more support needed on being the boss

[sausagesupper]

Following on from this thread the troubles continue.
I would be so grateful to get a bit of support from others who have been "the boss" themselves. How do you deal with the stress of running your own business and then the added stress of dealing with ridiculous petty problems caused by your staff? Do you just rise above it and ignore it, or do you stand up to it?
We live in a small community where everyone is related to/knows everyone else, it feels like they are all closing in on us at the moment. One guy quit on Monday and now is telling everyone we sacked him. Some distant relative of his just came up to dh and accused him of being an arsehole for sacking him blah, blah, blah. Any advise greatfully received.
TIA

shameless bump for the evening crowd

I've just posted on my own management problems!

When you're a manager, people are always going to moan behind your back, no matter how fair you think you are.

One useful tip is for you to have regular team meetings and one-to-ones where you encourage people to air their issues - and suggestions - and then act on those as far as you can.

If they don't agree with decisions (and you have listened to them), this will give you the chance to explain why you've made the decision.