Tales From the Front
In the stories below, read how people like you came face to face with management malpractice. You can help stop management malpractice — learn to recognize it, expose it, and prevent it.
"Christian Based" Non-Profit (aka The Jesus Gravy Train)
I joined a Texas non-profit group exactly one year ago, I am the accountant. The "mission" is to serve the poverty stricken in our county. The Executive Director and his wife mis-spent funds, spent funds on their own personal stuff, gave the Board of Directors phony accounting reports, stole computer equipment, the nice donated furniture, home accessories, and the list never ends. They even managed to buy a $9,000 truck under the Board's nose and no one even noticed. The truck was for the Executive Director's hunting trips. The only thing they truly cared about was themselves. The wife even talked about taking a donated vehicle we were to receive (it actually was a very nice one) and "donating" it to their 16 year old daughter. These two were making more than $110,000/year plus the organization was making $675/month payments on a new Suburban for them, along with paying insurance on the vehicles and health insurance for their family. Other employees receive no benefits. These two even falisfied immigration documentation to secure work visas for employees who they then treated like dogs (I am one of the few born and raised Americans). Long story short, after the board finally got a little concerned, they cornered me and asked me what was going on. After I clued them in, they were all dumbfounded and did not want to believe it. Keep in mind the Board of Directors were the bosses and could have come in and looked through all files themselves. They asked me to make copies of all credit card receipts for the last 2 years, smuggle information to them, investigate and find suspicious files. I had to do all of this with out raising any red flags to the "Jim and Tammy Faye" who I smiled at and worked with every day. A full investigative audit was then performed by a CPA firm who found these two had mis-spent and used for personal gain over $180,000 in one year. They were "put on paid leave" while these Christian board members worked on deciding what to do next. (?!) In the end, "Jim and Tammy Faye" were given the Suburban (the non-profit used contributions to pay the note off), over 6 months in pay, 12 months of insurance and were prayed for every day. You might wonder if the "Bakers" showed any remorse. None what so ever. They denied any wrong doing (even when receipts were shown that the wife was using funds to pay to have her nails done and buy clothes at Ann Taylor). They have bad mouthed us to everyone. They accused me of consipiring to have them taken down for someone else to have their jobs. The story could go on. However, I will end with this, one of the under-payed employees came to me yesterday with tears and shame and told me he and his family had to apply for food stamps this week.
Is this legal?
My company has a weekly conference call where supervisors, various managment employees and employees who have made mistakes are on the call. They ask the employees what they did wrong and what they could have done to better. Is this legal? Doesnt this violate some privacy issues on employee's performance and/or discipline? I've heard of this before but not where the employee has to do this in front of his crew mates and peers.
MM answer: No, this is not illegal. Such practices can, in fact, be healthy, if management truly believes that mistakes are inevitable and the only way to grow and develop is to confront mistakes and learn from them. On the other hand, if management has another agenda for such meetings, such as identifying and punishing poor performance, these "mistakes" sessions will never produce positive results in the long term. Employees will quickly perceive management's veiled agenda and refuse to participate with complete honesty. Forcing an employee to do something against his or her will may not be illegal in our current system, but it's certainly unethical and unproductive.
Piss Poor Management
I hope some managers will read some of these stories and learn from them. People can be such dumb asses when they try to manage the wrong way. I worked in a family owned business for three years and witnessed this first hand. I have twenty years experience, but an inexperienced slacker from shipping was brought into my department and given all the perks. My supervisior never listened, she always ran to corporate with my complaints. The vice president, who was a raving lunatic, used scare tactics on us all the time, telling us that we should go seek opportunites elsewhere. My fault was speaking up, which finally cost me my job. I'm tired of this crap. I think more people should speak up about the bullshit that goes on in organizations. You might lose your job but at least they know you know what's going on and you're not going to stand for it! You should never accept a management position unless you're willing to take on the responsibility of managing!!!!!
Nutrisystem Inc., by Far the Worst!
When I interviewed for my current employer, Nutrisystem,they really went all out to show potential employees what a great company they were. We were taken into a room and (much like the moonies or mormons,take your pick) showed us a 10 minute film about how strong the company was and how great they were to work for. When I got to the individual interview, the wonderful promises continued.The woman who interviewed me told me I could easily make the $70,000 a year I was looking for and told me that, in fact, many of their sales people made six figures. She told me they had great benefits and were very family oriented. Many people had multiple family members working there. The interview went well and 2 days later I got an email informing me that I had been chosen and that if I accepted their offer I would be working the 11 am to 7:30 pm shift. They then followed up with a phone call to set up my orientation and training. After 3 days of training, the supervisor teaching the training walked in with 2 long streets of paper. These she explained were reasons for termination of employment. The session went on for an hour. We were so stunned one of the female trainees made the remark, "Seems like you have alot of things you can lose your job for, do you have a large turnover?" The supervisor snapped "No one is here who doesn't want to be here!"
What we also found out was:
1. No paid time off
2. All time off is counted aganist you, including lateness,sickness (including stays in hospitals and trips to the emergency room from work), leaving early due to family emergencies, weather emergencies including the governor closing the roads due to snow, funerals, births any and all lateness...yes even on Christmas (Mr Scrooge)
3. You are permitted 12 unpaid days off and you must give at least a week's notice if you are going to be out or late or need to leave early.
4. If you fail to give notice of unpaid time off 3 times, you are written up. So if your late due to a snowstorm, have to leave because your throwing up, and leave early because your brother
with life threatening disease is rushed to hosptial (this actually happened to me) you are written up. If you have 6 instances you'er gone, period. House on fire, too bad (should have planned for that, "that will be an incident")
5. The hours were changed on the last day of training to midnite on saturday nites.
6. If you are on the phone for 5 minutes (called "the five minute rule" without a reason, you have to make 100 calls to old leads (this actually is better, they used to send you home without pay)
7. The pay is no where near as good as they said, I will end up probably just over 50K, far from the 70 to 100 they promised.
8. No internet access except to the Nutrisystem website.
9. They record ALL YOUR CALLS.
10. You get a half hour for lunch and you cannot eat at your desk. If you are caught with your mouth moving you have to make 100 inactive lead calls.
11. If you miss the outbound sales quota at the end of the month, you must make it up the second month. If you fail, even by 1, you're fired!
These are just a few of the reasons why you should run from this company. I am only here because they do have decent medical benefits and my children need dental work. When that's done. I'm gone, oh boy, am I ever!
Director with No Authority
I was hired to be a director but get no respect from my supervisor. As a matter of fact I'm always being left out of the loop on things. I'm not told what meetings pertain to me before the meeting are held. My supervisor meets with my team and I'm not even made aware of it. Most of the time I'm not sure who I am. I am the only hispanic director in the company and often wonder if it could be a case of discrimination. I was given the director's title with no authority. Please help I'm not sure what to do. When I confront my supervisor she ignores my concerns.
MM Response: Make one more sincere attempt to communicate with your supervisor. Describe in detail how you have felt ignored in your efforts to clarify your role and responsibilities. Let her know that your only desire is to do your job and do it well, but to do so, you must understand her expectations. Document all of your concerns in writing and give her a copy. If she does not respond favorably (keep detailed notes on what she does and doesn't do) go to her boss or the head of the company. If the company does not respond favorably, find another job.
