Toxic air in the team
PawelK
Posts: 373 Forumite
Hello.
I am sure many people were in a similar situation. My line manager is liked by most people in the company that work with him. Well, he is a really nice guy. Just a shame it is only on the surface. I only came across it after around 12 months when I had first experiences of dealing with difficult situations and chatting to some more trusted people in my team. He is the kind of person who would happily throw you under the bus just to protect his own bottom. He is very biased and unfair and his choices are dictated by whoever he likes more or less. So, if you have a good chatter and keep banter with him 'his way' you will be treated quite differently with regards to off sick, lateness and anything else that goes in a day to day work. However, he is not stupid and knows how to play the game so his maneouvres are only within the policies. That way it is pretty much impossible to catch him red handed or have any proof of what I just wrote about. I am in minority because I will not compromise my values just to be treated better. It got to the point that despite company being a good place to work mainly due to the good remuneration package I probably will be leaving my post at some point next year. Would have done it sooner but some personal committments got on the way.
But before I leave I would be really happy if I could expose his true being or at least prove some people what he really is like. At the moment I am thinking about whether I could speak to someone in HR off the record and ask what are managers' responsibilities for recording lateness etc. Once I know that, I could possibly have some foundations for my future claim. By the way - I am one of the best employees in the team in terms of monthly results.
Any other ideas how to approach the situation? I stopped speaking to him several months ago so we only communicate as and when my work requires.
I am sure many people were in a similar situation. My line manager is liked by most people in the company that work with him. Well, he is a really nice guy. Just a shame it is only on the surface. I only came across it after around 12 months when I had first experiences of dealing with difficult situations and chatting to some more trusted people in my team. He is the kind of person who would happily throw you under the bus just to protect his own bottom. He is very biased and unfair and his choices are dictated by whoever he likes more or less. So, if you have a good chatter and keep banter with him 'his way' you will be treated quite differently with regards to off sick, lateness and anything else that goes in a day to day work. However, he is not stupid and knows how to play the game so his maneouvres are only within the policies. That way it is pretty much impossible to catch him red handed or have any proof of what I just wrote about. I am in minority because I will not compromise my values just to be treated better. It got to the point that despite company being a good place to work mainly due to the good remuneration package I probably will be leaving my post at some point next year. Would have done it sooner but some personal committments got on the way.
But before I leave I would be really happy if I could expose his true being or at least prove some people what he really is like. At the moment I am thinking about whether I could speak to someone in HR off the record and ask what are managers' responsibilities for recording lateness etc. Once I know that, I could possibly have some foundations for my future claim. By the way - I am one of the best employees in the team in terms of monthly results.
Any other ideas how to approach the situation? I stopped speaking to him several months ago so we only communicate as and when my work requires.
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Comments
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Is your title referring to yourself? You seem to be the only person that has an issue with your manager, who you say is well liked and works within company policies.
If you want to change jobs then do so. In the meantime get on with your job and stop trying to create problems.0 -
Hello.
I am sure many people were in a similar situation. My line manager is liked by most people in the company that work with him. Well, he is a really nice guy. Just a shame it is only on the surface. I only came across it after around 12 months when I had first experiences of dealing with difficult situations and chatting to some more trusted people in my team. He is the kind of person who would happily throw you under the bus just to protect his own bottom. He is very biased and unfair and his choices are dictated by whoever he likes more or less. So, if you have a good chatter and keep banter with him 'his way' you will be treated quite differently with regards to off sick, lateness and anything else that goes in a day to day work. However, he is not stupid and knows how to play the game so his maneouvres are only within the policies. That way it is pretty much impossible to catch him red handed or have any proof of what I just wrote about. I am in minority because I will not compromise my values just to be treated better. It got to the point that despite company being a good place to work mainly due to the good remuneration package I probably will be leaving my post at some point next year. Would have done it sooner but some personal committments got on the way.
But before I leave I would be really happy if I could expose his true being or at least prove some people what he really is like. At the moment I am thinking about whether I could speak to someone in HR off the record and ask what are managers' responsibilities for recording lateness etc. Once I know that, I could possibly have some foundations for my future claim. By the way - I am one of the best employees in the team in terms of monthly results.
Any other ideas how to approach the situation? I stopped speaking to him several months ago so we only communicate as and when my work requires.
If he is working within the policies (and I am assuming, the law) then he is allowed to treat people differently for lateness etc.
Do you know the full picture? Maybe someone was treated leniently for car trouble, or family sickness, or even someone who made every effort to keep him informed, rather than someone who just slept in or didnt keep them in the loop.
