Hello all,
I  work for the US Postal service ,23 yrs now, its always been a place of bad management ,but I am thankful to have a job and have always been able to laugh for the most part at the awful stuff they come up with

Here is my question:
do any of you have to deal with a boss that is difficult to work with?
Lately we have a woman that is awful to everyone, including yours truly.
she trusts no one and is always making comments and suggestions ,but not in a nice way,
Even customers tell me they dont like her ,some just by looking at her!
she is obviously unhappy, ( cause if your happy , you dont treat people mean right?)
I have delt with some bad managment over the yrs, but this woman
really makes the workplace uptight.
any suggestions?
thanks
Dave

Maybe she's the poster child for the phrase 'going postal'. It seems like the smallest people have the biggest egos and they figure they have to put someone down to improve their own self-esteem. The problem I have is the HR departments that keep promoting these yahoos.

f

Dave:

First of all, I'm sorry you're dealing with this.  I've been there and know exactly how it is.  I spent 11 months working for the worst supervisor I could imagine.  This person was absolutely impossible and obsessed with having control.  It became very hard to go to work and want to do a good job.  I have always been a good worker, and I always try hard to do what I'm being paid to do.  But this person sucked the life out of me.  I ended up getting moved to another dept. but I'm still near this guy and see him every now and then. I see how the people are being treated under his management and I ache for them (he turned all the desks around so he can see everyone's computer screen, basic chicken-schit stuff like that all day long).   He went into a dept. full of folks who know their job and do their job and has completely drained the life from that dept. as well.  It's always the same M.O. with folks like that and they'll likely never change.  

All I can tell you to do is endure it.  When it gets tough, say the word 'endure' under your breath.  Think of your family and think of all the poor folks who would love to have your job.  That's the only way I got through it.  It was a brutal 11 months putting up with all the BS.  Being treated like a child was humiliating and completely insulting for me.  At times I felt like I was back in grade school with someone watching over my shoulder all day.  But -- and I can't believe I'm about to write this -- I can honestly say that it changed me for the better.  I LOVE what I do now and have a new appreciation for my day-to-day activities, mostly because I don't have to deal with Mr. Impossible.  And I know that I only gained such perspective by feeling like I was in prison for a year and now free.  Perspective isn't cheap but it's worth every dime of pain it takes to earn it. 

Hang in there and don't lose hope.  

QuoteAll I can tell you to do is endure it.

other options - if you think she will be there long term
- request a transfer to another area,
  if its really that bad then even driving farther to work would be worth your happiness
- retire early if possible - happiness is more important than money
- go over her head and report her - but be willing to accept her wrath if she finds out

or do what I did...
Fire the company and get yourself a new company.
I'm serious.
When you take a job it is a business contract between you and a company.
Either one of you can terminate the contract.
They can terminate the contract with you (fire, lay off, go out of business, move away and leave you...)

BUT
you can also FIRE THE COMPANY....   and find another company to enter into a new contract.

I worked for a company that was long-term unreasonable and very abusive - I fired them.
I'm very happy now in my 'new contract' -

I don't make much money but I'm happy and free to enjoy life again....
and I have time to play guitar now  :bgrin:   no more on call 24 x 7 and 80hr weeks

You must decide your priority.....
what's more important - free and happy or
money, rank, seniority, secure but enslaved...., whatever makes you want to stay and 'endure' the abuse.

whatever you do,  don't 'go postal'  :wink:

Keep in mind this b1tch is good for nothing else, that is why they made her management. If possable just ignore her and do your job the way you always have.
The other option is to be the biggest a$$  you can muster up and maybe they will make you her boss.

   Another option. Get all of the affected employees together, first keeping records of the abuse. Have to stick together. Either all or elect the best spokesperson to have a meeting with the supervisor above her. Present your issues. There are witnesses, even better. Don't you have a union in the USPS? If so, approach the steward about this. Nobody needs or deserves to be humiliated like this.
   If this is another issue, such as "why do you want to see him/her", best in numbers. Went through this crap @ Sikorsky Aircraft years ago, open shop, but still had enough occurrences to prove our point & get satisfaction. Taping something? Probably not allowed. Too bad. Best way to nail her!
     Jeff

hey guys,
good to know you guys have been through the crap, I swear if she was a dude ,I might have kicked her fat butt sometime ago, good thing , I dont want any legal trouble,
yeah, we have a gutless union.
we have had discussions about her and once I stood after work and really told her what I thought of her, how unhappy she must be to treat people the way she does and so much more, I told her she has problems and doesnt she care or wonder that no one likes her?
it was a heavy conversation, I know she hates me because I told her like it is and she didnt like hearing the truth.
I try to do the Christian thing and consider her one of Gods children, but ,it is very hard.
I will try to get along, thanks for all the advice!
Dave