Friendly's Ice Cream is Not So Friendly
I have been working for Friendly's for the past 6 years, since I was 16 years old and I have been at that job faithfully for all those years. I have seen managers and employees come and go, but I've never seen such bad management until we hired a new general manager two years ago. When I first met him he was a really nice and still is. It's his management style that is very wrong. The first couple of weeks he was here he did the normal stuff fixing things and making changes, but after he started feeling comfortable with the store and employees, he seemed less and less here. What was he doing with his time? He would often go to the bank to drop off the deposit and sometimes go get cleaning supplies. There is nothing wrong with that but over time it took him longer and longer to get back, sometimes hours at a time. And when he did get back he would often have some new shirts, a hair cut, or a new ear piece for his cell phone. Another popular excuse he used was to say that he was having an emergency at home and it needed to be taken care of at once. The GM is suppose to work at least 55 hours a week, this man is here no more than 20 hours. Now you're wondering who was covering all his shifts, and that would be me. I have never wanted to be the manager, but when he left, all the employees seem to come to me because I'd been here for so long. Up until the last couple of months when I hit my breaking point. I was working everyday, 10 hour shifts for more than 4 months and doing all the GM's paper work that he didn't do. I was forced to do it because my DM would yell at me because the GM didn't do it. I'll talk more about the DM later. When summer comes, all the kids and families like to come and eat. It's our busiest season. With only one cook, 2 servers and me, we were expected to run the store successfully. It was very hard to do so with so little staffing. I discussed the situation with my manager and the DM and they both shrugged it off like it was not important. Now let's talk about my paycheck issue. First of all I was barely making any money and my GM and DM both said that due to bad sales our regular quarterly raises would not be in effect, which was bullshit. The GM and DM said that so there bonuses would be bigger. But back to my paycheck, each week I was working about 50 to 60 hours, but I was only paid me for 40. When I asked my manager why my overtime was not included, the answer was "I couldn't pay your overtime because my numbers are too high." He was ripping me off to make his numbers look good and so the DM wouldn't question why I was here all the time. The reason why I was here every day working was because the GM was never here. So I quit. The GM still owes me 50 hours in overtime pay. I think that I will never see that money because the GM has refused to pay it and the HR people are even more retarded then the GM and DM together. Nice corporate culture. The final straw was the fact that the GM left me to run the store as a manager with two servers and a cook to handle a busy Saturday breakfast and lunch rush. It was a nightmare. We struggled and gave the worst service. All the employees were angry because the GM was scheduled to work and simply decided to no show up. I called him after my shift and tried to explain to him what happened. He said, "I don't want to hear it, I just don't!" and hung up!!! I called the DM and he didn't even pick up his phone. I was scheduled to work on that Sunday but I was too pissed. I felt that if the GM could pull shit like that, then I could too. So that Sunday I did a no call no show, just like that the GM has done many times and when I finally talked to him on Monday about what happened he proceeded to tell me that he did not want to listen to what I had to say and that because I did a no call no show (which many other employees have done) that it was best that I quit. At that point I already wanted to quit. The GM said he expected more from me. When I called the DM to get some guidance from him, but all I got was rudeness. He was yelling at me and saying that what I did was unacceptable (the GM does it all the time none the less). I told him that the GM was scheduled and he never showed up and the DM yelled that it was none of my business what the GM was doing! I think it is everyone's business to know what the GM is doing and where he is at all times. So overall what I have is two lousy managers who didn't want to hear my side of the story. But the best part was that an employee told me that the GM and the DM were making fun of me, calling me names and telling employees that "it is just one less *@#&+^* that we have to deal with". I have gone to HR to find answers and relief but like I said they are just as bad as the GM and the DM. My final step was to take legal action for my unpaid wages, harassment, and making the workplace a hostile environment. I was forced to quit due to mistreatment. Everything is still in the works, but this is one case that I will win due to the large amount of evidence I have put together. The employees will back me on the issues that I have written. All the employees have been victims of the GM and the DM and it is time that we take a stand.
It Wasn't Just a Cultural Difference at Korean Air
Your best bet is to not be a white American male to work at Korean Air. The culture is definitely different. For example, when I asked the receptionist (a young Korean gal how to say hello in Korean and a few other words such as thank you and other simple questions) her answer was: Why don't you learn on your own time. The boss (a 30 something guy who was making his debut to America) seemed to think that bossing Americans around and being rude to them was just normal. Unfortunately, in the Korean Culture it is normal. Another example, when I yawned (with hand over mouth) he yelled at me and told me to leave his office. I was then required to write a letter of apology. He wanted to fire me if we didn't make our quota. It was a ridiculous quota that increased by millions from the previous year with less budget and inventory to work with. My expense account was always under review, but in the way you might think. I was told I did not spend enough and should take anyone out to lunch. When l my expense account was later reduced, I found out he was shifting the money from my account to buy his own personal items. He even falsified an expense account report to the tune of $2000, showing a travel agency function dinner that never happened. When I reported this fraud to headquarters in Los Angeles, I was informed that is was not my place to talk about my boss or to report him. Just, so you don't think this American white guy is prejudiced, I also have experience working for the Thai's---a very different culture where people in general are polite and employers are helpful. How did I stick up for myself? I found another job.
Engineering Company in Florida
This company manufactures products for the railroad industry (end of train devices). Since working for this company a number of years, I've seen our medical insurance plans change numerous times. Our human resource department is run by the president's daughter in law. She is rarely in the office and doesnt seem to care about the employees. In my opinion, our upper management stinks and thats why over 60 percent of the employees are looking for another job.
I'm Crumbling
I was a good hard worker as a Social Worker. My husband got mad last year because I went back to work and began abusing me. I worked all the harder and saved to get away from him, which I did. I still suffered nightmares alot of the time--feeling high and happy one day or more and then feeling depressed. I still was performing and was even employee of the month for May. I went to the doctor and found I was bi-polar and began to take meds. I kept it a secret. I made the stupid mistake of confiding in a co-worker about it and the next thing I knew I was written up for something I did not even do. Then I was fired. I have never ever been fired. So basically I am living off of my credit cards and cannot find another job. My question is this? Should I proceed and do I have enough validty to have a lawsuit?
MM's answer: Based on what you've relayed in this brief account, it seems that you do. You should definitely talk to an attorney.
Where To Start?
I left the Gulf area after Hurricane Katrina and was 'lucky' enough to land a full time position three weeks after arriving in the Metro Atlanta area. I truly wish I had not taken this job. From day one I have been sabotaged by co-workers, had malicious gossip spread about me, had the business unit manager tell me I should bake the 'team' cookies to endear myself to them. Once the manager got to know me, he depended on me completely and I ended up running a mini-team handling our three biggest accounts. I wasn't making more than 11.25 an hour, but I really loved my work, and was able to stay low on the radar for the most part. My boss' boss even came to depend on me, although he would routinely leave my name off the group emails, and would always ask members of my team for information, acting surprised when they would remind him I was the team lead. The first year and a half of this job I was trying to get things I lost in the hurricane replaced, trying to feel safe when the wind and rain blew across the windows of the little trailer I've rented, trying to scrape together enough money to tag and title my car, and put together enough money to weather the next crisis.
In May I was asked to transfer to another department related closely to the one I was in, and after talking with my boss, I went to the new job. Only to face the same kind of silliness from my new co-workers-only this time the better my new boss got to know me, the more perilous my job security has become until now all of our jobs are in peril. My boss is so ineffectual Accounting is openly taking over; after talking with my boss with her permission yesterday I appealed to our mutual boss asking him who I am supposed to report to.
Today I was taken into a private area by the VP of Accounting and told if I ever went to my boss again for clarification on who my boss is, I would have a problem with him, and he could cause me some very serious problems, he said. He was quite rough and frankly, I felt threatened. He was not at all interested in anything I had to say. He interrupted me repeatedly, continuing to tell me that he would send one of his team down to help me with my work. He asked me what was taking so long and I tried to tell me him that the constant interruptions (him and his team, mostly) some legitimate and some not were the problem, although I was also taking so long because there simply is so much that goes into the task, and unfortunately it is a one person task. Next breath he was telling me that he was just trying to make sure I was not interrupted from doing my work, and that he would see to it that I was not interrupted again from accomplishing a deadline task that he'd repeatedly interrupted, and that he really felt this woman from Accounting could help me. The trouble is this woman doesn't listen to anything, and has irritated clients before. I was not feeling very well this morning, so I told this VP from Accounting that his preferred helper is a good part of the problem.
Accounting is on us because of my boss. She is a dear little fluffy blond we all call Blondie, one of the fluttery 'Street Car Named Desire' Blanche Dubois types who is really a feral alley cat in disguise. Once she figured out I could do the job she struggled with until being Peter Principled into her new position, she decided to tell people in the building what a trial I was to her, disrespectful (please. I am 51, and she is 63), incompetent, and a trouble maker. I guess I am a troublemaker; I try to follow the security rules our parent company is very strict about,and instead of getting with the program, Blondie has now brought an audit down on us with HER incompetency. The files I am now responsible for had been un-locked for years, and had not been updated for years, either. Client contact information was simply not there, nor were the details I needed to take care of their accounts. Purchase orders had been hard-coded so that the formulas were not functional, and we'd lost thousands due to her inability and unwillingness to learn Excel. Her emailed memos often are forwarded to people she also has in the CC line; she write English about as well as she speaks it, and it is no wonder our clients saw me as a breath of fresh air. She gossips about team members to other team members, and cuts people out of information they need to do their job; she spends so much time covering her and her pets mistakes that we are constantly behind-and most importantly, look like something fishy is going on. I tucked in and built a good database of information, updated all of the files, have a good relationship with all of my clients, have recovered most of the money my new boss lost our company while she was in my current position, and had just got to a point where I was feeling pretty good about what I was doing inspite of the 'team mate' diapointments. We were transitioned to a new intranet system and email provider; my boss could not get into the system for over a month--it infuriated her that I was able to get in and she couldn't. Once again, she was sabotaging my work, and spreading gossip. That's when Accounting stepped in. They just showed up and started issuing orders while she stood there taking the path ofleast resistance. Now things have escalated to the point where she went home sick today, and I followed about an hour later. Two hours later one of my co-workers called me and told me they have got Security to unlock my desk and file cabinets so they could use my reports to finish the deadline task I was working on. I've called HR and left a message that I want to file a complaint against the VP of Accounting. I think I am going to lose my job, and if I do, I will be homeless.
Why try to be a good employee?? I had a feeling I should look for another job--but I have no money saved (who can save money on the now 12.15 before taxes I make), no family or friends, and the job market here is so slim for someone without current car tags--I make just enough to keep car insurance on it, but not enough to get it titled. I was hoping to last another year or two until I had more of a resume (I was a home maker until my divorce) and some money saved. Oh merry, merry christmas and a happy, happy new year, thanks to my idiot boss who brought this down on all of our heads!
