TORONTO -- It's National Boss Day and if you're fantasizing about giving yours a kick in the, um, shin rather than a gift card to Second Cup, you're not alone.

It's not in your head -- that bad boss of yours really is a bully. And there's a new study to prove it.

We've all had them -- the snarling manager who has to hide his incompetence by being outright mean and nasty.

I once had an editor humiliate me in front of the entire newsroom by getting down on his hands and knees to sarcastically thank me for doing my job.

But I got off easy. He was particularly fond of swearing and hurling insults at everyone else.

Long gone, we never did figure out what it was he actually did for the company.

I've had bosses who gave me the silent torture treatment, bosses who treated me like a lazy factory worker not producing enough widgets, even a childless lady boss who never missed a dig at my having a family.

Survived them all -- though I still have the bruises to show for it.

These bad bosses are the same insecure guys -- or gals -- who were probably bullies in the schoolyard.

Now they've grown up and taken that toxic behaviour into the workplace where the stakes are even higher.

They know they can't do the job -- and know that we all know they can't -- and so they cover up by sabotaging, belittling and yelling at those of us below them.

So this new study is hardly surprising.

Research published in next month's Psychological Science found that bosses who feel they're in over their heads are more likely to bully their subordinates.

"Incompetence alone doesn't lead to aggression," said Serena Chen, associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and co-author of the study.

"It's the combination of having a high-power role and fearing that one is not up to the task that causes power holders to lash out. And our data suggest it's ultimately about self-worth."

During role-playing sessions, study participants who felt their egos threatened would needlessly sabotage an underling's chances of winning money.

In another test, they would request that a subordinate who gave a wrong answer to a test be notified by a loud obnoxious horn, even though they had the option of choosing silence or a quiet sound.

"By showing when and why power leads to aggression, these findings are highly relevant as abusive supervision is such a pervasive problem in society," said Nathanael Fast, assistant professor of management and organization at University of Southern California and lead author of the study.

Workplace expert and author Lynn Taylor calls them TOTs, or Terrible Office Tyrants, and says the recession has only exacerbated their bullying because they're also worried about holding on to their own jobs.

But there's hope, she said.

"It can be modified by letting them know, just as you would a child, that their behaviour is not productive and focus on how it hurts your productivity," she said from Santa Monica yesterday.

"If the boss knows there's something in it for them, they're more likely to change their behaviour."

It sounds good in theory but who wants to take on their bad boss in these days of high unemployment and ever- present threat of layoffs?

Instead, employees suck it up in silence and the nastiness continues.

The Workplace Bullying Institute found 37% of workers report being bullied, with more than half of the targets being women.

But we're all adults now, right? The bullies can't really hurt us anymore. Or can they?

According to a Canadian study by researchers at Queen's and the University of Manitoba, workplace bullying is even more harmful to employees than sexual harassment. They found victims of bullying were more likely to quit their jobs and reported more job stress, less job commitment and higher levels of anger and anxiety.

There's even a website, badbossology.com, dedicated to helping employees deal with a difficult boss.

Luckily, these days I don't have to seek their help. In fact, my city editor is so nice that when he found out I was writing about bosses, he promised to give me today off.

Ah, you've got to love the power of the pen.

READ MANDEL EVERY THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SUNDAY. MICHELE.MANDEL@SUNMEDIA.CA OR 416-947-2231