It's easy to forget that the United States is far from having a monopoly on evil bosses. So to conduct a proper search for the world's worst boss, one really needs to spend time looking further afield. One serious contender for the title comes from New Zealand.
In this particular story, the manager fired one of his employees over the phone while the man was lying in bed recovering from open-heart surgery.
According to the article, "the employee, Murray Gardiner had a double by-pass in January after a week of chest pains but as he recuperated at Ellesmere Hospital in Lincoln, near Christchurch, his boss Patch Rubber Company director Julian Proctor visited to tell him he had been sacked from his job of 11 years."
His manager attempted to justify it by saying that the operation had not been fully successful. As such, it seemed unlikely that Gardiner would be able to return to his job anytime soon. According to the supervisor, this meant he had to find someone else to do the job. He then refused to change his mind even when it was later revealed that Gardiner would be fit to return to work in three months.
The search continues, however. While this certainly qualifies for the title of "World's Worst Boss" one fears there may be even more vile and inconsiderate instances out there.