BANK OF AMERICA: WORST PLACE TO WORK
I worked for Bank of America for approximately 1 year. After exceptional employee performance reviews I was terminated for making a complaint about an atm machine. For about 1 week our building's atm machine was not working. I called the associate banking department to advise them of the situation since I was trying to deposit money all week and had bills to pay. Several of which I had mailed already one morning (mailbox right outside the bldg walk 5 feet through the door and there is the atm) but every time I went back to the atm there was a sign saying be back at 5pm, will be fixed in am, coming back at 3pm...etc. After the second day of this non-sense I felt I should be proactive and let someone know what was going on in case one of my bills was presented for payment. I called the associate banking department. Not only did they accuse me of floating checks (which is not the case) they were totally rude, refused to let me talk to someone of authority, and sat there in silence for almost 5 minutes until I requested to be transferred to the survey in which we can overall rate our satisfaction of the call. Finally when I asked for the survey they transferred me to a manager. (obviously because they knew that what they had done was totally unprofessional) When I talked to the manager she was very nice and just told me to go to a banking center...(as if I didn't know what to do at that point..seriously) regardless I still asked to be transferred to the survey. When I got back to my desk and told my manager what had happened his reply was "those bastards"! Two days later my manager and the VP of the department said I was being terminated for using profanity with the associate banking department and the manager. I tried to explain again what had happened and was told not to go any further that this was done and over with!!! My manager didn't say one word about how I told her what had happened. I told them I wanted proof of this because they monitor their calls in this department. They couldn't provide any proof of course ( because I never acted this way and there was no tape of the conversation) the kicker is that my manager brought me to her cubicle three days earlier for an employee review. She told me that I actually exceeded expectations when it came to interacting with other departments. BANK OF AMERICA IS A JOKE. THEY SCREW YOU WHEN YOU ARE A CUSTOMER AND AN EMPLOYEE!
I'm Being Shuffled Out
One of the head bosses of our company in upper management approached me today saying he needed me to sign a paper. I asked him what it was and he just asked me to read it. On the first line I read, "Jody, this is your second written notice of tardiness..." I stopped right there and asked him when my first notice was. He replied that he had it in his files and would gladly put it in my mailbox and we could discuss it before he left for the day, so I signed it thinking it was a mistake, since I've never been written up for tardiness in the past 4 years.
I was out on the dock and saw him in the break room (where our mailboxes are located), so I made a beeline to him since I knew this had to be an incredible misunderstanding. He quickly got out of the office and out of the parking lot before we had any chance to speak. Upon reading the copies of what I had just signed and the one he said I had signed 3 months ago I noticed that I had never seen the previous paper, that it was his own copy of a verbal warning that he had kept on file, and that he had forged my signature.
There are other noticeable changes going on within the company with certain family members that are all very close coming into positions that I hold now, and I'm thinking that they are just wanting me out for personal reasons. I've slaved there for almost 4 years doing whatever it takes when they need it and at times they were there for me but now they are nitpicking about 2 to 5 minutes a few times a month. I have been asked to stay late to make sure they are taken care, which equals hours not minutes and there have been many times that I've covered for my boss at the last minute. I've put in 12 to 13 hour days holding all of the responsibilities of a supervisor without the pay. Whether I have my kids that weekend or not, I do it, no questions asked. Now they are seeking to terminate me, forging my signature, and blowing all the wrong things out of proportion. Can you help me?
Hospice With No Heart
I work for a Hospice in PA. The Administrator and head of clinical are a nightmare, they accept no responsiblity or accountability for their actions. Neither have a hospice background, emotional intelligence, common sense, oh and they cannot manage either.
They blame staff for anything that goes wrong. One lies and the other backs her up. They prevent staff from providing decent care by constantly coming up with stupid ways to deliver the least amount of care for the most profit. They engage in shady practices that have freaked out the staff...we are licensed professionals that aren't willing to risk our livelihoods & licenses due to the actions of these imcompetent clowns. The staff is ready to walk out (which is nothing new, our turn over is atrocious).
Staff brought their concerns to corporate and they sent HR down and listened to the staff concerns and they acted like they cared...but did nothing which didn't surprise us. All it did was tell them what to fix. As long as money is being made, they could care less. The administrator is narcissistic & abusive, and the head of clinical is imcompetent and way over her head and can't string together a grammatically correct sentence. It is amazing to watch these two in action. If ever there were subjects for a case study in mis-management: this is IT! Their management "style" is to blame employees, demean and minimize any concerns, pit employees against each other and lie, lie, lie. They will push out any clinically competent nurse and keep a slacker-impaired nurse, go figure. Well, a price has to be paid because a complaint was made to the PA State Dept of Health. The state came for a day to review charts...and guess the complaint was legit because they are coming back to do a full blown survey. We are about to implode.
The fun keeps coming because other calls have been made to government agencies...and we guess they will be knocking on the door in the very near future. It is sad that these two morons have been allowed to demoralize, abuse and push out good people. We may all be out of a job soon, but it sure will be fun to see these two morons go insane trying to deal with these government agencies. They will apply the usual tactics of diversion, bullshit and blame that corporate seems to buy...but that doesn't work on state surveyors. Why the corporation allowed this to happen is a mystery. They talk about ethics and quality care but it is just that, talk, and talk is cheap.
Beware of a hospice that is owned by a large for profit corporation. The only people that benefit are stockholders. The fact that these two jerks think it is okay to allow a patient to suffer pain for six days because a slacker nurse cannot manage symptoms: criminal. That is what happens within a management malpractice hospice.
What Contract?
Management at the business I work for is known for disregarding the union contract. Why not? The union won't fight with them. So we have managers that don't care and a union with no guts whose only function is to collect dues which by the way have increased this year. We lose and it's beginning to show. No question it's only going to get worse. We need to strategically pick a day and everybody who has any guts walks out. The company would be paralyzed so it would either have to settle or go out of business. Of course nobody has the guts to do it.
Work Horse
I've been at my job for 5 years and the work load is enormous, I work as a marketing coordinator for a major healthcare company. My boss hired me to support him with project production. He has been severely abusive emotionally and verbally. I have been going through therapy and have been making a lot of changes in my personal growth and my eyes are now open to how inappropriate he has been. Today was the last straw.
I asked him about a month ago if he would approve overtime for me and he never responded back to me about it. I dropped a giant load of invoices on his desk of all the work I did and he asked me if they had been input into the system and I told him I didn't have time, I am willing to do the job but I really need overtime or more help, I'm behind. He said "These need to get into system, this is your job and you have to do it". I said I haven't been able to with all the deadlines. He said "If you don't do it then I will find someone who can." I said fine go ahead and find someone, he handed the invoice back and said "Give me a date when you can have them done." I stood there stunned. I said what date do you expect this to be done? He said next Friday, if you don't have them in the system by next friday I am writing you up.
The kicker is he just got promoted to "Director" and when I went into his office to review a job, he was looking online at a website and said "Look, it's Abbey Road in London, I want to see who's going to cross the street". I am furious! My girlfriend who is a therapist said to write a professional letter to our big boss and let her know that I was threatened and am distressed about a write up and feel that it was inappropriate behavior and I was disappointed in the lack of support from my boss. One thing I know I don't want to do is to run and find another job to try to stick it to him, there is no way they will be able to train someone to do all the work I do! Again to make matters worse, my review is due next week!! Please give me your feedback! Signed distressed but hopeful.
Everyone Told Me That I Should Write A Book - So I Did!
I am no Deming or Drucker. I have no Ph.D., have conducted no scholary research or gathered statistics. My opinions are drawn from over thirty years in middle management. I am neither executive, consultant, nor belong to any elite institutions. I am, however, passionate about my views. Several years ago I wrote a book on the subject of bad bosses, workplace culture and employee morale. I believe that it is as relevant today as it was then. The point of my book is that employee morale is directly linked to the interaction of employees with line managers who are charged with executing the policies and strategies of companies.
Unfortunately, many of these managers subvert the good intentions of the organization to meet their own personal goals and agendas at the expense of their peers and subordinates. This management subculture is the result of a corporate culture of ignorance, indifference and excuse. Better corporate level leadership is the key.
The title of my book is 160 Degrees of Deviation: The Case for the Corporate Cynic. Many so-called management consultants and the like seem to share a common disdain for these views as well as the retelling of my personal experiences and observations in the book. You would not believe the negative reviews and comments that I've received from these characters. It would seem as though I were the problem. Why couldn't I just get along with these ego-maniac bosses? What makes me think that I'm smarter than they are? Why am I so negative? How dare I point out these observations? What did I do to make the world a better place? Why didn't I take responsibility for my career development and happiness instead of blaming "the system" and the jerks who run it? I am just another disgruntled employee who doesn't understand.
