To Have (a boss) Or Not To Have (a boss)
If you are an employee, you have a boss. There is no other way.
An employee is someone who has agreed, in exchange for a periodic payment of money, to let someone else — the employer — direct what they do and how they do it. This is fundamental: in all jurisdictions I am aware of, this is the essence of the legal definition of employment. From this, a number of legal consequences follow, mostly designed to protect the employee from the employer’s whim.
Your boss might be your employer themself, in a sole proprietorship or in the case of personal service. More commonly, your employer designates one or more individuals to stand in their stead in relation to you. These individuals are your bosses. Yes, you can have more than one, and unless it is carefully managed, having more than one sucks.
Your boss speaks with the authority of your employer. Since your employer has the right to direct your activities (up to a point), your boss has the right to direct your activities (up to a point).
If you are a skilled and experienced professional, your boss is wise not to use that authority that much. Your employer really only cares about the results about your work, and if you do excellent work independently, a wise boss will just leave you mostly alone. However, this is a choice made by your boss; they still retain the right to interfere should they deem it necessary.
Your employer will track your hours worked; this is usually done by your boss, either directly or through some system. It does not really matter whether your boss or your employer cares; they are required to do so because of legal rules limiting how many hours they can use you per day, per week, per month.
In many jurisdictions, so long as your employer has work for someone like you to do and has the means to pay you, and so long as you do good work and make no major mistakes, the employer cannot legally fire you. The question of whether you have stuff to do and whether you get your regular income is something you do not mostly need to worry about; using you wisely and profitably is your boss’s problem, not yours.
I hear a lot of people complain. They would rather not have a boss; they would rather not be time-tracked. Indeed, it is possible to have this sort of a relationship, but it means leaving the safety of an employment relationship.
Want to have no boss, and not be time tracked? Become self-employed, and take on clients instead of employers. But do it eyes open: there are no more special legal protections for you; you can be fired at any time (if your contract allows it); nobody cares if you work too much.
