tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post559923982096073525..comments2023-09-29T07:45:12.682-04:00Comments on the view from my fishbowl: What it is like to work for a bullyTracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16659946702584728654noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-35586627030873262822011-07-13T14:08:43.144-04:002011-07-13T14:08:43.144-04:00oh Iris Took (i'll use your "screen name&...oh Iris Took (i'll use your "screen name" here)...thank you my friend for this comment...it made me cry, but in a good way. :) i do believe you may be right - moving on is very likely what is best for me at this point. :)Tracihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16659946702584728654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-62372355079503349712011-07-13T12:01:55.345-04:002011-07-13T12:01:55.345-04:00Traci - you are so talented and amazing. It made ...Traci - you are so talented and amazing. It made me so sad/mad to read this. It is frustrating that the HR department is not a functioning arm either - they should be there to HELP YOU! <br /><br />Quitting a job is not the same as quitting. Moving on may be what is best for you. You possess skills that will help you in your search and you will be happier when you leave. I wish you the best and good luck in the next few months - being set up to fail is miserable. <br /><br />I would also like to say I agree with Sassy Times and that your boss is a B!Iris Tookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775710609167195639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-79692719346018724442011-07-13T06:18:56.419-04:002011-07-13T06:18:56.419-04:00Lynne - thank you my friend. we do have an HR depa...Lynne - thank you my friend. we do have an HR department but they are useless and the line they tell everyone is "anything you come to us with is NOT confidential." Yeah...no dice there. The only person "higher up" than the bully is the CEO and she might actually be worse. I am still debating the whole "walking out" option, especially since I think it's starting to affect my health. Thanks again for being such a wonderful friend. Love you. :)Tracihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16659946702584728654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-14160165354832348692011-07-13T00:42:40.453-04:002011-07-13T00:42:40.453-04:00Oh Tracie, I am so sorry....
In the bigger pictur...Oh Tracie, I am so sorry....<br /><br />In the bigger picture you will look back and realize that this job is a reminder to you and to us your friends of the kind of Boss you never, ever want to be.<br /><br />In the long run, you will be able to look back and know that you gave it your dead level best - a full-on effort, and the reason the job did not work out was due entirely to a small-minded, egotistical BULLY.<br /><br />But that doesn't help in the short run, does it? I am so sorry you are having to face this every day!<br /><br />Does your organization have an HR department? It is way past time to get them involved... <br /><br />Honestly, I think I would consider escalating in your position. Don't be afraid to go over her head and stomp around. Not because you want to keep that job, but because bullies back off when you call them on their horrid behavior. At the very least, they should agree to let you go before the ridiculous two-month deadline and allow the unemployment... as an outsider it is apparent that they are trying to FORCE you to leave so they will get out of it, and that, my friend, is not only wrong but ILLEGAL. <br /><br />A proper HR department would have reviewed her "plan" and given counsel, and recommended it be given in person or at the very least on the phone, and with HR and her boss available. Were you with my company, for example, with all these egregious bullying tactics, they would likely be talking settlement with you in lieu of sueing them sideways.<br /><br />And did I mention the sending of the Development Plan email is as gutless as it gets? akin to breaking off an engagement by text.<br /><br />Take care of yourself, darling Tracie. Do what you need to do. If it means walking out tomorrow with a box under your arm and a smile on your face more power to you!<br /><br />I will be thinking of you and praying for you and sending you strength. I know you will make the very best decision for you and your family.<br /><br />Much love, LynneLynne from Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12749662367813541045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-77780570643434344382011-07-12T11:25:55.534-04:002011-07-12T11:25:55.534-04:00Hi, just stumbled on your blog and thought I'd...Hi, just stumbled on your blog and thought I'd share that I worked for a Bully last year and it was awful! The boss and my co-worker who I could not escape were both bullies. I went home daily in tears, and I'd tell my husband about the "critique of the day" because I could do NOTHING right according to those two. Yet, even though I was a "horrible" employee according to them, the boss would not fire me. <br /><br />For a while, I started to wonder if I was such a terrible worker, but a friend reminded me that I had stayed with two previous jobs for 5 yrs each without such criticism so it couldn't be true that I'm awful.<br /><br />When she finally cut my hours without notice I went to the boss and told her "This isn't what I was hired for. If you don't want to employ me for the 40 hrs I was hired to do, then fire me and put it in writing." She fired me and I was never happier about losing a job. After a while it become evident that things will not get better and you have to take care of your mental health.Oliviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01828516083662339236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-43068090530876849172011-07-10T12:34:21.107-04:002011-07-10T12:34:21.107-04:00What a well written piece. I have been the target ...What a well written piece. I have been the target at my current job which is why I plan to leave. However, it is nothing like what you are experiencing. <br /><br />Good luck and something great is around the corner.Traciehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10600896663005935349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-62945728842416418252011-07-09T07:39:56.685-04:002011-07-09T07:39:56.685-04:00Ah my dear friend! The joys of the workforce! I ...Ah my dear friend! The joys of the workforce! I also found myself working for such a person a few years back. To this day I still have nightmares about her. There was one day she was literally screaming at me because I did exactly what she told me to do - to the point I went home crying (and you know I am not a cryer) to ray and told him surely I was getting fired the next day. What happened the next day? She gave me an 18% raise! And repeated this cycle another time. Can you say bipolar? Having my salary increase 36% in the course of 6 weeks certainly made her easier to take. But at the end money was not enough. I went to hr found out how long I had to stay in order to get my bonus and ended up reporting her for everything. I am happy to say they eventually fired her 6 weeks later, I quit anyway because I didnt want to continue to work for a company that allowed her to thrive for so many years - and ended up receiving a very nice lump sum of money which I am fairly certain they gave me in the hopes that I wouldn't sue them<br /><br />I am not sue happy. Personally I think that is a big part of what is wrong with our country. However you do have rights and they can't treat you like this. I suggest you become familiar with the phrase "hostile workplace" and find yourself a lawyer. Start documenting everything if you haven't already. You are not powerless here. Schedule a meeting to discuss the 60 day plan. Lay out your concerns over how you can be successful, etc. They have a right to put you on a 60 day plan but they can't make it so outrageous it can't be achieved.alliekochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09012490086060719940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-72627091047791358262011-07-08T22:13:04.642-04:002011-07-08T22:13:04.642-04:00At this point it isn't quitting, it's bett...At this point it isn't quitting, it's bettering yourself and your mental health. Take it from someone that lived through this not so long ago, you are in a war zone but it's like they have tanks and machine guns and they gave you a water gun - no amount of fight or good work will help you win. And I think they have a bad boss handbook that has that development plan strategy in it because I received a very similar one. I can tell you that when you find a new job you'll be waiting for someone to backstab and bully you and you'll be suspicious of everything that they say, but eventually it does get better out back in the world of good employment. I know that job market is tough - I'm dealing with that right now - but you have to care more about you, and I can't imagine that you wouldn't be happier in the Target or Starbucks then you would be where you are now if it came to that. Keep your head up & lets do coffee (or comfort food like ice cream) when you find time.Thoughts & Musingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14939338922606632859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16417107.post-61019015074898449952011-07-08T21:56:59.833-04:002011-07-08T21:56:59.833-04:00Don't let that B! make you feel like a horribl...Don't let that B! make you feel like a horrible worker and co-worker. She sounds like a peach. I understand not wanting to be a quitter, but in this situation, I don't think it's quitting. I think, if you can, moving on is what is best for you. Sadly though, she'll probably just move onto someone else. <br /><br />Hang in there!!Sassytimeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00246581282510233020noreply@blogger.com