Phew, I'm glad that I penned the book under a pseudonym. The point is that I did take responsibility for my career and my happiness. I just happened to write a book about what happened along the way and my observations and opinions on how it could have been better. Strangely though, normal literary reviewers seem to enjoy the book and I even received a rave review on Amazon from one of their cadre of reviewers. What gives with these management "gurus"? Are they so locked into the corporate system that they cannot stomach another point of view? Well so be it! I will continue to be a voice in the wilderness. Perhaps that voice is beginning to gain some strength.
Hold on about ten minutes, you can write my newborn up, too!
Thankfully, I don't work in what is known as the "Hellhole" anymore; I fought tooth and nail for the promotion to a tech job I'd been passed over for, time and time again, despite being the top qualified candidate. I could tell some horror stories about my own experiences in the call center for the leading telephone company, but the one I heard this afternoon from an engineer took the cake.
A young woman, seven months pregnant, had been denied time off to see her doctor again and again, despite having complications in her pregnancy. Unless an employee is specifically covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, no illness or disability is excused, regardless of severity. Since she had been there just six months (everyone knows to hide pregnancies if newly hired, for as long as possible), she was not covered under FMLA.
She began hemmorhaging at work, and closed her line to ask permission to go to the emergency room. Very abruptly she was told by her supervisor that if she left work to go to the emergency room, she would be written up, threatening her job. She begged for permission to take a vacation day, or any other 'permissable' absence, but was harshly told that if she walked out that door, to expect to be 'written up' and to be placed on an accelerated "step plan", which is a draconian "absence punishment process."
The supervisors didn't even offer to call an ambulance, let alone take her to the emergency room, with her doubled over in agony, hemmorhaging and terrified she would lose her baby. She had to slowly and painfully walk out, through the parking lot, alone.
One of our other technicians saw her, and asked what was wrong, and she told him she was hemmorhaging, and she was going to drive herself to the hospital. He insisted on taking her himself on his own time, and when they got to the emergency room they took her straight to labor and delivery in an effort to stop the bleeding and contractions.
She couldn't risk being admitted, and lose her job, so despite her doctor's orders of bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, she went to work the very next day. The same supervisor told her it didn't matter she came back the next day, she was "written up" anyway.
When she presented her doctor's note stating she needed strict bed rest with her feet elevated for the rest of the pregnancy, she was denied this. The company "medical review" department, which doesn't even see the patient, simply has someone presumably with some type of medical familiarity, maybe a nurse's aide, look at the person's file and doctor's notes, and determine whether to accept the doctor's recommendation or to overrule the doctor entirely.
So she was informed she could come to work and they'd find some kind of work she could do sitting down with her feet elevated...like filing, and so on. As if that didn't require getting up, walking, bending, carrying, and so on.
Haven't heard how it came out. Hopefully our union can find someone in management with a tiny bit of compassion, to do the right thing.
I am so glad to be out of there.
Abusive Management Practices
Company demanded that employees not expose the flaws in its software in order to win business. Employee did not comply and was terminated.
Disgusted
After originally being hired by a major phone company, another leading phone company bought us out. I should have quit. The new company forced us into the most useless and worst-rated union by many. No one in my call center voted for it yet they came in and started taking money from our paychecks.
This new company has no appreciation for their call center employees. They under-pay and group all of us into one job title that is very low in pay on the union scale. Prior to going into the union, the new company failed to give employees their yearly review and raise based upon performance saying that the union pay scale would be our raise. So employees that just got hired would be paid the same as employees that had been there up to 2 years.
Also all of our business customers where forced to move to the new company and the electronic billing system from the bought-out company was not upgraded causing business clients many issues with electronic billing, making it nearly impossible for them to pay invoices in the millions of dollars. This is completely unprofessional and many business customers are leaving for other carriers.
I am disgusted and ashamed that I work for this organization. I don't feel valued as an employee and feel like they just don't care whether I'm here or not.
Cop-out
A well know construction products company has been making significant layoffs at one of its major plants by targeting the "over 40” crowd. Management inspires fear among the rank and file while keeping the press at bay. They eliminate jobs and identify performance issues to justify firings. It started a year ago and continues at a rate of roughly 3-10 people per week. Every industry experiences downturns, but malpracticing management when times get tough is not only a sign of weakness but a cop-out. Such practices continue destroying trust and confidence long after the downturn is over.
Hell on Earth
I have been working at a director level position with a large company for the past three years. Before that I worked for another company in the same industry for six years. I have a BA in Psychology and an MBA in Marketing. I can do my job in 3 to 4 hours a day but I have to sit in my office for 10 hours a day for the sake of appearances and the possibility that I may be needed. The fact is I don't need to be there for 10 hours a day pretending to be productive and engaged in my work. The people who report to me can always reach me by phone or email (I have a Blackberry like everyone else) at any hour of the day or night. Everyone in my group travels about 25% of the time, thankfully it gets us out of the office, but the rest of the time is a nightmare. We have turned our organization into a prison in the name of equality and uniform employment practices. But people aren't the same, none of us are. Some people need 10 hours to get their work done, others need 6 hours, some may need 20 hours, I need 3 or 4. Why should I be punished for being more productive and results-oriented? The insanity of our management practices, even in this age of so-called enlightened leadership and management principles, never ceases to amaze me. It actually makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it. Give me another year and I'm out of this hell hole for good.
Abuse & Manipulation & Deception
Management whether private or public needs to be flushed out for unethical behavior. Senator Lieberman said it right that an Office for Integrity would be a great strategy to identify leadership at all levels that abuse the justice system and others into satisfying personal vendettas when these unethical leaders choose to retaliate. Inappropriate behavior needs to be exposed by the community. Businesses will cease to engage with unethical leaders who hide behind masks.
40%
I have been an employee at this company for approximately three years. Our crew consists of seven employees assigned to perform specific tasks. But, in reality me and three of my fellow associates do all the work. The four of us decided to confront our manager to resolve the workload imbalance. We were simply shocked when our manager stated that every company is like that. Some people do all the work while others just cruise along. We debated with him. Our manager responded that when an employee is only perfoming at 40% of his capability he would address it. His last parting words were if we did not like it to find another job. He then proceeded to assign the three other workers to an early morning shift with better pay. On top of that he even took them to a sporting event commending them on their work performance. Talk about management malpractice. Wow ... so how was your day at work?
Canned For What?
I worked as a store manager for a phone company for exactly 1 year before being fired, ostensibly, for sales performance and failure to meet PIP requirements. The GM who fired me replaced the one who hired me 6 months into my tenure. During my time with the company, I had turned around performance in my store in several categories: 65% year-over-year activations increase; 270% increase in sales through referrals; and 80% increase in teleprospecting performance, numbers I sustained until being fired.
Two months after the new GM was hired, he conducted a sales manager meeting for our market. He distributed a handout outlining his plans for the district, which was read aloud to the attendees. On the page about my store was the plan to "replace store manager." I was needless to say humiliated and embarrassed in front of my peers. The GM called me up during a break and made the lame excuse that the statement was a misprint and that he may move me to manage another store. I bought his lie (biggest professional mistake I've ever made.) Two months later he placed me on a PIP saying my store had not attained a high enough percentage of quota and to email him every day with previous day's sales (which I did) and plans for that day and to call him personally with the same info (voicemails I left him went unanswered).
Sure enough, I was fired a month later. The GM quit 2 weeks after he fired me. I just requested and received a copy of my personnel file from corporate and suspect my file was papered by him or the company's very unethical HR person. I truly detest this man and his superiors who signed off on the desicion to fire me.
Inside A California-based Phone Company
Illegal people are hired. Trying to move operations outside the country. Termination of excellent workers because they have different perceptions or ideas, immediately walked out. People are not given second chances. Weird atmosphere, poor information available.
Investor works in the company and is heavy handed with employees. Excellent employees yelled at on a daily basis.
Any person that does stand up and speak their mind is immediately terminated. Personal views can not be expressed even outside of the workplace. Most people have learned that have lasted for two or more years to keep their mouths shut. The worst is pretending you like being there and you are happy to keep your job. The people who come in that are the brightest and kindest are gone the fastest. The worker bees are kept in the dark as terminations are not discussed. The management holds regular give aways for these employees with candy and food to create a false reality for these people. They do write up people on a regular basis as well to keep them in line.
When Bad Management Happens to Good People
I worked for a major retail company for two and a half years as a copywriter for their e-commerce department. The VP of the department was the owner's grandson—nepotism at its finest. He was incompetent, spineless, and had no leadership or people skills. He was a very poor communicator and after his meetings one was left with the feeling of "Okay, what the hell is it I'm supposed to do now?” His cowardice and complete fear of interacting with employees left him open to people who essentially positioned themselves next to him in order to improve their position in the company.
