Bullying Advice (not sure if it would be classed as bullying)

[joelk2]

So ive been working at the company now for 9 years. In this 9 years ive taken ona hell of a lot of extra work to ensure my department runs smooth (was 3 of us and then they made 1 redundant)

so we've all been doing it.

ive seen through 6 MD's within the company and have personally had 4 managers.

the most recent of ones became our manager a few years ago (moved from elesewhere within the company)

the company is going through a "Change" and basically we are merging with other companies the main group owns. my manager since then has become a complete tool to put it bluntly.

we have to now copy him into every email and he's told us to be more friendly and polite in our emails (which we've done) every day I come in to an email from him (not leading by example) which is saying i could have done this or that better or critisizing something ive done.

not once has he said thankyou your emails are much better now.

he told me to add

"if i can be of any further assistance please find my direct contact details below" to my emails.

i added this as a signature and he commented that its getting repetitve and not very personal so only use that line on the first email to the customer.

i sent my 4th email within 2 days to a customer and removed that line of text only to come into an email this morning where he said I think that email would have been a prime example to use that line on.

i dont know if i have a case for bullying but it certainly feels that way, he's very demoralizing and quite honestly I want to leave based on him alone.

Another good one is in my appraisal he had a pile of my quotations I'd prepared and pointed out mistakes in all of them (i put semior instead of senior in one) I didnt have full customer details (i use what is given by my sales reps and wasnt given the full details)

not once was it brought up how much work we actually do and the full team of 5 of us contribute to 40%+ of the companies profit in which their are hundreds of people doing anything sales related. everything was about ensure we have a personalised phone message and our emails are nice.

sorry fot the long winded email.

tdlr; boss is a tool, i think he's bullying (might not be the right word) me do i have a leg to stand on/is it worth going to hr.

 

[joelk2]

i did mention bullying might be the wrong word.

thanks fo the feedback though chaps.

knowing him he is not a good manager in the slightest. he doesnt practice what he preaches which is the thing that winds me up.

his words are treat everyone internal or external the same. yet his internal emails are riddled with spelling mistakes, are pretty rube and abrupt.

external emails he's been known on more than one occasion to forward internal emails to customers (one in particular was when a sales rep told them not to change the quote as the customer thinks they are getting a discount but none has been applied)

the way he manages seems to focus on all the wrong things. my emails have always been polite and ive always been very helpful, we've received a lot of repeat business due to the way ive handled the customer.

 

[joelk2]

To be honest it sounds like he may be trying to justify his position to his bosses since the company is changing which I imagine is going to put him under the microscope.

this is how im looking at it and think it may be the case.

 

[joelk2]

Isn't it completely pointless to say it at all? If your signature has your contact details on it, most people are smart enough to use them if they need to!

you'd think so.

it was more of the point him telling me to do it, and then telling me not to and then going back on what he said and telling me to add it.

 

[joelk2]

I once worked for somebody who would chop and change his mind in a similar fashion. Part of my role was to write commentary to go alongside the analysis of the Financial statements, he would proof read and then reword things based on how he wanted the message to come across. I would often find him reword something one month, the next month I would keep the commentary in line with what he had changed it to, only for him to say he didn't like it and then change it again. It was like trying to hit a constantly moving target.

In the end whenever he did that I would attach his old emails that told me to change it in the first place. Not sure that really helped the situation, but it made me feel a lot better.

it would make me feel better too so know where your coming from.

we dont see eye to eye, we have had heated discussions in the past about a similar situation.

he told us the sales reps need to do more, when i asked a sales rep to get me the full information my manager said this is something i could do instead. (i pointed out thats exactly what he told us not to do and we had a debate about it which ended with him saying my attitude wasnt right for the company)

 

[joelk2]

Any chance of answering my post regarding your colleagues etc?

ahh missed that one sorry,

colleague does feel the same but he's not one to rock the boat so to say. he's happy to sit quiet until they turns the lights out at the company.

 

[joelk2]

Just leave /look for a new job?

something im looking into, kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place with that one.

no post college qualifications (qualified as an electronic engineer)
no real experience in the field i want to move to (structural - except my job 9 years ago when i modelled and detailed bridges)
paid ok for what i actually do (cad technician)

been here 9 years without any real progress, its 10 mins walk from house door to door and i walk past where my little girl starts school in september

so any new job i take will need to be a decrease in pay which is not viable with a mortgage/family and bills

 

[joelk2]

To be fair mate it sounds like you have really just taken the easy option all of these years, instead of bettering yourself and your prospects.

It's never too late to go back and so do some learning.

i have indeed, its just been close to home and ok pay so just cruising along.

now i want to better myself its not helped the situation.

its a bit late when i couldnt afford to not work to persue training.

 

[joelk2]

need to take a serious look into it all. id consider a switch in roles even. but again the money side of things would suffer.

 

[joelk2]

What kind of cad? Think it's quite an open field?
I imagine there's a fair few design consultancies that will pick you up if you apply yourself right and show you're keen.

Failing that learn some of it at home and boast it on cv? (no idea of the qualifications required)

it is very much an open field.

ive used it as more of a jack of all trades master of none. previsou job was great and really honed on a specific way of using it where as the new job (9 years) was very much a step back.

ive managed to get some training in Revit Architecture which is the way i really want to take my career. a structural consultancy or something

That's life mate, and sometimes you need to make short-term sacrifices to win long-term gains. There's rarely an easy option in these situations.

i know this, im hard working, very open to learning new things and generally i pick up things really easily and learn quickly. often i dont even seem to get my foot in the door of places as i just dont have those pieces of paper to say i can do the job. (even though i know i can)

ill keep looking around, ive sent my cv off to a number of places.

Ive been avoiding agencies as much as possible as in all my years they've never been of any use. even though i see very rarely that companies themselves advertise even though an agency is.

 

[joelk2]

@dowie, im not too good with grammar I must admit.

@skyripper, if only. in each others pocket to say the least.

@swillsy, not one complaint in 9 years, a spelling mistake here and there has got to be let go of surely? the other things he brought up were ridiculous as they wasnt my fault, I can only work with the information given to me.

@Slam62, i am now being so nice its sickening. im just waiting for an email saying that he thinks im being sarcastic now.

@SMN, My CV has been sent out to a number of places. I hate dealing with recruitment agencies as in my past experience all they do is waste my time. but most jobs seem to be advertised with them..

@Rroff, He's not going to move on unless pushed, he's been with the company a while and it waiting for retirement. Holding my tongue is hard (and not me)