Post your Worst Boss 2

[Neubaten]

For scientific interest.

I'll start with my worst boss so far:


-Insecure personally and profesionally.
Is an engineer, but with R&D background, not industrial.

-Obssesed over control and information (uses to patologically hide it, even when unnecessary)

-Obstruct every posible professional development of underlings. Specially if there's a possibility of outshining.

-Puts down people behind their backs and diminish every positive aspect of everyone.

-Nice with superiors, rude with underlings.

-Uses fear to consequences as an everyday tool.


I've had some other bad bosses, but it's difficult to imagine a more undermining, more soul-depriving, worse kind.

 

[mauricestoker]

We had lots of copters, they're the most fun going from open water to mountains. After hitting dead air over the Appenines and watching the two WO's puke into their masks, I never got in a chopper again. Certainly don't think I'd want to take a chopper across the Med and halfway across Africa.

The GG wasn't the bad part, just a little sore after the 12 ga needle. Some of the other shots, especially going to the Mideast, would send you dozing and drooling. Last place I was at (as a civilian) they tried to get me to take the anthrax, WEE, EEE, etc., about 18 months of shots. I've known and worked with enough people who didn't have a choice in the matter, and they definitely looked very ill (they offered to give me a day off for each shot). I stuck to tyvek and PAPR's.

My best boss was an army colonel sandwiched between my two worst bosses (two LTC's). My main customer was the AMF; I was getting too old to play with the airborne rangers, so it was time to say "AMF".

 

[MechEng2005]

I had a boss at a very small company that lived at work, literally. He had a cot setup in the backroom, through the "office". There was a shower on the otherside of the building. Well, one day I arrived at work 15 minutes early or so. My boss was quite shocked to find me at my desk as he came through wearing only a towel. As is the case when somebody in a towel is shocked, they jump and the towel falls.

He would also be late with paychecks, in one case I received two months worth of pay at the same time. He always paid eventually, and if you really needed the money, you could ask and he would get it. However, having to nag the boss for YOUR paycheck isn't fun.

And many of the other behaviors you might expect from somebody as unprofessional as this... sexist, racist, generally inappropriate comments. Trying to start debates/arguments on politics, etc, etc...

That job didn't last too long, but longer than I should have stayed.

--MechEng2005

 

[jmmaj]

Hi guys,

new in the forum, and here goes my first post. Sorry for my english but is not my mother tongue.

1st: Setting the scene

16 years ago I started my professional engineering career at the local manufacturing subsidiary of a german industrial giant (I'm originally from a so called 3rd world country).

Almost all levels were staffed by locals, except top management. In my division, all staff was local, except the division "Director", coming from the "Headquarters".

My wife was a secretary in the same area and spoke fluent german and we all, except the director, shared a huge open office (150+ people, no cubicles but desks one beside the other).

2nd: the experiences

a) This guy used to stand up out of his office and stare at us for several minutes. After a while, he will walk toward the "lucky of the day" and shout at him for some silly reason: clutter in the desk, laughing too much, tie loose, not moving too much, moving too much, too much silence, too much noise, drawing while sitting, drawing while standing, coffee mug dirty, laughing too hard. After the shouting (in very broken local language, what was difficult to hear without laughing at him, even if you were the lucky of the day) he will return to his office while mumbling in german very derogatory (it's the right term?) expresions about us, our working habits, that we needed tight discipline to work, thet we were useless, thet we were lucky to have that job provided by the corporation in such exotic place,, etc.

b) How did we knew about his mumbling? Because my wife was one of the secretaries and constantly overheard him talking hell about us. This leads me to my next personal experience: we had to keep our dating, engagement and marriage secret, because this guy will fire me on the spot if he would find out, as he did in previous ocassions with other people.

c) He used to go to the toilet, do his thing, and then get out without washing his hands. And then, force handshakes with everybody at sight. Those who were brave enough to escape the handshake, were dismissed on the spot, due to "bad manners". Of course, mid management and Human Resources would "hide" the people "dimissed" in another job until the rage weared off (this was a 8000+ people facility so there were enough places to "hide")

d) He called his technical assistant (a young engineer crunching special projects for him) and send him to the shop floor to find some mistake/problem to report to him. Then, he will summon the supervisor/manager of the area and give him hell (but not even trying to discuss the problem). This was done once a week (usually Fridays). In consequence, the shop/warehouse supervisors/managers had a system arranged with the technical assistant to take turns and a list of silly problems to report.

He used to say that it was necessary to "give strengh to our working discipline,as we were from a 3rd world country and not used to work hard....."

and 1000 more similar stories.

No wonders nobody wanted to show up at his farewell party after his 5 years outplacement contract ended.....I said wanted because we had to go under the threat of dismissal...from his replacement.

Sorry for the length of the post. I hope you enjoy it.

Jorge

 

[debodine]

Wow, Jorge...I don't know that I can say I enjoyed your story, but I definitely am fascinated with it. I will say that I am very glad to read your story instead of being the one who had to live it, as you did. It sounds like he had a personal quota of people to fire every month, and the reason didn't matter so he would make one up. I hope your current work situation is much better.

 

[jmmaj]

Debodine,

Yes, my current work situation is much better. A couple of years later I changed jobs and fields and, 8 years ago, I moved to Europe.

Jorge

 

[MikeMech]

I once had a boss that had a small cattle farm on the side. He tried to talk me into getting certified to artifically inseminate cows, which involves, among other things, placing both arms shoulder deep into various bovine orifices on a regular basis. Although I like learning new things, I respectfully declined.

He was actually a very good boss, an old guy who had been there and done that and was very willing to spend time passing knowledge on to a greenhorn. He taught me a lot. But not bovine artifical insemination.

Mike

 

[btrueblood]

Mike,

You didn't think that'd look good on a resume'?

 

[mauricestoker]

I think it's much better to be offered to learn aritificial bovine insemination than to not have "artificial" considered.

 

[MikeMech]

Yeah, I was kind of afriad of the career paths that skill might open up for me. The next step might have been learning to collect the product needed for the procedure.

Now that I think about it, though, the pay scale for performing bovine AI was very similar to my pay as an engineer. At least cows don't play office politics...

 

[KENAT]

I don't know, they do butt sniff which is kind of like brown nosing, so maybe.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[Neubaten]

After having one of those days with my boss, I can happily turn to artificial insemination.


Waist deep.

 

[ScottyUK]

In Wales ovine insemination is a recreational pastime. Alledgedly.



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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jmw]

Sheep?
Watching "Amrican Hotrod" the other day, Bluebear was picking on the new Montana guy working there and insinuating Montanans show an overly familiar and possibly unhealthy affection for sheep.
A double whammy? isn't this one of those states where they used to hang sheep herders, rustlers and hoss thieves?
(UK: Shepherds)
So any charge of fondness for sheep would appear to impune the guy's status as both a cattleman and a straight up guy.
It certainly touched a nerve.
"That's it, Bluebear!" yells the Montana guy struggling to get close enough to thump Bluebear, "let's take it outside."
"Baaaaa!" said Bluebear.


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com