A prime example of this was my supervisor who was only supposed to be the copyeditor, but pretty much delegated himself as manager of everything. He constantly poked his nose in issues that weren't really any of his concern, belittled and picked on employees he didn't like, and positioned himself so that all issues would have to go through him in order to secure his role in the company. Whenever anyone would try to put forth an idea he would make sure to point out any negative aspect of it and come up with any excuse on why it couldn't work. The truth of the matter was he delegated as much of his work to other people as possible, and spent the majority of his time smoking cigarettes and gossiping/schmoozing. How was he able to get away with this? Because he was a first class b.s.-er and his constant sucking up to the VP, people who worked in HR, and anyone else important ensured that everyone knew how hard he worked. Outside of the people who actually worked with him, everyone thought he was a super guy.
The VP being the naive idiot he was trusted him and depended on him to essentially be his eyes and ears. Even though people constantly complained about him and were constantly fighting with him the VP completely ignored it. This work structure created frustration and led to a very negative work environment. It was understood that you were dispensable. If you were unhappy, or threatened
to quit, the VP would either run to my supervisor for "advice" or shrug his shoulders, indifferently bid you good luck, and shift your responsibilities to some other poor schmuck, who was probably doing more than their fair share of workload anyway.
Needless to say their site hasn't really been doing that great, and half the people including myself have left. My advice to anyone in a similar situation is too look for a better opportunity and get out as fast as you can—don't waste your time working hard for a company that in the end doesn't value your contribution and can't recognize when they have good employees.
Is This Normal Practice?
My company TALKS about open communication, but there are some things we have been instructed NOT to put into email. Is this normal practice?
Craig's Response: As both public and private business enterprises move closer and closer to full transparency of operations, employees must recognize that their internal email communications will be open to scrutiny by customers, competitors, suppliers, shareholders and other interested parties.
The Sick Clique
I work in a 4-star hotel that is suffering because of a front office clique. It consists mainly of middle-aged women who line up against just about any man hired. Now I know how women who are discriminated against feel! They tend to dress, talk, and act the same. If you enter a room they stop talking and stare at you. They use a disapproving look that resembles someone holding a small turd under their nose. If another woman outside of the clique is nice enough to say hi, clique members simultaneously will turn their backs to you. They openly brag about having a series of male managers and employees fired, yet wonder why one of them isn't made general manager!
After dealing with this crap for eight months, I got hired by an outside firm that handles conference technology for the hotel. Now they have to pretty much do as I ask, and hate doing so no matter how polite I am. Lately, one was written up after being overheard to say "why do we have to listen to f@#%$^' guys". I escaped alright, but am looking to transfer to another property. This clique is sick and the senior managers are too afraid of them to fix it!
Corruption
A human resources staffing company in the Eastern U.S. has a CEO who has been abusing his leadership power since 2004. He is forcing himself onto one of his executives and has been since 2004. Also, he used his influence and power to have her partner's SUV tagged at Mercedes-Benz of Huntington. Finally, he embezzled funds and then bought new computers to hide the illegal transactions, including his affairs.
My Boss from Hell
I worked for an event planning company in McKinney, TX for a year and a half. The owner of the company does not know how to run a business. She is most likely bi-polar and she will lie right to your face. Here is a synopsis of my time there.
For the first 3 months I felt like I did nothing. What I did do was wrong because she did not explain it right. I finally got to work with clients which I had no introduction to, it was here are your clients. I was accused of telling clients things that I never said. When I spoke out at a staff meeting I was writen up for having a negative attitude. Over a holiday weekend I kept the admin assistant to help me out. Everyone in the office left early but the admin and I stayed and worked. I sent an email explaining that I asked the admin to stay and help me and she sent me an email back that said how dare you keep her, I thought your schedule was clear, don't ever do that again.
Needless to say I was livid and almost quit on the spot but read this email the day I was going on vacation. My first two days of vacation were ruined by the stress of how she treated me. She later appologized in an email saying she had the wrong date. Beyond this, she was hardly ever available, no mentoring, no help, no guidance, and psychotic behaviors. Those are just a few examples I can remember. I started out working with 5 clients and when I got laid off I was down to 1 and he is leaving because I am no longer there. You would think that would wake her up.
Deception as a Work Ethic
The company (a financial printing company) I work for has to be the worst company in the world to work for. Their staff lies to colleagues and then lies about them. Their management is absent and allows this to go on. This company, if challenged, spends a great deal of energy defaming the character of the person they do not like to the community outside the work place.
Case Against a Major Technology Corporation
Excerpts from England and Wales High Court proceedings between Mrs. D (the claimant) & a major technology corporation (the defendant):
Mrs. D was employed by the defendant. In June 2001 she suffered a breakdown. She now suffers from a longstanding and chronic depression. The fundamental issue on liability is whether that breakdown in her mental health and her depression were caused by the negligence of the defendant. Her primary case is that by the end of December 2000 or the beginning of January 2001 the defendant ought reasonably to have foreseen that there was a real risk of such a breakdown.
Mrs. D basically puts forward two connected elements as leading to stress and her breakdown. First, reporting lines in her job were confused. There was a problem of priorities between the demands made on her by different managers. Second, she was provided with insufficient assistance. She had to work excessive hours to get the job done. She alleges that her history of postnatal depression was relevant. It made her more vulnerable to a breakdown. Her managers at the corporation knew of it. They should have taken it into account. That apart, the managers knew or ought to have known of the real risk of a breakdown given what she said and did in the period leading up to it.
Totally Frustrated
I have a boss who takes credit for all the positive stuff that happens in our division but blames everyone but himself when things go wrong. He has developed a superb ability to fend for himself but rarely stands up for his people. None of his direct reports, of which I am one, likes working for him. All of us are looking, passively or aggressively, for alternatives inside or outside the company. He is brilliant technically but a complete fool when it comes to dealing with people. Yeah, yeah, I know, we've all heard this sad tale a thousands times, but I'm living it and, let me tell you, it's not worth living this way. The worst is that we've all tried to stand up to him by providing detailed feedback to help him become a better manager of people, but he never really listens. He appears to listen in the moment, and you think you've made some progress until the same old patterns of self-protectionism, disrespect and mistrust emerge once again. He doesn't respect and trust us, so we can never respect and trust him. I'll be working for a new boss or a new company within six months, that's my resolve. Someday, I'd like to work for a company that openly discusses and addresses such issues. That's the kind of work environment I'm looking for.
Forceful Retirement
This story is not only about me but this is about more than 350 employees who work with a leading newspaper company in India. Management at this newspaper company are forcefully giving VRC (voluntary retirement) to more than 350 regular employees who have been working there for years now and if someone denied to accept their offer in that case they won't give that person work and salary.
Deceived
I've worked for my employer for over 3 years. I'm a medical transcriptionist for a large outpatient radiology office. The problem starts with a woman who started working there one week after I did and she has somehow managed to worm her way into position of "best friend" of the supervisor. The favoritism is horrendous. The supervisor goes out each day and buys this woman lunch and then sneaks it into the office, right under the noses of all the other employees and the two proceed to sit in the supervisor's office and giggle and gossip right in our faces. This woman gets unlimited overtime and is allowed to make up any appointment time whereas the rest of us get no OT offered and have to use our PTO hours for appointments or any other partial days off from work. I approached the supervisor about this and she said "Oh, she's just coming in early to help me with paperwork and she's not punching in or getting paid for that time." I've personally seen this woman punch the time clock more than an hour before her scheduled start time and sits right down at her desk and starts transcribing...not doing paperwork. For more than a year the IS dept. has told us that they don't have the capability to set us up to work from home and that the doctors don't want us at home. A few weeks ago the "pet" suddenly went home and the supervisor informed the whole dept. that the woman was sick. Two hours later, through a complete coincidence, I saw that the pet wasn't sick at all, but had gone home to work! Many of us were outraged and went to the supervisor's boss about it. Her exact words were "you can't prove anything", when in fact we could and had written proof from the computer. We then brought the issue to the president of the board of the company who basically told us that the supervisor has the authority to do anything she wants regarding staffing as long as it's within the dept. budget. They all have each other's backs in this entire web of deceit, so there is absolutely nowhere to turn. They all lie, lie, lie. My last day of employment with this company is next Friday! P.S. I'm their top producer and my accuracy is 99% on a consistent basis, but I guess it doesn't matter.
My Unfortunate Luck
I worked in the IT department of a major telecommunications company with a boss that seemed to have an 8th grade education at best, he couldn't spell much less write a business letter. His business staff meeting mainly consisted of his so called "stud" encounters with the prostitutes he picked up on business trips. This man has severe issues with his size and was intimidated by anyone bigger than him. You were disliked right away if you were bigger, better looking or appeared to have some brains. He also tried to use his position to pick up the female employees in the department, some had to tell him more than once that they were married and had no desire to ruin their relationships. To make a long and unprofessional story short, everyone who had the unforunate luck to work for this guy lost their jobs if they didn't agree with him on everything, I saw some very talented people with up to 20 yrs experience thrown out the door because of him.
