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View Full Version : My work day-- a day of emotional trauma



MK
02-16-2001, 09:58 PM
Well, I went to work this morning and noticed next week's schedule was up. All of our work weeks begin on Sunday, and end on Saturday. Well, tomorrow night (Saturday)I close, 3pm to 10pm. Then Sunday I saw the manager had me scheduled to come in at 3am! NOT COOL. :{ So I called my husband and asked him to do some research on our state labor laws and find out if that was legal. (The manager has done this to other people in the past, and they just played martyr and didn't complain) Dh did some research, finding out our state's labor commission has nothing to do with spacing between shifts, and that it is strictly a matter of corporate policy. So dh then called up my store and talked to the human resource manager about it. He discussed some other issues with her, like the fact that I have been feeling harrassed, abused, belittled, etc. by my boss. In fact, Sunday I wrote him a letter telling him exactly how I felt, and what behaviors elicited those feelings. Anyway, the HR Mgr. then called the corporate office to find out the company policy, then talked to the store director and arranged a meeting between me and the SD with her (the HR) as the arbitrator. She was wonderful, taking notes and documenting everything. The meeting went really well, with the SD assuring me that he felt my manager's scheduling mistake was indeed unethical, and whether it was intentional or not, needed to be corrected, and he would have a talk with my boss. I left the office feeling really comforted and happy. :)

Then this afternoon, just a few minutes before the end of my shift the asst. manager (I guess he overheard me talking to my husband)informed the manager that my husband had complained to the SD without me going to him first. The boss was mad! :{ He just started ripping into me right there in the middle of the bakery, in front of customers, in front of my coworkers, in front of other off-duty workers coming in to get their paychecks. In fact, he is notorious for breaking into these little tantrums, something that I mentioned in my letter to him. I brought that up, and told him how it made me feel, and that it wasn't cool or professional. I explained that the reason I didn't go directly to him was that I didn't feel comfortable(big surprise) 8\ We discussed at length the letter I wrote to him, which he had completely misinterpreted. We sort of worked things out, I think, even though he had not yet seen the SD.

Sometime after I got home I was still so upset I called the HR up at the store again and told her about the incident with the manager breaking into his little tirade in the middle of the bakery in front of witnesses. She again documented what I was telling her and offered a lot of soothing and comfort over the phone. She suggested I have another follow-up meeting with the SD in a few days, and if I feel it necessary to even talk to the corporate HR Manager (she bears the store name, being either a wife or sister to the owner(s)). She also told me that just a few minutes prior to my calling her up again the Store Director had called my manager into his office and was talking to him. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? ?(

Oh-- another coworker who was scheduled to come in at 7am on Sunday volunteered to trade me, so she will work at 3am and I will go in at 7am.

Well, thanks for listening. I needed to vent some more. Wish me luck. I'm hoping that by pioneering this big air clearing session the rest of my coworkers will also reap the benefits of reasonable treatment at work. The abuse will never end unless someone does something, and I'm the only one with the fire to do it (I'm an Aries). ;)

Oh, one more thing-- it turns out my boss showed the letter I had written to him to the HR, and she told me today that she had told him that the letter conveyed to her that I was feeling harassed and abused and that the problem needed to be addressed. He interpreted her words incorrectly, thinking it conveyed harrassment toward him on my part, and that he should have me written up! (He isn't very bright, I don't think) :p

KarlaB
02-17-2001, 10:57 AM
Sounds like you could use a few. :( Sorry to hear things are so stressful right now. I think you did the right thing in reporting your boss's behavior. It's so sad that there are people like that out there and that usually they get away with it because they are so intimidating to others. He sounds pretty immature and controlling. And, his "tantrums" should not be tolerated! One wouldn't think a company would want him representing them, especially if customers are seeing this behavior. People just don't need stress like this - Way to stick up for yourself and others! Hope everything goes well - be sure to keep us updated and hang in there!

AnnW
02-17-2001, 12:08 PM
Yikes! What a mess. I do think he has a point about you going over his head without talking to him first. Hope it gets all sorted out.

MK
02-18-2001, 12:46 AM
Originally posted by AnnW
Yikes! What a mess. I do think he has a point about you going over his head without talking to him first. Hope it gets all sorted out.

Thanks you guys,actually, Ann, I can see your point too, but in the past this guy has belittled and made people (including myself) feel small for complaining about the schedule(like when I was about to get overtime in just 3days and asked if I could get some extra time off--he just poo-poohed me in front of everyone, including his wife)and considering how he has been treating me recently,I didn't want to subject myself to his sarcasm again. I also did in a way go to him directly by writing him a letter (because I tend to become very emotional and start crying, and I communicate better on paper). Plus, all I did was call my husband and ask him to do some research, which he did, and that started the whole thing.

