Thrown under the bus first thing this morning by the office manager.

[LtDave32]

Another thing; If you would have done what the boss said, and simply ignored her, then it's likely she might have complained upstairs, and the boss might have said "I told him to do it that way". No way to ensure that's how it might have went down, but the point is, always do what "the man" wants you to do, regardless of the whims of middle management. When the boss leaves it to middle management to decide, do what middle management says.

When you're being "pulled this way, and pulled that way", default to the higher authority.

 

[martin H]

Gotta lay some groundwork for the next confrontation:

[1] Send email to Boss. Don't act pissed, act confused instead -"I'm must have misunderstood what the manager said. I though she said to to it one way, but apparently she meant the other way."

[2] (still confused and contrite) I don't want to make the same mistake again. If I think there's a conflict between your instructions and the managers instructions, who should I follow?

[4] Await reply, Boss's ego is certainty such that the answer will be to follow HIS INSTRUCTIONS.

Print out hard copy of e-mail and save. You are now armed for the next confrontation with manager.

 

[edro]

If this was said, I must have missed it.

#1. If there is a policy manual. Read it. Read it again.
#2. Follow policy exactly in any potential well-chunking situation. Follow written policy to the T!
#3. You then can state before you go over the side into the well, 'policy states this procedure must be followed. I followed company/entity policy'.

Written policy can save your butt if you know it. I would venture a guess, they do not....

Just food for thought...

 

[lunchbox]

Talked about it with my supervisor today, and I was dead on.

He knows that I believe what I think happened, but that I was dead wrong about everything. He told me he doesn't believe Big Boss or manager lady would do such a thing.

I can't wait to get the out of here. I need to move along to somewhere else.

 

[MUSTANGCAT]

Corporate sounds like a bunch of babies.

Too many games.

I like construction. Get sh*t done, get it done right, or GTFO.

No time for games and BS.

....no babysitting. Pull your weight or you're gone.

So true!

 

[ErictheRed]

Talked about it with my supervisor today, and I was dead on.

He knows that I believe what I think happened, but that I was dead wrong about everything. He told me he doesn't believe Big Boss or manager lady would do such a thing.

Do you not realize that this at least somewhat indicative of a communication breakdown? Perhaps Manager Lady misunderstood what you told her on Friday, or you misunderstood her instructions? Or some other problem? And do you not also realize that instead of talking about it behind her back and acting butthurt for days, it has the potential to be resolved with a polite conversation?

I can't believe you haven't just gone and talked to her if you're this upset about it. Talk. Politely. Find out if there was a communication problem. Ask her opinion of the situation. How hard is that?

 

[Fracture]

On Friday, Boss tells me to do something one way, and the office manager says no, that's not how it's done. Boss isn't around to ask. I tell her again that it's what he wants, and she says no. Having been here only 7 months I don't want to start a war with the office manager, so I say ok, whatever works for your needs, thinking if there's a problem later I can blame her.

This morning, boss calls me in and berates me for not doing what he told me to do. I tell him that the office manager said that it wasn't how she wanted things routed. He calls her in...she denies ever saying that. Berating continues....

****ing bitch.

If she thinks I'll ever forget that, she's very mistaken.

Fight fire with fire.

Snag a Post it and write the words

Live
in
Fear

Engage stealth mode, and locate the most important document on her desk.
Apply Post it.
Cover with 2 or 3 pages of less important documents.
Witness the paranoia, while sipping coffee.
Avoid eye contact.

 

[SteveC]

ask her to join you for drinks after work, so you can work it out. get her drunk and fvck her. then tell your hr department that she used her position of authority to coerce you into having sex with her.

then… make friends with the new office manager.

 

[Shred Astaire]

Man I hope i never work with most of you guys. You are all giving advice that perpetuates "office politics" and battles with co-workers.

 

[VictorB]

Man I hope i never work with most of you guys. You are all giving advice that perpetuates "office politics" and battles with co-workers.

Not necessarily... Sometimes you got to play to survive.

A woman on the other side of the building tried to get me in serious trouble one time, claiming I never sent her an important email concerning a client, months ago... My boss came into my office furious with me, but since I NEVER delete old emails at work, I went into my "sent" folder, found it, and presented it to my boss. She apologized and then went after the woman on the other side of the building for trying to throw me under the bus. I could have been in serious trouble, fired even (it was a huge deal at the time).

People lie to save their own skins, you need to protect yourself.

 

[Shred Astaire]

Not necessarily... Sometimes you got to play to survive.

