Serious Q involving work and Hitler style area manageress!!?

Question

Been at my work place for over 8 years. Had a few horrid managers and a couple of bad area managers. The new area manager is evil. She is all nice on the outside, speaks to the staff acts interested. As soon as a member of staff does one thing wrong she takes them to disiplanery action and always gives the most severe action she can give. I entirerlly understand punishment in the work force but i always believed in stages of punishment not always giving the highest possible punishment. Can I complain, will it do any good. Is the woman hell bent on a power rush????

I work for Greggs

I personally haven't been dealt with her yet, but she punished my manager of something laughable in a serious way and today my friend got sacked over something which shouldn't have been a sackable offence

Answer 1

The technical term for one such as this is a Douglas McGregor Hard Theory X type personality. This is a borderline non criminal sociopath personality and it means that all threats to herself must be eliminated.
Since she views employees who make mistakes as a blight on how her performance is perceived by her superiors, she will come down hard on them, both to reduce the direct threat and to cover her back if her bosses show an interest in what went wrong.
She will go too far one day and is certainly not an effective manager if this is how she behaves, although I have heard from other people that Greggs is alledgedly a very aggressive employer in any case, so don't try to take her to task.
She will almost certainly harbour a grudge if you do, and you will then be on borrowed time, as you have become a threat.

Just take note (times, places, dates, details of what is said or done, witnesses present) of anything she says or does that makes you feel threatened, bullied or intimidated.
When you have finally had enough, then you can then file grievence proceedings for harrassment, complete with evidential proof.
The firm has a duty of care to ensure that no employee feels threatened or bullied in the workplace and Industrial Tribunals take a dim view of such happenings.

Answer 2

Apart from bringing it to the attention of her manager, and/or the HR department there probably isn't much you can actually DO. However, if she does skip stages of the disciplinary process you can rest easy, knowing that she wouldn't have a leg to stand on if you took the company to an Employment Tribunal - its now law that a proper disciplinary and grievance procedure should be followed, and Tribunals also check that the company have acted in a "reasonable" manner.

Having said all that, in the UK you have to have been a permanent employee for over a year in order to take some types of legal action, so if you have been employed for less than that she can probably do what she likes.

Answer 3

It may be that she feels, and her managers agree, that there is a lack of discipline and enthusiasm in your area and that this condition has been continual for several years.

Sometimes, management's only recourse is to throw the hammer down hard.

After years of conciliation and soft handedness, managers must sometimes resort to weeding out the ineffectual workers.

Analyze the situation and decide if my comments have any merit.

If they don't, report her to her boss immediately.

Answer 4

I dont think there are evidence running any, business, in the way that women do it . Its wrong way.
Its only create scared ppl dont creative open and problemsolving staff,cause scared ppl dont do a good job.
go tell her boss she is a,unscentific, useless manager and tell her boss you know one person can do her job more effecient;)
(read a book how to be a good manager before you do it).

Answer 5

you should definately complain, what she is doing is not only wrong, it's abuse! and someone has to do somethimg about it!