Can my boos swear at me?

richardwhite

Hi, not sure if this is in the right place, so feel free to shift it! I'm pretty sure I have a case here but thought I'd ask for other opinions before I go sending a formal complaint to the HR manager.

Today I received a call from my superior who, when I told him I could only work overtime on saturday and not sunday, proceeded to swear down the phone to me with phrases such as;

'this isn't f##king good enough'
'you'll not f##king speak to me like that again' (even though I didn't say anything)

Basically, he lost his temper and went a bit over board. I'm just curious if anyone has any thoughts on my best course of action?
I'm considering letting it slide but if I do surely that makes me look weak and the abuse will probably get worse?

P.S. i have a strongly worded email ready to send with the conversation documented precisely. Oh, and 2 of my colleagues heard it as I put the phone on loudspeaker.

Thanks for any help in advance!

And I've just noticed the spelling mistake in the title...opps!

venus_in_furs

No!!! That is not acceptable at all. Just because someone is your boss doesn't mean they can speak to you in such a way and threaten you!! If he wants to command respect off people he is going the wrong way about it!! If you want you could put in a complaint to someone higher than him, see if that makes him re-access his behaviour, unless it would affect your work or position? Some people get pushed out by making such complaints.

hartcjhart

Have a word directly with him and say that his behaviour was wrong and ask for an apology,if there is not one then go to a higher person

richardwhite

That's exactly what i thought. I was made redundant in June from the same company but they brought me back on monday just past. The guy never liked me to be honest but obviously I can't say that. Plus the bosses stick together. I'm not sure wheather complaining will help or make the situation worse to be honest because he could easily make my life hell to be honest.

dmg24

Swearing is subjective, for some people it is perfectly acceptable, and for others it is not. This depends on the relationship between the two parties, the working environment etc.

The first step should be to informally tell your manager that you do not find such language acceptable. You could do this in person, perhaps with a witness, or by email.

Be very careful going straight to HR. In doing so you are marking yourself out as a troublemaker, and it is much more likely to have repercussions on you than your manager. Even if HR do take action, it is likely to be an informal word/ mediation between the two parties. This would be much better coming directly from you.

Strider590

I had a boss once who phone for me to come in on a bank holiday weekend, my words were something like "if your coming in, then i'll be there" :rotfl:
He'd never worked a weekend in his life!

Needless to say his response was not good, but he didn't chase the matter.

I stopped working overtime completely when they started docking my pay for being 2 seconds late and/or forgeting to clock in/out for lunch breaks. I once lost a day's pay when I was sent to another country for a day, because I wasn't there to clock in/out. I had to fight for my pay on that one, it took nearly 3 months to sort out.
I quickly went from being a very flexible person who'd work extra hours each week for nothing (just to get the work done), to being a strict 9-5.

venus_in_furs

Its a hard situation....sometimes its hard to know whats the best thing to do. Maybe have a word with him if he keeps speaking to you like this. This could always have to opposite effect and make him worse...but if you word it in the right way maybe it would make him worried that you would report his behaviour? Tell him people witnessed his outburst so he cannot lie about it.

richardwhite

Thanks for the quick responses guys. It seems there is no right or wrong answer here. The guy has never liked me from the day and hour he met me, for reason that I don't know. I've been there since late 2005 and never had a problem with anyone else but him. In fact I don't even dislike him, mainly because he's never gave me the chance to get to know him on a personal level. Im a field operative and he is office based so I dont see him alot. Our company is a large one, but Im based from a small regional office which only has him and the main manager(and they are good friends). That's why I think I should go to head office and prehaps copy the regional manager in on the email.

Having said that, he seemed very stressed out and has never had an outburst like this before. Not that that excuses his words but prehaps I should just put it down to him having a bad day and let it go this time but keep an eye on it.

Hmmm...there was me thinking I was going to have an easy relaxed bank holiday weekend!

dmg24

In theory, HR should be impartial. In practice, they never are. However they dress it up, they will side with management in the end.

If you think that this could escalate, start to keep a diary of the unsuitable behaviour, and wherever possible note down witnesses. Then, if things get much worse, you have more than one incident to complain about.

remembered_nights

I've been wondering about this... my new boss swears at us ALL the time. I walked in the staffroom the other day to hear her describe the entire staff as 'f*cking b*stards', she constantly uses the F word. Apparently she called her previous team a bunch of c**ts in their staff-meeting because they reported her for not giving them their legal breaks

I didn't know if she can treat us that way, or if there's actually any way to pull her up in it.

tandraig

i think dmg24 is right - start keeping a diary record what was said and any witnesses. also speak directly to him and tell him he was unproffessional and you wont tolerate being spoken to that way and if he does it again you will take it further (dont specify the further!) . It really may have been a one off - perhaps the guy had pressure from above to get workers in on that day! not condoning the swearing but for some people its a safety valve!!!!