National Boss Day began in 1958 when Patricia Bays Haroski, then an employee at State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Ill., registered the holiday with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Haroski chose Oct. 16, her father’s birthday, as the date for National Boss Day because she felt he was an exemplary boss.

If the holiday falls on a weekend, it is celebrated on the closest work day.

National Boss Day has become an international celebration in recent years and is now observed in countries such as England, Australia and South Africa.