Pit my boss

The BBQ Pit
1

And how inconsistent he is.

I work in a small department in County Government. There are 4 of us. We are GIS. We make maps. I’ve been there for 24 years.

On Saturday I tripped going down my neighbors outside stairs and did a face plant in his drive. I was knocked out. I’ve a bunch of bruised ribs, a sprained shoulder a black eye and scraped up face.

I go into work on Monday, and tell my boss that I’m going to the Doc. He says “do what ever you have to” Doc sends me to Emergency to get x-rays. Since another co-worker decides to come in on a scheduled day off, I elect to go home. I’m frankly a mess but nothing is broken. I also take Tuesday off.

I go in to work today to complete some paper work my boss requested that I get done this week. I have Thursday and Friday already scheduled off, so I wanted to get it done. (even though it’s not that time critical, it’s my ‘self review’)

I send boss said requested paper work, and say that I have a few things to do, but will be leaving soon as I’m still very sore and need to get ice on my shoulder and eye.
Boss responded “OK, I figured that was going to be the case”. He saw me this morning and I still look like I just stepped out of a car wreck.

I did some additional work and sent my boss a link to a very important proof of concept idea that we will need finalized in a few months. He said that it looked very promising.

So… For me it’s time to go. I’m still very sore and need to get home. I walk into my bosses office with my coat in hand.

The Pit part -

ME - “Yep, that proof of concept I sent is going to work. It will need polish as soon as I find out the requirements”
BOSS, sees my coat in my hand “Where are you going?” He is visibly upset that I’m leaving even though I had told him I would be. And he can see I look like an extra in a zombie movie.

WTF. I made it to work twice this week, when I should have probably been in the hospital. He admits that "It would ‘probably be the case’ after I told him I was going home shortly after I do some more work.

Then, when I say ‘goodbye’ He asks me where I’m going. Um, what? I told him I would be leaving soon. And BOSS is upset that I’m leaving after putting in 3 hours when I should not have been there at all.

The Hell? Is he bi-polar? Manic -depressive? Forgets what he said just 2 hours before?

Same boss gave me shit for going to my Father In Laws funeral. His boss gave him GREAT amounts of shit about that when I brought it up to his boss. Boss apologized profusely. Again and again.

What an ass.

2

Doctors note.

Send to your boss, his boss and HR department of county government.

Take off whatever sick time your doctor says is required. If your boss makes a fuss - report what he says to his boss and copy to HR department.

You’re being taken advantage of by someone who does not give a shit about other human beings.

3

<snip>Yeah… but don’t want to be treated like a child needing a note from Doctor or ‘Mommy’. I’ve been there for 24 years. I know when I can’t or can work. I do not abuse sick leave, I have 700 hours saved up. And when the Boss says no problem, but then gives you crap, within hours, well, he has a bit of a problem.

4

Those are the same thing. The former term superseded the latter. :slight_smile:

5

Surprised at how fast and how often that switch can be flipped. We all walk on eggshells.

6

I’ve never met your boss so I’m just speculating. But I’ve had to work with people who don’t like to say things directly so they say things indirectly. And sometimes so indirectly that other people miss the clues and can’t figure out the hidden meaning.

So your boss doesn’t want you to leave work. But he doesn’t want to say “You can’t leave early” because he wants to avoid confrontation. So he waits until you’re actually leaving and says “Where are you going?” - this is his hint that he doesn’t want you to leave. He’s acting as if the question of you leaving early never arose. He’s expecting you will pick up on it and figure out his intention and then give him an easy out by saying something like “Nowhere. I was just moving my coat from the closet to my desk.”

But if you don’t play along and say “I’m leaving now like we discussed earlier” he’s upset because in his mind, he told you that you can’t leave.

7

Document, document, document. You’re not dealing with people, you’re dealing with a large faceless entity. There is no personal trust with large organizations. Brief verbal communications are always open to miscommunication.

Cover your ass with documents. Yes, it may seem childish. It is. Do it anyway.

8

I know someone with the condition who says she “cycles rapidly”, rendering the usual medications useless.

I don’t know or even care if the boss in question has this condition. Bipolar disorder is often treatable, and if not, it might in severe cases count as a disability that prevents someone from working. The boss is working, so I don’t think that’s the issue. I think the boss is either forgetful or a jerk.

9

Yep, even if my boss is just down at the other end of the room, I prefer email so I have a written record. CYA. Learned that a long time ago.

It’s impossible to not have face to face discussions though I have requested and been granted that my bosses boss is present at our bi-monthly meetings. Boss/boss is always there. And I can get a word in edgewise with my boss.

Still, it’s difficult to deal with a happy go lucky guy that turns into the prince of darkness at a moments notice. I suspect my boss is a bit broken.

