workplace drama

[palilover 1]

Disclaimer: This is going to be a rant/asking for advice. So read at your own risk:) i'm hoping that maybe someone has maybe gone through this before as all my friends are either still in college and looking for their first job or they are happy at their job with no problems. (I wish if I could say the same right now).

well I've been working at this company for almost 2 years and no problems. No problems with coworkers, clients, or managers. Now all of a sudden in the past month, I'm getting daggers:( Not so much by clients except today I had a rough one. Last week my manager pulls me aside to talk about some cases that I dealt with. All of them (5 in a week and a half) were unhapy with the functionality of the program but rated me 4-5 on courteous service and being capable. (5 is highest mark which is good). One case in particular, the client even wrote on the survey that the tech was persistent and gathered information and even duplicated the issue on her end to find out that the program just did not have the functionality and he was not happy about the functionality issue. he rated me a 5. In another case discussed last week, it was a case of a client wanting to use our program for Firefox as opposed to IE. Firefox is only being supported by us in the past 6 months. No steps to troubleshoot it, but I pretty much gather info for what I need ffrom firefox from google searches or my personal laptop since I have firefox on it. (Company will not give us admin rights for our pc's to install anything, including firefox). The issue that he was having with our pgoram with firefox was one I did not find so I asked second level. Second level tells me it is not supported but I said "No, the team lead told me a few months ago it was supported, but just not preferred". So what does second level say? "We have no steps to troubleshoot firefox so tell him to use IE". Reluctantly, I went back to the client and said "While firefox is supported, it is preferred that you use IE". He gave me a good score but said firefox should be supported. My manager asks me what was up with that and I told him what second level said. What does he do? He ignores the fact that second level did not want to deal with ir assist. he harps on me about customer service and not saying I'm sorry enough. (when remember I got a 5 in courteous service from the client, lol)

TAfter the whole talk last weeek which got nowhere because he would not listen to me and pretty much told me "the customer will always be right above you", he tells me "Dont make this a performance issue." In my mind I was like "A performance issue? For what? People just are not liking what I tell them and it's not my fault what I've been forced to tell them...if the program is not designed to work the way people want it to, why are you saying this to me?"

So today I had a client's caes in the main queue. I sent her an instant message and asked her if she had time to discuss her case. She gives me her phone number so am I wrong to assume she has time to work on the issue she has? Aparently I was. I began to work with her and she was like "I don't have time for this I thought you just wanted to call me to chat." And she went on and on about why I was asking her to do this and that. In order to explain why I needed to do something, I said "This is just some basic troubleshooting we must do". To that, she angrily snaps "I do not have to eb talked to that way. I am not an idiot. And I am going to call someone else to have my problem fixed." And she hung up before I could say anything. Really i was a bit shocked becaues why would she have given me her phone number if she did not want to work on the problem? She knew what I was refferring to when I said "Do you have time to discuss your issue". She could have said call me at this time or whatever and I would have gladly done so.

Not knowing who the client is going to call (she too is a manager) I emailed my manager and told him what had happened. He calls me and says "If she said that to you, you must have said something to her to make her think that." I said no, I was trying to help her because that is what I needed to do." He said "You should be empathetic with her" and I was like "She would not let me be. She hung up before I could apologize and say I was not being condesending in any way". So basically my manager just left me with it's my fault. He did not listen to anything I said and turned it back at me.

Has anyone ever been through this and how should I deal with it? Anyone who has answered phones knows people just sometimes have bad days and yes, people can be mean sometimes. I expect that and am no stranger to that. I don't get offended easily for that. but when a manager is telling you "Don't make this a performance issue" and not listening to what I have to say about things, and especially when I've clearly asked for help in one case and did not get what I was asking for because they did not want to deal with it........

I dont think this is just a bad month. I think it will continue or I'm afraid it will. I'm thinking eventuall he will use this as an excuse to let me go eventually. I hate workplace drama. I just want to go there and get my paycheck and do my job and be nice to people that I work with and deal with. I work 50+ hours a week at this place and I work weekends because no one else will do it.

I have to keep this job for stability til my husband gets back. Or should I begin to look for a job now while I have this one? I need steady income but I'm afraid if I get another job what if it does not work out and ten I certainly wold not be eligible for unemployment I think (my own paranoia at work here). but if I just go as I've been doing and just wait for them to fire me (as I thnk they will evetually since my manager pretty much told me I'm at the losing end of this last week, sure I can get unemployment (for what thats worth, lol) but I have no good job reference when the next employer calls and says "is this person rehirable" and "under what circumstances was this person leaving?" (or whatever q's a prospective employer asks former HR reps when they call for references.

Can anyone tell me which is the lesser of the two evils?

[SaadBell 0]

Wow, sounds like a bad situation; I have been where you are. You have that general vibe that something is off, and no matter how much you work you just can’t seem to please the man. Here are some tips that you can think about to help with this situation;

A difficult boss is a challenge for anyone but there are ways to handle the situation. Your boss may be a micromanager, racist, sexist, a bully or plays favorite, for anyone out there that had to deal with one or all the above, try the following tips:

1.Analyze your actions

Make an honest analysis of your work, has your job performance declined when the "dreadful" boss came into the picture? Have you been slacking? If you have, try re-focusing on the projects at hand, and see if there are any changes in the boss's behavior.

