According to the LA Times, "The ranks of bullying bosses are growing, some experts contend, as short-staffed companies tap managers with lousy people skills." Movies like The Devil Wears Prada and the upcoming The Nanny Diaries are enshrining the evil boss in pop culture. You can vent online at sites like www.ebosswatch.com or savetheassistants.com. Soon, you may even be able to sue your boss for creating an "abusive work environment"--not sexual harassment, just being an a**--in New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington State, and / or California. Are bosses really getting worse? Or is it that the quality of jobs is deteriorating, incomes stagnating, and stressed, overworked employees with fewer benefits are turning workplace grievances into personal ones? Maybe this is an ingenious corporate divide-and-conquer strategy. Or, are workers just less likely to take it? The LA Times story says "baby boomers on the cusp of retirement and restless younger employees are more likely to complain or quit than suffer in silence." After all, we know we can just go freelance--which doesn't mean you won't take orders from anyone, but you will be out from under the thumb of a single tyrant. Did you go freelance to escape a bad boss?