes late is to shift attention to something positive. You can do this with compliments about his attire, his work or anything you feel that is light and appropriate to stroke his ego. Another method is to find common ground with your supervisor, talking about known shared interests in things like food, music or sports. You can also keep your mental focus on a positive trait of your supervisor — however hard that may be to find — such as an attractive suit or hairstyle.

Get His Opinion

Ask your boss questions about something to do with work to get him talking, and then it will all be about him and his opinion instead of you. Use this tactic when you’re dealing with a narcissist who always needs to be right — and do not try to win an argument against this type of boss. Just keep presenting scenarios to him that require a new solution if you disagree with his take on things or he takes pleasure in criticizing you.

Be Flexible

The truth is that while you are the employee, you are at your supervisor’s mercy, so you have to keep a mind-set of going with the flow if you’re to survive at your job. Of course, you never have to put up with outright abuse or harassment — and those matters should be taken straight to HR — but for the most part you’ve got to bend a little so you don’t break. Take the high road, and remember why you’re at your job. Don’t harbour grudges against your boss, and treat every day as a fresh start. Most important — don’t take anything your boss says personally, because you are a professional