There's an old adage: : "Those who can, do; those who can't do, teach; those who can't teach; manage." From a personal perspective, I have worked for both good and bad managers and I can see that you have gotten some good advice from several posters already and there are resources on line that will offer some practical tips. I just typed in "how to deal with a bad boss" and this came up:

http://www.quintcareers.com/bad_bosses.html

Make sure you document everything, leave your emotions at the door, stick to the facts and remember to look at things from your manager's perspective. There are a lot of people out there who don't know how to cope and they take it out on those around them. If there are other employees who feel the same way about your supervisor, try to get a couple of them to come forward. Don't go over her head until you approach her directly. The reality is that there are a lot of politics in any organization and even more for a government entity like the U.S. Postal Service.

In closing, it's important to remember that everyone is an employee and has to answer to a higher power. Even a successful independent business owner has to answer to him/herself and to his/her customers or clients. With baseball season right around the corner, remember to keep your sense of humor and enjoy the moment.

"The secret to being a good manager is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four who are undecided." Casey Stengel

People get promoted to supervisors for many different reasons, and interpersonal skills are usually not on the top of the list. DaveyO, it sounds like you sure got a stinker. But let me put a different perspective on this. In general, supervisors are like baloney between two pieces of bread in that they are the buffer between upper management and rank and file.. Their function is to operationalize the demands of upper management, and supervisors are often tasked to carry out policies and procedures in which they may have had little input and are not in agreement with. This creates a whole lot of role ambivalence for a supervisor in such a position. A supervisor simply can't publicly state disagreement with established management directives, and usually has little authority to change those directives. An unhappy or conflicted supervisor unfortunately in many cases can only take out these frustrations on those people who work under him. Unfair, yes, but this is human nature. Complaining to upper management is usually ineffective, because the supervisor is doing EXACTLY what upper management wants her to do. Unfortunately for you, a rotten personality is often an insufficient cause for a grievance. You need to focus on measurable, behavioral evidence of abusive management on her part. As has been already mentioned, the key is to faithfully and accurately document any and all abuses with as much corroborative information as you can get. At some point, the preponderance of evidence will weigh in your favor, and you've got an excellent case for a union grievance or a harrassment suit. 

Go postal  :winkin:

I've had my share of bad bosses, believe me.  But I think it's a bit unfair and unreasonable to assume that everyone in management is incompetent and unqualified.  My dad used to use the old "Those who can, will; those who can't, coach" bit.  But my dad was bitter and hated authority, and that statement reeks of sour grapes. 

The main thing I've learned in the workplace is this: this, too, shall pass.  If you've got a great boss, it won't last.  If you've got a bad boss, that won't last either.  Things are always changing in the workplace. 

Quote from: Johnny M on March 13, 2010, 11:14:06 AM
Go postal  :winkin:

sorry, I really dislike that term "go postal" its not funny and I have heard it repeatedly thru the yrs.
most of the people that I work with are really good people,good hearts and good workers,
The post office employs a lot of people so chances are you are going to have voilence, but I must say that
management being as it is , bring it on themselves, I could tell you story after story of how heartless they can be.
thanks again for the advice,
you people are the best
Dave

Davey;

My advice is to grin and bear it, do the very best you can every day, catch more flies with honey than vinegar, kill 'em with love.. etc, etc

And kinda on topic... postal workers canceling letters by hand in Ghana, making something good out of a really borrrrring gig;
http://lint.vox.com/library/post/postal-workers-canceling-stamps-at-the-university-of-ghana-post-office.html

d.

Quote from: DaveyO on March 13, 2010, 12:09:06 PM
sorry, I really dislike that term "go postal" its not funny and I have heard it repeatedly thru the yrs.
most of the people that I work with are really good people,good hearts and good workers,
The post office employs a lot of people so chances are you are going to have voilence, but I must say that
management being as it is , bring it on themselves, I could tell you story after story of how heartless they can be.
thanks again for the advice,
you people are the best
Dave

Sorry Dave, I was just joking around and trying to make light of a difficult situation.  No offense meant.

John

Dave sorry to hear this, i believe the best solution is to approach her on a one on one base and ask her what her problem is. Believe me it works most times, she will appreciate your strong approach and honesty, if it didn't work, well you tried.
Most in the managements are not bad, it's the power above that changes their attitude......"The rechet expectation to deliver more money and business"

Wow. I never realized until now that as a part of management I was good for nothing else.