B Employees are punished for A employee mistakes
The company I work for recently cleared an FDA warning letter and the majority of observations were management issues. The unfortunate part of it is that when the letter was lifted, the A employees who only gave orders received recognition and all the B employees who did the actual work to correct the observations were inappropriately and unfairly evaluated. Keep in mind, that it was heard that upper management instructed management to knock these B people down in their performance evaluations and in some cases employees did not receive a raise or a bonus because their rating dropped to a 3. Taking this one step further, there was recently a credo survey that indicated that my company was amongst the lowest of all companies owned by the same health care giant. Now the question rests on whether management was trying to get even for the credo results, or if this is one of those cases where it appears they redirected the money to the A employees, and those that did the actual work got stepped on. People were evaluated and it appears that the B workers were dropped a level for no apparent reason. This is a great example of how corrupt management has no concern for those B employees that are doing the actual work per the directives of their management and when things turn sour it falls back on these B employees as being the cause.
Recent performance evaluations indicate that a number was first assigned and then it was up to the direct manager to work out the evaluation to achieve this score. It was even noticed for some areas evaluated where one employee was given a 6 rating while another employee was given a 4. OK, you're probably saying that it was probably because of the work that was performed etc., but what I didn't mention was this was for items such as workplace safety covering injuries and accidents. A perfect record is a perfect record and should be scored the same. I failed to mention that my company has been on a hiring frenzy and for every 5 people they hire they seem to lose 2, some of which have been with the health care giant for many years. The recent consensus amongst employees is that my company is either 1) Retaliating for the FDA findings on the B employee. 2) Making life miserable for the long time employees so that they will quit, and in turn the credo results will go up with the hiring of new employees or 3) give the B’s little to nothing so that the A/s can have more.
Bottom line is morale is extremely low, and people are afraid to speak up because they have witnessed the side effects on other employees up to and including termination of employment.
Revolving Doors with Poor Management
I've worked for an advertising company about 2 years. To start, their front door should be revolving doors. They go through employees like water. If management remains constant, but your employee turnover is excessively high, you'd think they'd get a clue? HR shrugs their shoulders without answering. You're told of an open door policy then that same policy gets someone fired. One manager got a dedicated rep fired then the rep tried collecting unemployment, but was told the company reported a resignation, not termination. I had a manager from hell and each time I requested being under a different manager, I'm told I have the choice to make the situation work or quit. That came, not from my manager, but from senior managers. They didn't care how much tension and frustration there was. I was absolutely miserable, sitting in their office with tears. It didn't matter. The frontline employee is just someone they can get rid of if the employee questions their poor management. Anytime teams were shuffled, other employees on my team were switched to other managers' teams. Additionally, there were several employees that threatened to quit if placed on my manager's team!
My manager was condecending, insulting, disrespectful, rude, demeaning and the list goes on. Practically EVERY DAY encompassed dealing with the manager's crap. I went to HR a few times with no positive resolution.
Trying to cope with this manager drove me to seeing a psychologist. I was fired recently over, once again, silly drama by the manager. There was no verbal or written warning, I didn't even have a chance to explain myself. It was a sealed deal by the time I entered the Sr. Manager's office and they refused to consider anything contradictory to their reasons to terminate. When I explained the situation (that got me fired) to other employees, they were blown away by my being terminated and thought it was uncalled for. Not being with this company is bittersweet because I enjoyed my clients, but relieved because I no longer have to deal with the lack of employer support for a non-hostile work environment. Dealing with a horrible work environment is only ONE of many issues this company has.
Something Has Got to Change
Ever since I heard you speak about management malpractice on Relevant Radio, I've been replaying what I would tell you about my boss and how it has affected our elementary school again and again. Because I am so fearful of her wrath, I cannot disclose any of the above information. I'm not even confident enough to trust that this note will be kept confidential. I will tell you this:
No one should be allowed to treat other human beings as she does. When I hear her yelling, burping, yawning, lying and spreading rumors when she talks to others, or see her closed up in her office watching Soaps or filling out her Christmas cards...I often wonder if she realizes what she is doing? She delegates way too many meetings which stir up trouble between the staff because they are all negative. Her one friend in the building has been known as a bully for at least 15 years.
I try to be supportive to the staff, we completed a survey of the administration (there is one excellent one), which the new superintendent disregarded as did the school board. He said that if there was a problem (he's new this year) then they would come tell him about it. (Who has that kind of nerve when feeling unsupported?) The excuses go on and on and on. All we have left is to hope that someday they retire (her husband is a principal in another building with his own horrible past.) The students are suffering. I don't know where else to turn. It's against my character, however, recently I raised my voice when she said something very degrading to me and she walked away mumbling. Maybe that will help for awhile.
Stealing From the Kids
My first real job out of college involved youth counseling in a residential treatment facility. I loved working with the youth and really felt like I was making a positive change in the world.
The company I was working for was a small private organization with state contracts and I was given the opportunity to advance quickly. After several months I was managing the office in one of our group homes. This entailed communicating with case workers, budgeting, keeping accurate residential records for clients, etc. I quickly discovered that the cash designated by the state for each client was often missing in our account - we would go 2-3 months before we would see any money which made it difficult to purchase groceries, clothing, etc for the youth. I was concerned and took the matter to the head accountant, who assured me that it was a problem with the state contract not the company itself. The problem not only continued, but worsened . . . . I was denied my paycheck on several occasions and was eventually laid off. I later found out that one of the owners had been using the state's money for his own personal expenses. I was furious!
It's been several years since I left this company, but they are still in business and the illegal activities I encountered have never been dealt with to my knowledge. In fact, I'm sure the misuse of money is still occuring - the owners are the same. I'm appalled that anyone could rationalize taking from kids who were already struggling - it was wrong of me not to do anything when I was an employee there, I hope this helps to change that!
Empty Promises
Following graduate school, I turned down an offer from a large, prestigious consulting firm to join a small, start-up firm. I have always had entrepreneurial interests, and I viewed the start-up firm as an excellent opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a promising new business. I spent many long days and nights during my time at the start-up firm. I worked hard to build up a client base and obtain repeat business through providing exceptional client service. Each year, at my annual review, the two partners told me that my performance was great and that if I kept up the good work, there would be an opportunity for me to obtain an equity position in the firm in the future. As my success continued over the years, I repeatedly pressed the partners about the equity opportunity. While they were willing to give me raises, bonuses, and even a new BMW to drive, equity was always something to be "discussed further on in the future". After nearly 5 years, I concluded that the partners were just taking advantage of me. I was giving my all for the firm, but they were unwilling to let me earn a part of it (although they seemed happy to hold out the "carrot" of partnership in an attempt to keep me motivated). Frustrated, I finally left and started up my own successful practice.
Conflict of Interest
I recently was a tort litigation paralegal with the number 8 defense firm in my state. When my daughter, age 7, was diagnosed two years ago with spastic cerebral palsy as a result of a doctors poor choices at delivery, the firm branch I worked at assisted me with exploring litigation against the doc. I ultimately hired a premier med mal lawyer who filed suit 6-05. It turns out the doc's insurer is a client of the firm I worked for and the firm fired me two months later. Since the firing they have gone the step further in trying to keep me out of work to "starve us out" to settle this little girl's case "cheap". We will not settle "cheap" as this doc has 5 prior settled lawsuits. We will continue to fight for every penny on behalf of our daughter, a beautiful blonde blue eyed little girl with a great smile.
National Nonprofit Ignores Bad Behavior of Bully Boss (costing Organization over $60,000 in lost revenue so far)
My story is a classic example of a “bully culture”, not just one bully; the organization condones this behavior. The organizational chart is such that the HR department reports to the COO who is my boss's boss, and my boss and the COO went to grad school together. HR does what the COO says so if I am complaining against the COO who do I go to? Her subordinate, the HR director?
I came to this National Nonprofit Organization expecting to receive the same treatment and respect as any other professional I saw working. I was hired to start and run a pilot program. Now, 2 years since the pilot first began, my supervisor and her supervisor are jeopardizing the program; a program that has been declared a success by the State for over two years. This program had a staff retention rate of 100% and received recognition from the department that keeps track of employee recognition. We also received awards in this program for safety. The State contracting agency reported that this pilot played a significant if not direct role in the 90% reduction in special incident reports (these are reports done when a client has to be hospitalized due to a psychiatric breakdown). So, with all that success why was this program, soon to be a model for the state of California, suddenly under attack? I will not discuss why, but I will discuss the results of this two-month bully attack that was racially motivated.
As a result of one person, my supervisor, being allowed to run rampantly unchecked:
1. $22,000 in lost billable revenue in November caused by her decision to basically shut down the pilot for what amounted to a “witch hunt” (NOTE: As of 1-11-05 the lost amount in revenue is $60,000 and counting).
2. Employees calling in sick.
3. Lost revenue in December and January due to this Regional Manager continuing to pursue her discriminatory practices.
4. Two employees on worker’s compensation leaving due to the unbearable working situation and stress it has caused them.
5. One staff, who recently returned from a life-threatening illness, continues to be targeted, over-worked and threatened.
