STEP 5 of Walking The Plank Toward Termination: Is Your Boss Hassling You About Tiny Aspects of Your Work?
October 31, 2008 · Print This Article
If you feel like your boss has suddenly started hassling you about tiny, and seemingly irrelevant aspects of your job, then a red flag should go up in your mind. This is another tell-tale sign that your boss is on the hunt for an employee to terminate — you.
Your boss may be trying to “build a record” of documented mistakes you have made, in order to justify terminating you. Your boss probably has not given you any negative feedback for years, if ever. And when the boss evaluates the major parts of your job — everything is fine. So, instead of noting your solid performance and moving on, your boss redoubles his or her efforts to find something, anything, that you are doing wrong.
This leads your boss into the tiny minutiae of your job — items that you can’t really say are unimportant, but are often get done not exactly “by the book.” Your boss comes in, and makes a huge deal about something you are doing that is not EXACTLY “by the book.”
Everything works fine. And your boss has never cared. Until now.
But to your boss, this is an end-of-the-world problem you’ve caused.
Step back and realize, your boss’s reaction fits with how bad the boss wants to let you go; your boss’s reaction does not fit with how bad a mistake you actually made.
What Should You Do?
1. Ask your boss what is going on
Be polite about this. Don’t sneer and be sarcastic. Simply state that its obvious that something has changed, and ask what happened? Why the change?
You’re probably going to hear something like “Well I found one obvious error in your work, so I’m worried that there are other errors in your work that are not so obvious.” This is how your boss will justify tearing through your desk and computer in search of any mistake that could possibly justify terminating you. How to deal with this is the next tip…
2. Ask what your boss needs to see from you in order to win their trust back
The directness and honesty of saying this will knock your boss off-balance. For just a moment, they will think to themselves “Maybe there is a better employee here than I realized…” You must seize that moment. Follow up with something like, “I want to show you that I still deserve the trust you once had in me. What would you like to see from me in order to get that trust back?”
If your boss starts telling you what they want to see, then you’ve won. That’s because a boss is not going to give an employee a list of goals, and then terminate the employee the next day. So take careful note of that list that comes pouring out of your boss’s mouth — make sure they are measurable goals, and achieve them. You will save your job.
BUT, if your boss does not respond with a list of things he or she wants to see from you, then you know your job situation is truly dire. For example, your boss may say, “I don’t know, let me think on that one.” Or, “I’m surprised to hear you say that… wish you had said that earlier…” (and then walks away).
So if your boss doesn’t give you a list of things to improve, and continues hassling you about the tiniest aspects of your work, then you know you are one step further down the plank toward termination. It may be time to consider legal defenses, that do not rely on changing your boss’s mind about you.
Have you had a boss that micro manages your work, hassling you about the tinies aspects of your work? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
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This sounds like exactly what I’m dealing with right now, with one exception, he is trying to have me moved. I like where I am despite the many problems and I don’t want to be forced out. That would be letting him win. I could file a sexual discrimination charge against him but it would make things worse. I think that knowledge is the main reason he wants me gone. He is afraid I will act on it. How do I protect myself? He won’t talk to me about anything just yells at me to get out of the office and drop the subject. There is a lot more to it, more that I can go into here.
Pixela,
You certainly do NOT deserved to be moved, or forced out, because you boss is afraid that you “have something” on him.
You said that filing the sex discrimination charge “would make things worse”, but would it really? Worse than moving away from the area and people you like?
It’s so very hard, and scary, to confront or turn-in a boss. But you CAN do it. You owe it to yourself, and to the others who have been (or will be) abused by this jerk.
Most people feel unsupported, and so they don’t speak up. That’s part of what this site (particularly the forum) can do for you. There’s lots of good people there who are going through exactly the same thing as you. http://www.undercoverlawyer.com/forum/
-Curt K
I was just written up today, as i walk that plank…
I’ve been working in a hostile work environment for the last 2 years or so. Last July/08 I contacted the EEOC regarding the situtation because i felt i was being harrased and pushed to quit my job. the deputy at the EEOC interviewed me and advised that attempt to resolve the issue with my HR department. I did this promptly on the 25th of July i wrote the HR director and copied my manager. The HR Director did an investigation that included interviewing me, and providing me with a summary of her findings. She promised a couple of times to set up an appt to have a meeting with my manager to discuss the situation but that never happened. Today i was written up for the same reasons that i was stating that were going to be used against me. My claim is that i am treated diferently, harrassed (exposed to a hostile work environment), discriminated. i based my claim on showing where others did not have to follow the rules that were set for me and that when a co-worker complained about me my manager quickly took verbal action with me but when i complained the issue was addresssed to no one in particular. opportunities such as training and equipment that were offere to the young, white, mostly male team members were not offered to me without any explanation.
what do you think my next course of action should be, do i go back to the EEOC? Any advise would be greatly appreciated Curt.
thanks,
– Doreen
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