Does your boss expect you to be able to read their mind?

yes and that is very annoying. They are in their own world and they should no texpect you to be part of it.

Yes, I was actually smiling as I was reading your comment, not that I thought it was funny but because I've been there and I know exactly what you're talking about. I like to think of myself as fairly bright, but when they don't give you all the information and you're stuck having to ask questions to fill in the blanks makes you want to say "well why didn't you tell me that in the first place" (and I wouldn't have to ask) Geez hey?

I have worked under those conditions except they were a printed out in a policy and rules and regulations book, when I tried to follow the book I was always given negative ratings, When I asked why I followed the book, they would answer, you only have to read it you do not follow it, But god help you if you did something your own way. I will give you an example. part of my job consisted of cleaning the tables in the dinning room, The book said clean table after every meal, the person showing me during orientation, said remove all dishes and dirty items from the table and wash with cloth and hot water with bleach , So I removed every thing from the table, washed with hot water with bleach, and returned salt pepper, napkin holder to table and went on to the next one Apparently I did it wrong. It seems you are supposed to wash table starting from center out in circles, I believed that if I got the darn thing clean top and sides, i was doing my job. not so. The whole place was run like that and I did eventually get let go because I wasn't following orders. So you have my complete sympathy

I have had a boss like that, that always, always wanted to make her employees look stupid. She would belittle us in front of her guests as often as she could (it was a hotel). And yeah, people quit after one two weeks, I amazingly lasted a month. But bosses like that should take classes in leadership.