What can you do with a supervisor who is "******" of the year?

Question

At work we recently got a new supervisor. He's an ex carreer military man, close to retirement age.

This guy is a big wind bag with a chip on his shoulder, and he's making life hell for many of my coworkers, mostly the women. He berates them and criticizes them in front of others and frequently has them in tears. He's even verbally abusive to the other supervisors in front of the employees. But I don't care about them as they can take care of themselves.

I do care about my coworkers, and wish there was something I could do to this guy to divert his attention away from the workers to his own life or problems. I don't want to hurt him or do anything illegal, just redirect his attention, to give them a breather.

Our company had a strike several years ago and since then the company and the new human resource director have all had an attitude toward most of the workers, so they are unsimpathetic and unhelpful to people with problems.

Any suggestions??

Answer 1

First, do you like this job (aside from the evil boss thing)? Your fellow employees are in the same situation that you are, but you don't need to make a martyr of yourself if you need the job.

If your H/R depart refuses to get involved, there isn't a whole lot that you can do either sit there and take it, or find something new...

If this is a company-wide problem, you could check into a labor board inquiry if it is done anonymously. If you by chance are a union affiliated shop, then you might be able to get something looked at from that side. Remember don't raise red flags......

Good Luck and hope this or something else will help.

Answer 2

The best "supervisor" is actually someone who is a mentor or a guide. The worst ones "supervise" -- they know very little about how to motivate people and are almost always hyperactive "A" types. They can be physically dangerous as well as being dangerous to company morale. A well adjusted supervisor knows how to control his temper and TALK to human beings...

The @sshole that you're dealing with knows little about supervision and even less about managing problems. He shows his emotions negatively to hide the fact he doesn't know how to FIX the problem. He's more interested in himself than others. In reality, the underlying fact is that he's afraid and scared of what could happen. He's immature.

Go talk to management privately about this problem child and do some documenting. If it continues, keep documenting and eventually go present the mountain of proof to your manager. A smart manager will cover his rear end by getting rid of this nut case. If he gets rid of you, make sure you have copies and -- get a lawyer.

To be honest, I have found Rule #1 to always be true -- The guys with the best attitudes are always the best workers. Find them, keep them, and stay with them.

Ever had a problem up at DMV -- I bet it was with a problem child and I bet it came with an attitude. Poor performance usually comes with a bad attitude...GRRRRR...

Ever had good service somewhere -- I bet it was with someone who was cheerful ! People with good attitudes usually do the best work ;-) wink wink

Best of luck, cheers !

Answer 3

Don't interfere, unless you want to find new employment. If your co-workers are smart, they will document the boss' behavior and take steps to get it corrected themselves, or they can look for new employment also.

Raising your head above the crowd is a good way to get it sliced off, so don't draw attention to yourself unnecessarily. At least, that's my advice to you if you don't want to get fired or quit. If you don't care about staying employed at that particular company, then by all means, get involved. Otherwise, keep your head down, do your work and keep out of the politics as much as possible.

Answer 4

wow, that's a tough one, I assume you are union, is there any way to talk to your union rep about it, maybe he can have more success with the company, or document the abuse and file a joint lawsuit, if that doesn't constitute an uncomfortable work environment I don't know what does!