Chatter

By Mike

July 3, 2006 11:03 AM | Link to this

My worst boss ran an interior design firm. At one point our office grew from seven employees to 21, and we needed to order office supplies - scissors, staplers, rulers, etc.

The delivery man showed up and we needed to get the boss to sign a check for $250. He got indignant and said, “our office supply budget is $100 a month!” He then got on the floor, in his $5,000 custom made suit, and went through the boxes to decide what we were allowed to keep.

I would much rather work for Miranda Priestly - she had drive and vision and worked as hard as her employees. This guy would go on “business trips” to cities where we didn’t have any business so he wouldn’t be in town to sign our paychecks.

By 9to5

July 3, 2006 12:16 PM | Link to this

Haven’t seen the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” yet, but back in the day when I was 19 and working my way through college as a secretary, I had a boss who was like Dabney Coleman’s character, Mr. Hart in the movie “9 to 5”. He definitely fit the profile of the “sexist, egotistical, lying hypocritical bigot” and had me schlepping coffee to boot! Mind you, this was pre-Anita Hill and women did not have as many protections in the workplace as we do now. Fortunately, there are laws on the books now that prohibit the kind of behavior that the creep I worked for was doing AND I got out of that lousy job and into a MUCH better one.

One thing I did learn from the experience was how NOT to treat your employees when you become a manager (which I have become). It was also a lesson in what comes around goes around. As it turned out, my then boss had an affair with a student (GROSS!) and got caught and his wife divorced him. I just hope she took him to the cleaners, as she was a very sweet lady with two beautiful daughters.

By up-n-going

July 3, 2006 01:12 PM | Link to this

On business trips, my boss insists on selecting the restaurant (usually one that covers her high per diem but not my own much lower one), then spends the evening berating the staff and making us all quite uncomfortable. She yells at the flight attendants, quarrels with the cab drivers, and makes the most petty, time consuming requests at the hotel front desk “I have to have a room on the top floor… I can’t sleep if people are walking above me.”

As you could imagine, her petty self-centered diatribes are directed at her “underlings” whenever there is not a more unfortunate service person in the vicinity. But worse, she knows us, so she’s much more calculating in her cruelty.

I was recently delighted to be excused from a business trip to a lovely European city. I’d never been there and would love to go someday - but the thought of going with her makes my skin crawl. When asked if he’s excited to go, my colleague who is going simply groans anguished replies.

By DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE

July 4, 2006 09:19 AM | Link to this

TOOK AWAY OR TELECOMMUTING PRIVILEGES AFTER 6+ YRS. THIS IS A TRAVESTY TO END SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL FOR THIS LONG. THE DECISION OF (1)LITTLE MAN IS GOING TO NEGATIVELY EFFECT EMPLOYEES, THE ENVIRONMENT, OUR ONGOING BATTLE TO CONSERVE RESOURCES, AND THE GROWING TRAFFIC PROBLEM IN THE ATLANTA AREA. FOR A MAJOR TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY TO REVERSE THE POSITIVE TREND STARTED THROUGH TELECOMMUTING IS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO ALL OF US IN THE METRO AREA AND GLOBALLY.

By Gypsy Lady

July 5, 2006 12:16 AM | Link to this

In the place that I used to work the boss would not allow an employee to leave the job(although others would have covered while he was gone) for long enough to go to the hospital to pick up his wife and NEWBORN baby! An employee, who returned from the MD with a note to go home and a temperature of 103 was not allowed to leave. As sick as she was, she had to stay and drive a van.

For those of you who think state workers have it “easy” think again. Some may; most don’t.

By Hotlanta

July 6, 2006 07:56 AM | Link to this

I had a boss that would go through the trash when I left the office everyday to see what I was throwing out. Glad to get away from that idiot because I know that he was going through my desk when I left to go home everyday.

By Pat

July 10, 2006 09:36 AM | Link to this

My “former” manager has zero class and no knowledge about how to dress, so she could be called a Payless Devil (and that’s giving her way too much praise, but can you go lower than Payless? However, she was just as big a biatch as Ms. Streep!