And my bosses Wife is the Finance director, and is technically my boss/boss/boss/boss.

I like my boss well enough, though we are different. My Wife also works for them for about 30 years. I’m coming up on 26 years.

Bah. Eggshells. Needed to complain a bit.

10

Cycles rapidly. Hmm… That really seems to be it. Because it only takes an hour or two.

My wide eyed silent co-workers confirm that.

I’m often dumfounded in meetings because of the contradictions to what he just said.

Or he’s just forgetful and/or a jerk… I See that too.

11

I hear you.

This is really hard, because they lull you into thinking that they are reasonable people, so you forget to document. Then it bites you on the ass. Rinse and repeat.

12

If they are manic in the morning and depressive in the afternoon, then they most likely have borderline personality disorder.

13

Some more…

My boss does not want less than two people in the office at a time.

OK.

He and I are both big guys and we have two very capable coworkers that can handle ‘walk ins’ to answer questions. The coworkers are both women (this is important in my bosses eye). And that is their job. Not because they are women, but because that’s the position they hired into. I did it for many, many years, and still do.

And my boss claims to be worried about them. Worried to leave them alone.

Every day I eat in the office to cover ‘lunch’. Any of us, including my boss can cover the 3 ‘walk ins’ we get a MONTH. But this seems to put my boss in terror. In GIS you just don’t know what question is going to come in the door or on-line. We manage quite fine (it’s something I’m very proud of).

So at a meeting, when this was brought up, a female coworker said “If a gunman comes in, I’m going to run out the other door! I’m not going to try to protect anyone.”

It’s fine for me being alone for an hour or two because I’m a big guy.

My boss has since got a CCW. He showed me the pistol as he knows I own a few guns. My boss does not carry at work as far as I can tell.

14

^This

15

Please do not conflate your boss’ bad attitude with bipolar disorder which is an actual real mental disorder that has nothing to do with treating other people badly. In addition, those with bipolar disorder do NOT change moods daily. Usually the manic or depressive phases last months. Rapid cycling refers to episodes that occur more than 4 times in a year. Recently, there have been people proposing ultrarapid cycling where the symptoms last only days to weeks. In no cases does bipolar disorder shift in the course of minutes or hours. If mood is shifting this quickly then it is NOT bipolar disorder.

16

Yeah… It’s tough when 'large faceless entity is 500 people that you have known for a loooong time. Most people wonder how in the hell I can still work for my boss or why he is still there.

I like my job 90% of the time. I’m sure I’m lucky. I get to do what I want in the direction I want or are directed to move.

It sucks though, in times of difficulty, I have a boss that can’t communicate, listen or understand.

I’ve known him for … 24 years. We have NEVER become friends. That’s kinda sad. If he doesn’t come into work, no one cares.

I’ll call into work sick perhaps 3 days a year. My boss, a least that much. When he busts his ass on something he will call in for more time off. I truly did bust my ass and came in when we where ‘short’ handed (a Monday, he would be alone). A co-worker came in so I could leave, go to the Doc and get x-rays.

Frankly, I am, was a mess. Ever try to sleep with all your ribs bruised? That’s a new one for me. My eye opens, but has such a black eye I can hardly see. My shoulder and left leg is a whole different story. As I ‘heal’ I’m finding new injuries. Jammed thumb and finger. I can close my left hand now, but it sucks.

I manage to limp in to work (my doc and hospital are close. I get time off only to be asked “where are you going?”)

Guess… After x-rays I think I will go home.

17

OK. Thanks for the info.

It just seems so odd. Great understanding guy, to a complete ditch witch in a matter of hours. Is there a complete ‘asshole’ disorder? I’m serious.

18

I don’t understand. Has someone been threatening your office? Why would anyone be afraid to be alone at work in the daytime?

At my former job I was not allowed to work alone because of the danger of electrocution, but I would never have been afraid to be alone even though I was working night shifts.

19

What the OP has been describing in this thread is definitely not something that should be permitted to continue anywhere, let alone in a government office. The supervisor in question (assuming the OP’s description is accurate; I have no reason to doubt the OP) has created what’s known as a hostile work environment. Apparently, the bit of nepotism that has occurred in the local government has given the OP’s supervisor the idea that said supe is “covered” for doing things that are either against policy or illegal–or both. There are a few issues that stand out to me here:

[ul][li]Unpaid work (working through lunch)[/li][li]Failure to implement or even have a policy for sick leave[/li][li]Discrimination in assignments[/ul][/li]
Governments have inspector generals for a reason. The OP’s supervisor is part of that reason. The boss is not “broken”; he’s an extreme liability to the government and, ultimately, to the tax payers. From the evidence in this thread, he’s not a guy who’s usually “happy go lucky”. No; he’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.