Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive and supportive, pushing the protagonist to positive growth and helping them achieve their goals. Other relationships do exactly the opposite, derailing your character’s confidence and self-worth or they cause friction and conflict that leads to fallout and disruption. Many relationships hover somewhere in the middle. A balanced story will require a mix of these dynamics.
The purpose of this thesaurus is to encourage you to explore the kinds of relationships that might be good for your story and figure out what each might look like. Think about what a character needs (good and bad), and build a network of connections for him or her that will challenge them, showcase their innermost qualities, and bind readers to their relationship trials and triumphs.
Boss and Employee
Description:
Employees work in the goods or service sectors beneath the management of an employer. Whether you work part-time or full-time, fully-contracted or as a consultant, most of us have experience working for an employer. Consider how you might use your own experiences as an employee or an employer to give your characters realistic interactions.
Relationship Dynamics
Below are a wide range of dynamics that may accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict.
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 micro-managing 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 party 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
The employer needing to downsize their business
A financial downturn that results in the employee not being paid consistently or regularly
The business moving to a different location
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
Conflicting Desires that Can Impair the Relationship
Either party wanting control over the other person
The employee wanting a raise that the employer cannot or will not give them
One party wanting to follow the law while the other does not
The employer wanting the employee to quit
The employee wanting a different role within the company while the boss wants them to stay where they are
The employer wanting more work out of the employee than is feasible
The employee wanting understanding and empathy from an emotionally detached employer
The boss wanting the employee to work unusual and undesirable hours
Either party wanting a romantic relationship with the other
The employer wanting what’s best for the company while the employee wants to do as little as possible
The two parties having a different vision or goal for the company
Clashing Personality Trait Combinations
Analytical and Empathetic, Bold and Cautious, Mature and Irresponsible, Independent and Needy, Controlling and Rebellious, Ambitious and Lazy, Nurturing and Withdrawn, Organized and Disorganized, Confrontational and Timid, Dishonest and Honorable, Decisive and Indecisive
Negative Outcomes of Friction
Feeling anxious about going to work
Feelings helpless or isolated
Being embroiled in a lawsuit
Decreased productivity at work
Being threatened, abused, or blackmailed
Losing colleagues who used to be friends
Being unfairly reprimanded
Loss of pay or employment
Receiving a bad reference for a future employer
Losing the opportunity for a mentorship
Developing a bad professional reputation
Difficulty working with others and being a team player
Having to find a new job and start over elsewhere
Fictional Scenarios That Could Turn These Characters into Allies
The employee defending the employer against false accusations by a third-party
Either party helping the other through a difficult time in their personal lives
Working together on a joint business venture
Surviving a difficult experience together
Finding a way to save the business together
The employee identifying ways to help the business grow and adapt
Combining ideas to surpass the achievement of a competing business
A shared mistake that must be covered up
Being recognized for one’s efforts in the workplace
The employee covering for the boss and saving them from humiliation or negative consequences
Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Change
The boss learning to listen to their employees and value other people’s ideas
Either party learning the value of cooperation and compromise
The employer helping the employee take a leap of faith and achieve an important goal
The employee learning to take direction
The relationship resulting in either party becoming better at their job
One party being inspired in some way by the other person, leading to personal growth
Either party learning to accept help
Both parties gaining confidence through success
Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
A fall from grace, Betrayal, Deception, Greed, Inflexibility, Journeys, Knowledge, Order, Perseverance, Pride, Recognition, Sacrifice, Stagnation, Teamwork, Transformation, Unity, Vulnerability, Wealth
Other Relationship Thesaurus entries can be found here.
Need More Descriptive Help?
While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (15 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.
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Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.