2.Make a list of the boss's bad behavior

Try to keep a journal of all the behaviors that you might think are unethical, unprofessional, or abusive. Just jot down the facts, not your reactions to the events.

3.Find a mentor

If you love the company but can't deal with your unpleasant boss, another solution could be to develop a mentoring relationship with another supervisor in another department of the company.

4.Report to Human Resources

A last resort is reporting the bad actions of your boss to Human Resources. This can have either positive or negative reactions. Ideally Human Resources would do something about the situation or in the worst-case scenario you could be branded as a complainer and the tension between you and your boss could be higher.

5.Don't take it

If your boss has a difficult management style-it doesn't mean you have to take it, respond with professionalism.

If your boss insults or put you down, respond calmly that putting you down or insulting you doesn't resolve the problem, and that there is a better way to deal with the situation.

Or if your boss is a micromanaging type that breathes down your neck, try explaining to him that you are uncomfortable when someone is micromanaging you. Most times the person will step back.

6.Know when its too much

If your boss's behavior makes you feel bad, then the abuse becomes more of a serious problem. Sometimes scheduling a meeting with your boss can be effective, talk to them about the issues and see if you can find a middle-ground. If the bullying has had a prolonged effect in your health and personal life, and all your vacation and sick days have been used up to take a break from work, it is time to get out.

7.Don't sacrifice your health

The worst thing that you can do is do nothing. The reality is problems do not resolve themselves. No job, boss or company is worth losing your health or self-esteem. If you can't find a way to resolve the issue and your boss will never change their behavior, you should start working your network and begin looking for a new job. Try if possible not to quit before having something lined up.

8.Take control

Even after you leave your abusive boss you might still have to explain why you left or leaving in the middle of an interview. Try to control the interview the best you can. Do not list your boss as a reference; instead try a former co-worker, who has worked with you.

The good news is that not all bosses are bad, a lot employees respect bosses that are fair, competent and give employees deserved recognition.

[Fandango 1,439]

Look for another job....unemployment won't sustain you anyways....

Good luck!

ETA: I would document all of this, and maybe even go over my boss's head to rectify the situation before jumping ship, tho.

Edited June 3, 2008 by Happy Bunny

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

GG said lost of good things. The most important is stand up for yourself. Just because you're boss is having a certain perspective doesn't mean that it's neccessarily right. GG gave you some good tips on how to approach it.

I've been able to see work related issues from three perspectives the laborer, the customer, and the management. The management seems to trumph all of them when it comes down to it but that doesn't mean that the other view points aren't vaild. This being the case try to handle the situation with your boss first if you plan to keep working there. It will build a good working relationship. If that is not achieveable then take measures to go over their head to their boss. Often times that's not such a good idea because its their boss that was the one that highered them and it may reflect badly on them, especially if those two have a good working relationship. I agree with protecting yourself by documenting everything, but at the same time keep trying to work at building a positive relationship with your boss. Personally it sounds like you have a poor manager. Part of being a good manager and leader is their ability to listen. Working at a hospital for eight years I've had to deal with all types and go to many seminars on how to communicate with people in various situation to either redirect their thinking, handle hostility, manage sensitive issues, ect...

For your case I'd recommend the FIRR approach.

Fact-state the facts to your boss

Impact-state how the facts impact you

Respect-state you respect their advise, or show respect in some way. (this is to butter them up so their feathers aren't so ruffled)

Request-make your request

Practice this approach on friends and family first if you are unsure about using it. You'll often be surprised at the results and positive feedback you get.

Best wish and keep us updated.

Edited June 3, 2008 by Olivia*

[palilover 1]

Thanks everyone. I feel a bit better after reading this and some sleep. I do like the FIRR apprach btw, makes a good ones for hostile clients:)

Nope, I'm not slacking....I've actually had the same boss for the 2 years that I've worked here. he never used to be this way. It has only been recently, and I'm not the only person who notices it. We all chalk it up to he's taking a hit himself from his upper management (about his management styles and certain things) and he's just passing it down. But he does tend to pick on the wrong people considering there is one guy in particular who does nothing, and he has not said anything to him. He picks on the people who do work ironically because he can see that we've done work to pick apart I guess:) There was even a day a month ago that the managers had to reapply for their jobs due to some changing around up the ladder. On this day, he was very angry. (I found out about that from a coworker).

So yes a good idea to look for a new job just for that as if your manager has to reapply for his job due to a "corporate change".....thats a bad situation I'm thinking. And yes, I have a good rapport with some people there that I can use them as references thankfully.

Aside from that, I have to wait and see today what happens with yesterday's client. I love his notes on the case yesterday. "Left message for client to ask her if the issue is resolved and to discuss her customer service experience." Ok buddy, you know the issue is not solved as she would not let me solve it. (he's hoping it solved itself maybe:) If all he can think about is customer service and that is it, why doesn't he pick a different call center to manage than technical support? Customer service is one part of the job, but it is not all of it and that seems to be all he cares about. (and when I 98% of the time get a mark of 5 in customer service...the 2% that dont give me a 5 are ones like the one I had yesterday which thankfully are raare)....."sigh"

Oh yeah going to his manager may be bad because his manager is working for the company that is giving us the contract. Plus I've never talked to her before. As for HR....I'm not even sure about that. I don't think it is a discriminatory situation as other people are facing the same type of treatment. I am led to believe it is he doe snot know how to manage/does not know how to deal with pressure.