A woman on the other side of the building tried to get me in serious trouble one time, claiming I never sent her an important email concerning a client, months ago... My boss came into my office furious with me, but since I NEVER delete old emails at work, I went into my "sent" folder, found it, and presented it to my boss. She apologized and then went after the woman on the other side of the building for trying to throw me under the bus. I could have been in serious trouble, fired even (it was a huge deal at the time).

People lie to save their own skins, you need to protect yourself.

I'm not arguing that piece or the whole protecting yourself thing...i'm talking about going on the offensive.

 

[edro]

More fun to know policy and then beat them over the head with it....

 

[Shred Astaire]

More fun to know policy and then beat them over the head with it....

See? Games. I don't play games at work. I do my job and i do it well. I've never had an issue.

 

[Byron999]

I just can’t see where one could ever be happy (or healthy) waking-up to that level of intrigue every day…………man, that sh*t corrupts the soul.

Move on....people who share the same values can and do find each other, the 'birds of a feather" often plays out.

There are many who would never allow such games, dirty pool, back- stabbing, etc., and is dealt with harshly. Maybe there are industries where this occurs more than others, that being the case I would make this a priority discussion with every future employer's hiring interview and actually pose such questions as to how they resolve disputes.

Maybe spend some time reviewing other's policies on this subject. I would even tell them up front that you couldn’t work for anyone who doesn't share these values.

 

[edro]

I don't play games either.... I just knew policy which came in very handy over the years.
Policy can be like a free ball bat. I would venture that very few know company/institution/entity policy.

 

[Ed B]

I'm not arguing that piece or the whole protecting yourself thing...i'm talking about going on the offensive.

I agree. I wouldn't recommend revenge. LB said "lesson learned" and that's all you can do. Learn and move on. I would not be out to get this woman. What I would do is be extra careful around her. Of course be polite. Keep your enemies closer.

This may be a real "cliquey" office. I also don't know if LB has "earned his stripes" in the business or he's just getting going. While it may not sound fair, there are totally different dynamics depending on that alone. Exactly like any blue collar job. The "new guy" gets hazed in a sense. Work sucks, period.

 

[ErictheRed]

See? Games. I don't play games at work. I do my job and i do it well. I've never had an issue.

Don't play games in life, either.

In my experience, few people are genuinely ****ing bitches. But everyone is human, and everyone makes mistakes, and people become afraid, and people are very busy, and people are stressed, and people forget things, and people misunderstand things that seem clear to us, and we misunderstand things that seem clear to other people, and on and on.

Definitely put things in writing with email, that's a no-brainer. If you feel uncomfortable asking for an email, preface it with "I know this is very important to you, and I don't want to mess up a detail. Could you please send me a quick email so that I won't need to contact you again with a question?" Or just send an email yourself, asking a leading question or along the lines of "as we discussed in your office this afternoon, I'm going to....".

But when you have a problem with someone, let the bad feelings cool off and go start a conversation with that person, privately. Or get caught up in the butthurt/offensive/defensive/talk-behind-the-back spiral. Your choice.

 

[lunchbox]

So, after venting here and to my wife about this whole thing, I decided to talk to the office manager and find out what the hell happened. I started by saying that I was sorry that there was a misunderstanding somewhere in the dialogue.

She responded by saying that she was sorry for the way she reacted and had taken out her stress on me that day. She also stated that she felt it was really unfair that I was put in the position I was, by my super and big boss, after only about 30 minutes of training (for a task that can take years to learn), and then being expected to perform to a standard that is reserved for staff that have been doing this task for years.

In short, I think some time to vent and give it some hard thought has paid off for both of us, as I was told that she was really pissed off too.

Now, my super's position on the other hand...

But he's a young 32 year old, and this is his first managerial position ever. I'm trying to cut him some slack, but keep coming up short with his refusal to see my side of things, his conflicting direction on projects, and unrealistic expectations. He could really use some management training and team building courses. But his example for the dept's management framework is big boss, who employs none of those traits either. Monkey see, monkey do.

Ah well. I now have a target on my back and will keep a low profile until I can move along.

Or get caught up in the butthurt/offensive/defensive/talk-behind-the-back spiral. Your choice.

You're absolutely correct. But in this case my venting was limited to my wife and.....MLP. MLP is a great, semi-anonymous place to discuss issues, garner differing opinions, and take the time to think things through as opposed to rash decision making. Despite how you would have handled it, it was the correct path for me to take, as facing her a day sooner, before we both had time to vent, might have ended in catastrophe for me.