6. The company’s clients have not been the concern of anyone in the organization; the clients are mentally fragile adults whose main vulnerability is relationships with care givers that are constantly changing. My program was able to maintain consistency of relationships because of the staff retention; we were able to make a tremendous positive impact on these individuals’ lives.
7. One of our vendors now has a different, less than positive, view of the leadership due to this Regional Manager calling and deceiving the vendor supervisor and potentially putting a client and their family in harm’s way.
8. Loss of image and integrity in the eyes of staff who have been harassed by this same Regional Manager and who have received only broken promises from other HR staff and the Regional Manager’s boss.
9. Loss of faith in management, the organization and leadership by abused staff who are African American and were treated differently due to their race by this Regional Manager.
On several occasions I have taken the courses prescribed in the Employee Manual by following the chain of command for filing a complaint. Results from doing so only amounted to my receiving more and worse treatment at the hands of my boss and worse torment suffered by my staff.
A few months ago I sent a complaint of Racial Discrimination and harassment against my supervisor to the Director of Human Resources and the CEO.
Two days later, I returned to work after several days of illness. My office was locked, my key unavailable as I had requested and my personal belongings removed from my office. One of my staff came up and told me that my supervisor had told them that she, my supervisor, was now over the program, and that my staff was no longer allowed to talk to me during work hours (this is illegal and amounts to a constructive discharge).
I believe this is clearly an act of illegal retaliation because I made a complaint of racial discrimination and harassment against my supervisor just two days earlier.
The situation is so bad now that I am out and my two staff who were targeted because of me, are also out. The last one remaining of my direct reports called me last night and told me she cannot take my supervisor’s bullying any more and is taking off today under her doctor's advice.
However, because of my constant vigilance in pursuing this matter all the way to the National Headquarters Office, the CEO in my organization finally assigned a legal firm to investigate the whole office and to do a report on what they find.
Abuse of Leadership Power-Lloyd Staffing Corporate HQ
Here's the question: If Martha Stewart can be jailed having
specific knowledge and selling stock, Why not CEO's who are married and have
secret affairs with other Executives? Abuse of Power? Absolutely!!! Some tout
how they are exceptional leaders. I'm sure if you took a poll within the firm
mentioned the answer would be "NO" for Character and values, let's
include morals as well. The employees who have known about his affairs and been
cohersed to silence or else would applaud his exposure, for there are no secrets
on the internet.
How can we respect Leaders who think it there right to have affairs on Company
time and demote those who speak the truth? Time to crack down on these CEOs
and make an example of them as well. Better yet, don't conduct business with
this type of organization where your firm's values don't align with a CEO who
is more concerned about his affairs on company time, parking space, and looking
young or maybe it's a mid-life crisis.
Too much!!
I have been working for this company for almost 3 years. The person I work for is very self absorbed, mixes personal with business. Does not opt to encourage workers, does her hair and nails on company expenses, takes liquor, manipulates the books and offers no care to admin or other employees. She's always on match.com. She is an owner (10% to be exact), and the true owners do not know of what goes on . . . of course she gets management fees.
She never makes time to resolve employee issues professionally, and never sets up employee meetings. It has been almost a year (the handbook states that we have meetings every 3-4 months). She knows how to negotiate business, but the way she manages is really really bad. The company is at an ongoing schedule change (which is expected in the type of industry), so we are always adjusting our schedules to accommodate the industry. WE GIVE A LOT and nowhere near less than 100%.
Her moods are always shifting and I feel as if everyone in the office is constantly walking on egg shells. She lacks integrity and puts certain office workers down for little mistakes (in front of others and never discretely done). There is no open door policy with her and she never allows us (management) to deal with problems or decide a course of action on our own.
She is always skeptical and likes to "research" background checks on the internet. She goes through internet histories when she is retaliating, and tries to pin things on people if they piss her off. After hearing her express bad comments about employees, not acknowledging the company handbook with exception to others, discriminating potential employees in the past, because they have kids and would require a set schedule, and pulling power trips when she is unhappy about her personal life.
I am sick of the mental joy ride. I was propositioned with another job which will fulfill the schedule I so desire not to mention the pay is greater and I'll be working less. I put my two weeks in and now she is holding a personal grudge. I have given a lot of my hard work and involvement in this company. It kinda puts me in shock that she is the way that she is. A few employees have called me at home (I am on vacation) to let me know what is being said and done, without my knowing. I was not actively looking for new work, but someone outside valued my work, which I appreciate. I feel bad because one of the office workers is going on maternity leave in a few weeks. I was suppose to take care of all bookkeeping and accounting while she is gone, but I was offered something that I cannot refuse. I knew she wouldn't be happy with my resignation, but I need to think about my family and my mental well being. I really despise a work environment that is as rocky as the boat we run. Now I hear that she is looking through my files and computer for things that could've violated company policies. That's fine with me as I have nothing to hide, but I can't believe that she is acting as such . . . all because I have a better opportunity somewhere else . . . ! How scandalous some people can be. I certainly will not regret my decision and hope with all my might that she is able to change certain things.
Penalized
I was hired 5 years ago on the basis of not being available to work Saturdays. So after working for 4 years I got pregnant and went on maternity leave. When it was time for my return to work my boss told me I can't have my job back unless I work on Saturdays even though there are other people working there who are not available on Saturdays. Apparently, I am being penalized for having a baby. So I called the Union to have a meeting with my boss about it, but I never got a call back from the Union with the final results. Another employee told me I was scheduled the day I asked to come back. I believe the Union and my boss tried to avoid speaking with me hoping I wouldn't show up for work and take it as a no call no show to fire me. My job likes to fire the people who make the money and hire the minimun wage workers. I am now waiting for some retaliation from the company since they had to put me on the schedule.
Millions squandered
The Dept. of Veteran's Affairs has been developing a sofware application, in-house, by using contractors from EDS for the last four years. The upper management are VA staff. I worked on this project and was amazed at how substandard the code was, and how inefficient and incomplete the application was, after four years and millions of dollars spent. This product manages the blood for all the VA hospitals, so if mistakes are made, people could get sick or die. Due to this, I notified my manager that I thought they were rushing things by trying to release it so quickly, stating my professional (15 years) opinion was that it was substandard and not well tested. She ignored my statement, so I went over her head. The next day I was told by an underling, that the senior management I contacted was not warm to such comments. A week later I was fired without notice, supposedly due to budget problems. But being in contact with staff there still, I find there was no budget issue. They were worried Congress (who funds it) would get wind of this disgrace and waste of funds and axe funding. Most co-workers there take two hour lunches and don't produce much in a given day.
Toxic Boss, but what type?
What hasn't my "boss" done? I've been reading several books & websites on toxic bosses, and I can't even figure out what type she is. The orientation (combination of two workgroups of 15-25 people) was pretty good and the first week or two was okay, but it has been downhill since.
During the second week, she had the co-worker I worked closest with in tears (apparently she had taught her class completely wrong that day). When I went to ask if there were any issues related to how that lesson plan was taught, the coordinator told me that there were no issues and she had only given some suggestions. Then, we all get a list of what was done wrong & what to fix.
Not too long after that, my co-worker got switched to a different assignment & I had the coordinator's favorite instructor to work with (didn't know at the time). This guy berated students in the class, walked out during quizzes/exams, disrespected me & other instructors in front of students, and majorly pissed off students by not being contactable & lying to them--plus they weren't too thrilled with him changing assignments on the day they were due. I went to talk to the coordinator about this guy & I got chewed out royally. She said that it was all cultural sexism (for some reason this is okay by her) and that everything would get better if I was more understanding. She also accused me of "having personal issues" with my other co-worker (I don't think she realizes that we're friends).
Everything is micromanaged to the point that everyone feels that they aren't trusted to do their job. The coordinator also constantly complains that no one can get this or that right, or that people don't appreciate her hard work and (when she appeared to be setting things up to go wrong) are sabotaging her, etc. The few times I've talked her one-on-one (and she wasn't yelling at me), she spent a fair amount of time bragging about the workshops and seminars she's been to. In meetings, she'll go on about how great a certain way she teaches something is, but does a horrible job at giving instructions on how to teach it like that.
She's asked people to ignore unethical things and threatened people not to talk to others in the department about her decisions. The worst part of this is that her husband works pretty high up in the department. Most of my co-workers are afraid to say anything to anyone because of the politics involved. The others all think that she is a great boss and wonder what's wrong with the other half of the group.
No Respect
I worked as a receptionist for a group of orthopedic surgeons. Upon being hired, I was told by the office manager not to approach or speak to the surgeons. I thought this was strange, but complied. None of the surgeons spoke to me either. In fact, they didn't even acknowledge me...even though we worked in very close proximity at times. All of the office staff were female, and it was ridiculous and degrading to watch how each of them, myself included, would run around for these self-important doctors who showed NO signs of appreciation.
I attended a benefits meeting in which our office manager argued that we should excuse the extremely mediocre benefits plan the company provided because the surgeons pay for our lives (meaning they give us the salary that supports our families). Well yes, that's true, they do pay us...but not for doing nothing!!! She acted like their paying us was some amazing, generous thing...a rarity. It was the most offensive, ridiculous speech I have ever heard in a workplace.