Anyway, regardless of that, as long as he isn't treating people differently because of a protected characteristic he can treat people differently if he chooses.0 -
As has been said already, if he is working within the rules there is very little that you can do. Treating absences differently - you don't know the full circumstances of every instance of absence so can't know if there are underlying causes which mean they should be treated differently.
You have said you plan to leave anyway so I would put my efforts into that rather than into picking a fight which you can't win.0 -
Is your title referring to yourself? You seem to be the only person that has an issue with your manager, who you say is well liked and works within company policies.
If you want to change jobs then do so. In the meantime get on with your job and stop trying to create problems.
No, the tile doesnt refer to me only but to few other people within the team. Thanks for your lecturing but you clearly were never in a similar position to be able to understand the cntext of the situation from my post.0 -
marliepanda wrote: »If he is working within the policies (and I am assuming, the law) then he is allowed to treat people differently for lateness etc.
Do you know the full picture? Maybe someone was treated leniently for car trouble, or family sickness, or even someone who made every effort to keep him informed, rather than someone who just slept in or didnt keep them in the loop.
Anyway, regardless of that, as long as he isn't treating people differently because of a protected characteristic he can treat people differently if he chooses.
Of course I dont know every single case of sickness or lateness but if a specific person arrives 20-30 minutes late 2-3 times a week but apologises as soon as she enters the room and then leaves before 5pm while some other people are late very rarely by 5-10 minutes and are loudly pointed that out, I dont think this is a fair treatment.0 -
If you are planning on leaving anyway, and say he is generally well liked by other staff, then your plan to "expose" him just seems to come across as you being malicious and wanting to get the last word / upper hand.
If he is playing by the rules and procedures in the eyes of the company/HR and you have no proof then HR do not need to do anything.
You have stopped communicating with him for anything other than work matters - are you sure you aren't the cause of this "toxic atmosphere"?Mortgage = [STRIKE]£113,495 (May 2009)[/STRIKE] £67462.74 Jun 20190 -
As has been said already, if he is working within the rules there is very little that you can do. Treating absences differently - you don't know the full circumstances of every instance of absence so can't know if there are underlying causes which mean they should be treated differently.
You have said you plan to leave anyway so I would put my efforts into that rather than into picking a fight which you can't win.
I just provided one of the examples in a post above but you are probably right. It will be difficult to gather enough evidence to prove that some people are treated much more lenient than others so best to focus on my last few months there and move on.0 -
Of course I dont know every single case of sickness or lateness but if a specific person arrives 20-30 minutes late 2-3 times a week but apologises as soon as she enters the room and then leaves before 5pm while some other people are late very rarely by 5-10 minutes and are loudly pointed that out, I dont think this is a fair treatment.
And what you think is fair doesnt matter at all. Sorry.0 -
engineer_amy wrote: »If you are planning on leaving anyway, and say he is generally well liked by other staff, then your plan to "expose" him just seems to come across as you being malicious and wanting to get the last word / upper hand.
If he is playing by the rules and procedures in the eyes of the company/HR and you have no proof then HR do not need to do anything.
You have stopped communicating with him for anything other than work matters - are you sure you aren't the cause of this "toxic atmosphere"?
I really wish it was just me having that problem. I can honestly say that he is good at the operational level but in terms of managing people, his practices are very poor. As per my OP, my opinion of him changed when I had a serious battle some time ago with my then manager and him as a senior back then. They both tried to brush me off even though I was certain I am right. I asked them at the end to escalate my complaint to their manager and the next day I got a response that I was right and will be compensated for the error they made.
By speaking to some other team members who share similar view to mine, I know they had similar stories with him and also before I joined the company they got rd of a guy who was a really good employee but was not getting on well with him. Of course, everything was done in a way that the employee had no proof of unfair dismissal but was probably 'treated differently' enough that he mentally didnt want to stay there any longer. Few more examples like this I personally witnessed myself.0 -
But before I leave I would be really happy if I could expose his true being or at least prove some people what he really is like.
Honestly, life is too short. I don't know what you are expecting to achieve with this. If you don't like your manager it is best to find another job.
I don't think anything in your post gives you a 'claim' I'm afraid. This person sounds like a bad manager but that is not illegal.Once I know that, I could possibly have some foundations for my future claim.
His conduct would only be unlawful if he is breaking the law, for example if he is discriminating against people on the basis of age/gender.
I would start searching for a new job. Once I'd found a new job, I would leave with good grace.Any other ideas how to approach the situation?
In my exit interview I would explain to HR why I am leaving but I would do it tactfully. I might also contact HR to explain that I have an issue with the manager, but again I would do it tactfully.
There is nothing to be achieved by kicking up a stink before you leave (except a bad reference).0
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