Quote from: Johnny M on March 13, 2010, 12:32:44 PM
Sorry Dave, I was just joking around and trying to make light of a difficult situation.  No offense meant.

John

no problem,
the going postal thing just gets old after a couple of yrs. :rolleye:
Dave

Hi Davey,

I'd like to join those who are sorry that you are going through this and to also say I've been there.  There seems to be a lot of good advice and support coming to you. 

In my own case, which has thankfully passed, the nutcase boss told me in our first meeting that he was going to fire me eventually.  I had been a star employee to that point, so I asked him on what grounds and he gave a vague answer.  I was a supervisor at the time and he asked me to draw up a list of employees that I was going fire and present it to him by the end of the week.  I again asked on what grounds and he had no specific answer.  It was something along the lines of "I know we can get better people than these."  He was new in the U.S., didn't understand our laws, and in general had disrespect towards the U.S. and our laws.  As it turned out, he could never make a case that I should be fired, but eventually he got his way by eliminating my job in a budget cut.  Fortunately, I had a good reputation and another manager picked me up immediately. 

Which brings me to my two thoughts for you.  If there is any way to get a transfer, do it!  I struggled for too long and all of the stress just wasn't worth it.  Secondly, be sure you find an outlet for the anger and frustration you must be feeling.  This was hard for me.  What worked for me was exercise and talking to a few close friends.  I'm glad you posted your note here, too!

I hope this hasn't interfered with your guitar playing!  I find that even the most joyful activities can lose their charm.

Best regards,
Peter

Quote from: C-10-4-me on March 13, 2010, 08:36:16 PM
Wow. I never realized until now that as a part of management I was good for nothing else.

I'm glad I could straighten that out for you.     :humour:

I wasn't trying to put down anyone in a management position, I was just reacting emotionally to the OP based on my own bad supervisor experience.
I'm sorry if I offended you or anyone else.

BTW my brother-in-law is a postal carrier and he is having this exact experience with a new femail supervisor. And yes I know I misspelled female.

thanks again everyone for all the suggestions,
I wish I could transfer ,it isnt easy and right now is not the best time anyways, no hiring ,no ones going anywhere..
someone said that things change and they are right, I know sooner of later she will move on
Its just that every day its always something with her, not just me,
but being the person I am and the strong sense of right and wrong, and the fact that I dont like to
take crap from anyone ,its hard for me.
Just hard to understand how anyone can be that way,
why make life harder than it is?
thanks again,
and guitar playing always takes me away from problems.
I thank God for that
Dave

Quote from: DaveyO on March 12, 2010, 11:30:47 PM
hey guys,
good to know you guys have been through the crap, I swear if she was a dude ,I might have kicked her fat butt sometime ago, good thing , I dont want any legal trouble,
yeah, we have a gutless union.
we have had discussions about her and once I stood after work and really told her what I thought of her, how unhappy she must be to treat people the way she does and so much more, I told her she has problems and doesnt she care or wonder that no one likes her?
it was a heavy conversation, I know she hates me because I told her like it is and she didnt like hearing the truth.
I try to do the Christian thing and consider her one of Gods children, but ,it is very hard.
I will try to get along, thanks for all the advice!
Dave

Hi Dave,   Since you've already approached her one on one,  any further complaints should probably be taken as a group to her supv as bluesman1 suggested or thru filing grievances if her actions have broken contractual union agreements.   
I'm an outside telephone technician.  A few years ago a young lady was placed in charge of our workgroup.  She had previously been a dispatcher but knew little of what an outside tech actually did.  She'd been taken under the wing of a manager who had little respect for the outside techs and she pretty much believed everything she was told.  At our first meeting  she accused everyone of taking excessive breaks, being out of route,  being lazy, "screwing the pooch" was how she put it and all this was based a a fairly new GPS system which we eventually proved was very flawed.  At another meeting a month later a tech made the comment that we'd seen many supervisors come and go over the years and everyone in the room would still be here long after she was gone.  Her reaction, "I'm not going anywhere, and if I do I'm taking all of you with me".  Her blind micromanagement of things she knew little about drove us nuts.  It took two years but she eventually figured out she'd been fed a lot of hogwash by upper management and that she had a good crew working for her.  She mellowed out in time and kept to doing what she did best,  crossing t's and dotting i's and left the outside plant to us.  She and three other mgrs were victims of downsizing shortly after that.  Three techs have retired,  the rest of us are still here holding the place together.  Sorry to ramble but your story was way too familiar. 

Dave watch the movie "Proposal"