Too much work and very bad work environment
Well the IT department of this company really sucks. It's too much work at their Whipanny office. Most of the managers have got no work ethics. Employees generally work for 10 hours and contractors work for 14-16 hours. Even after that they can be fired any point of time. On top of it IT managers apply all bad practices and politics.
Recruiters From Hell
Negotiations for a contract assignment through this recruiter involved 5 of their people, none of whom responded to phone calls or emails in a timely fashion for preinterview information; for examples:
*I was sent an email to go to an interview at a certain time with a buildng number (no city nor street nor company name).
*Recruiter left email the morning of the interview that she was unable to attend our meeting...no recourse.
*Online OFFER (I DID interview with their client) had an hourly wage fully 25% lower than discussed in the in-person interview; it's *Online "letter of acceptance" had a single checkbox indicating I'd agree to all their specifics for the contract, including a start date that ignored my discussed end date for my current assignment...that I'd agree to quit my current assignment with no notice, and two different start dates (a week apart) in their various letters.
*I received an email from a 3rd party asking me to send 3 years worth of pay stubs to a Florida FAX number...I live on the opposite coast and have never worked out of state.
Emails & phone numbers posted online went to answering machines/central routing and were never answered. The recuriter's phone number and email autoreplied she was on vacation for two weeks...in the same afternoon I was sent these online specifics.
A debacle. I sent copies of all email to the "replacement" recruiter, who 2 days later asked for the same info to be sent--after I cc'd the agency on letter I'd sent to the state Atty General.
Assumption of Guilt
I was working overtime on Saturday morning as I ususally did when I left my office to use the restroom and get a drink of water. When returning to my office, I stopped by the receptionist's desk and picked up a magazine for a quick browse. Suddenly, from a hidden corridor, the office managing partner appeared and asked "what are you doing?" Obviously surprised, I put down the magazine and told him what I was working on. I'll never forget how I felt during the next several seconds. He kept looking at me as if I was doing something wrong. He walked over to me and looked down at the People magazine I had picked up from the receptionist desk. I felt like a criminal but I knew that I was completely innocent. The next week I learned that someone had been stealing personal items in the office and realized that I was now a suspect. My relationship with the office managing partner was never the same again. Every time we met from then on, I felt as if he was attempting to stare me down, expecting me to break and confess my wrongdoings. Of course, I had done nothing wrong. I left the firm within six months.
Who Said All The Dinosaurs Perished?!
I worked as an Administrative Asst. to a Sr. VP where my duties were clerical and administrative work as needed by the Estimating Group in order to prepare bids for government contracts. One of my duties was to open all mail and deliver it to the respective parties. Unfortunately the mail frequently included pornographic materials which I was forced to see until I refused to open the mail any longer. The predominately male staff made no bones about the fact that one of the main reasons I was hired was their perception that I was attractive. All employees of the various groups in the company worked very hard to prepare bids and when they were won by the company there was a bell ringing and celebration. All female employees got to stand by in the hallways watching the "boys" leave to party as if nobody but themselves had put any work into the successful bid. After discussing the value of your attire for the day the male workers had the nerve to ask why it seemed the women in the office just didn't seem motivated or excited by the company's successes. Who said all the dinosaurs perished?!
I Got Canned
I worked for the Scenic Motel in Salt Lake City, UT as a front desk clerk while I was an undergraduate student at the University of Utah. It was a pretty basic job and I believe that I was a decent employee. My manager, Judy, really had no problems with me until I got kidney stones. That's when everything changed. She came into the office one day and found me lying on the floor in the fetal position mildly moaning in pain, she was kind enough to let me leave for the day so I could go to the emergency room, but when I made it into my next shift I felt that she treated me differently, even suspiciously.
To my misfortune, and plain and simple bad luck, I almost cut off my finger doing dishes the next Saturday a half hour before I was supposed to arrive for work. I called my manager via cell phone as my wife rushed me to the ER. I was doing all I could do to stop the bleeding and keep the chunk of finger that I cut off attached as I held a deep red stained towel around my pinky finger and secured the phone to my ear against my shoulder. Judy was obviously annoyed and she didn't hide it. I didn't do much explaining, as it was that I was losing blood, but the way she treated me for having the accident made me feel guilty—as if I sliced my finger so that I could miss a day of work.
They quickly stitched me up in the ER, and I made it into work that day (only an hour late) with a giant bandage around my pinky. The bandage actually, menacingly, helped me feel vindicated and justified because Judy was able to see that I had not been faking the whole ordeal. Two weeks went by sans ailment or accident, and then out of nowhere, Judy came up to me with an elusive excuse that they were downsizing and that that day was my last. I was shocked, yet I tried to talk to her with calm and reason, questioning her as to why the short notice, and she uncharacteristically walked away as I was speaking, mid-sentence.
So I was fired. I don't know why, yet I often believe she thinks I was faking the kidney and pinky thing, yet that really could just be part of my imagination and paranoia. Nonetheless, her method of firing me was management malpractice indeed.
Lusty Boss
The head of the public relations company I worked for and my boss constantly leered at women. It was clear to our office's senior staff that his selection of his own administrative assistant was selected more for her looks than skills.
The problem was somewhat tolerable for me until one evening my wife came to the office before we were to go to a black tie political fundraiser. She was dressed beautifully in a black lower-cut long dress. When I came upon the two of them talking my boss's eyes were fixed — not on my wife's eyes but on her chest. The next day he made remarks about my wife that did not reflect her intellect or engaging personality.
Several weeks later I chose to leave the company and my clients went with me.
Army Leadership
I'm a member of the National Guard, and have been Deployed for the past 15 months. It didn't take me long to learn just what an oxymoron "Army Leadership" is. On countless occations I have attempted to voice my opinion about how something should be accomplished, only to be yelled at, and to be accused of being a complaining child. The main problem is that the Army is clear full of inexperienced, unqualified, and uneducated "leaders", who gain advancement not by their skills as a leader, but by their level of physical fitness. You are also not considered to be a real person until you reach a certain level of advancement, which leaves people like me labeled as complaining children, and unable to reach our full potential. The true downside is the fact that in the Army, you are imprisoned by your contract, and are therefore stuck in an environment where you are not allowed to make a difference.
Killjoy
I had been working for J.Crew for a couple of months when a manager was transferred to our store from a much busier store on the West coast. She had been the Store Manager previously, but was only going to be an Associate Manager at our store. From the moment she stepped through the doors, she attempted to control everything. She was power hungry and would step on whomever to get to the top. She stirred the pot amongst managers by spreading gossip. One of our best managers quit due to her antics. She was a busy body and expected all of us to approach work in the same way. She didn't value what we had learned about selling in our market. She only promoted what she had learned about sales, and based our selling goals on numbers that made sense for the busy store she was coming from but that were ridiculous for our store. Yes, high goals/expectations are vital to the growth of an organization, but within reason. Otherwise, all you are left with is discouragement. Her incessant emphasis on sales made it impossible to enjoy work. She sucked all the fun out of the job by disouraging friendships, forcing aggressive selling styles, and looking over our shoulders on everything. Our sales plummetted under her supervision because we weren't having fun anymore and the customers could tell. I left, even after being offered a promotion, after two months of working with her.
Going the extra mile didn’t work
Recently, I spent the weekend with three of my colleagues working on a new method for drying liquid-based catalysts. No one asked us to do this, we just decided to do it ourselves to accelerate the company’s catalyst scale-up efforts without taking time away from other technology development projects. We made little progress during the 40 hours we worked between Friday night and Monday morning, but learned a great deal about what didn’t work, preparing us, we believed, for greater success in the future. Unfortunately, on Monday morning when our supervisor found out how we’d spent our weekend, he told us that we were “stupid to waste our own time and the company’s resources.” He didn’t even listen long enough for us to share what we’d learned in the process. Afterwards, my colleagues and I vowed to never again waste a weekend trying to solve a company problem or accelerate progress on a vital project. Sadly, our desire to innovate has not been the same since. One of my colleagues has already left the company and another one has her resume out. Regrettably, our supervisor still doesn’t have a clue of how and why he killed our motivation, even though we have complained on several occasions about his negativity and control-orientation.
No Matter What the Cost
Over the past 10 years, I have watched my manager steadily increase his
scope of responsibility at the expense of other people. He has a distinct pattern
for doing this. First, he identifies an area of the business that is not being
managed particularly well. Next, he works to expose and embarrass the manager
responsible for the underperforming area (and has no trouble making up untruths
as he does so). Then, he convinces the CEO that he can do a better job than
the incompetent manager and takes over the manager's responsibilities on an
"interim" basis. Finally, he defends his "interim" responsibility
areas from others until they eventually become "permanent". This type
of political behavior has become a joke around the office. Everyone knows that
if you see Jack sniffing around your responsibilities, it's time to beware.
This is what our company tolerates in the interest of "continuous improvement".
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