Anyway...The "boss" wasn't there when I went to work this afternoon, he had just a half-day, and he is off both Sunday and Monday, and I am off Tuesday, so I won't see him until Wednesday, and I will be leaving just as he is due to arrive, so my week should go fairly pleasantly. Thanks for the hugs, Karla, I did indeed need all the hugs I could get! :)

KarlaB
02-24-2001, 04:38 PM
Just checking in to see how work went this week! Hope you got through it and that it wasn't too stressful with your boss and all that was going on! Let us know! :)

MK
02-24-2001, 04:59 PM
Well, I lucked out and didn't actually have to work with the man this week, except for yesterday (opposite shifts). I worked with him yesterday only because our donut fryer didn't show for the GY shift, and he actually covered it himself instead of calling someone else in to do it! Anyway, he didn't say a word to me except "Good Morning". The tension was pretty thick, but I just did my work and "kicked butt" the best I could. When he left he parted with a blanket greeting of "Thank you Ladies", and there were only two of us, and knowing him, if he wasn't including me he would have just said the other one's name. I guess things will smooth out. I don't think our relationship will ever be the same again, but I don't think he's going to be having any more tantrums either.

More news is that next week I will be purchasing a second car with my tax refund, and that will give me more mobility, opening up my choices for a different job. A friend of mine has been telling me they are still desperate for help on the school bus system, and it pays more(not to mention there are no graveyard shifts, lol). She seems to think I am just the person for the job, so as soon as I have more adequate transportation (so I can get to the bus yard whenever they call at the drop of a hat)I will go check it out. I'll keep y'all posted! :)

Suz
02-24-2001, 07:27 PM
Wow! Sounds like your "boss" needs the boot!
Good luck with finding another job!
I worked in a bakery when I was in college and I remember how hard it was to be there at 3am when I didn't get to bed until late.
Hope everything works out for you!!!

KarlaB
02-25-2001, 12:13 PM
Glad to hear you had an uneventful week with him. Hopefully he is done with his tantrums! Good luck with your search for a new job!!! :)

Diane
02-25-2001, 01:42 PM
My dd has a guy that is her boss that acts just like this. He was constantly walking around with a bad attitude and having little tantrums, throwing things and stomping away... worse than a kid! So many people have complained about him and they have said that if he does it one more time he's OUT. Their all holding their breath waiting... LOL It seems like their's always got to be one in every crowd. It's never fun working where there is a lot of tension though.

Good news also about the car. Do you have any idea's about what kind your going to get or haven't you started looking yet? The new job idea sounds good too. Have you ever driven a school bus before? Hope everything works out for you. :)

MK
02-25-2001, 02:08 PM
Originally posted by Diane P.
Good news also about the car. Do you have any idea's about what kind your going to get or haven't you started looking yet? The new job idea sounds good too. Have you ever driven a school bus before? Hope everything works out for you. :)

Yes, we already "made the deal" on the car-- it's a red 93 Pontiac Grand Am. The current owners are upgrading to a 2000 Mazda 626 and won't need the Grand Am anymore. When our tax refund comes in next week we will take possession of the car. I've never driven school bus before, however, my friend who does drive says they are also very desperate for aides on the "special needs" bus. I would be needed to secure the seat belts and wheel chairs, and sing and play with the children to keep them calm. My friend seems to think that is right up my alley. (She's seen me with field trips in the store)

Anyway, thanks for all the support, you guys. I appreciate it! :)

MK
02-27-2001, 08:00 PM
Oh, My Gosh! You wouldn't believe it-- well, I went to work this morning (3 am shift), and there wasn't a 5 am person scheduled, so I also had the responsibilities of that shift in addition to the usual (this happens a lot due to a labor cut). Anyway, I totally kicked butt, I had all the donuts done and the case up, and was almost done with the 5 am work too when the boss showed up at about 7:30 (both the 3 am and the 5 am are supposed to EACH have their respective duties done by 7). I thought I was hallucinating when I noticed that he was actually SMILING when he said "Good Morning" to me-- and yes, he was talking to me, he said my name. Well, I took that as a good omen and continued to kick butt and work circles around my coworker who came in at 7. It was about 40 minutes past the end of my shift and I was just finishing a project, when the boss made the announcement that he was leaving for the rest of the day (I guess he just had a half-day). Then he came over to my worktable, stood directly in front of me, and said, "Michelle, I appreciate your staying the extra mile and all your extra effort, Tyson (the assistant manager) should be able to come over here in a few minutes to help out" This of course, meant, when you're done there you can go. But after he left and it sunk in what he had just done, I thought for sure I'd just been struck by lightening! But of course, I'm still here, and not dead, so I guess it was real. I had a good day today, and the boss even appeared relaxed and friendly in all our interactions with each other, so maybe things have "blown over"! :)

KarlaB
02-27-2001, 08:12 PM
SO glad to hear you had a good day at work! And, it's great that you are still so hardworking there when some may have developed a bad attitude and started slacking with all that has been going on! Pat yourself on the back!!! :)

Suz
02-27-2001, 08:24 PM
That is wonderful news!! :)

Diane
02-27-2001, 11:26 PM
WOW... that's wonderful! I'm glad everything seems to be turning out okay. It must have put a big smile on your face too. :) I'm happy for you that everything turned out okay.

AnnW
02-28-2001, 08:30 AM
Great news!!!!!!! Thanks for updating us.

RCT
02-28-2001, 09:19 AM
Thats nice to hear that things turned out good....glad your happy now....