Poll of the Day > Anyone else out there with idiot managers detached from 'their' workers?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm typically wary of authority, especially when it proves itself incompetent quickly, but I'm sure we've all had some decent managers, and the bad ones. Good ones are typically at least involved in the work you do for part of the day, and assist you in a constructive way. The worst ones are completely removed from you, and give you advice they see as constructive, but is largely irrelevant.

Turns out my manager is in the latter category. Every conversation has to revolve around sales, which I am a technician with very little opportunity for sales. It's so bloody ingenuine and inhuman. I requested getting off a couple of hours 4 days in advance because my family was only able to make an early reservation for a family function where we were spreading my grandmother's ashes. I have taken 0 time off since starting and pre-emptively apologized for the short notice. My manager had the gall to say he 'wasn't a fan of the short notice, but he'd allow it'. Shut up. You're not God, you're not my fucking Dad. Good job, you're in charge. I did not talk back to this, but thanked him. He then told me to 'get him a couple of sales'. Dude, I just told you I'm spreading my grandmother's ashes. Eat a dick. I don't know how people just drop all semblance of normal conversation to be your artificial superior in the workplace when they aren't even involved in your day-to-day work. It's scummy as hell.

Alright, rant over lmaoooo eat butts managers

Being an authority figure is hard. Everyone thinks you are incompetent... especially the same gender as you. If it were easy, everyone would like their bosses.
That said, bosses are like roommates; there is a whole rainbow of experiences.

The worst boss I had was banging all of the young employees. Yeah......

One of my former managers once had a coworker (not even her manager) who would start all of her emails with "As your superior." Needless to say, she was very happy to get out of that job.

I mean you are new and gave short notice with no time off. So I mean yeah, he was giving you something that almost all companies in the USA would not allowed you to do.

So honestly he seems like a nice guy.

Also, its his job to make sure you are doing your work, in this case getting sales. So if you aren't going to be doing your job while there, why be there at all?

So unless you missed something that was said or done, that guy seems a lot better than most managers you'll ever see.

That being said, what are you like 20 and this is your first job or something?

hypnox posted...

I mean you are new and gave short notice with no time off. So I mean yeah, he was giving you something that almost all companies in the USA would not allowed you to do.

So honestly he seems like a nice guy.

Also, its his job to make sure you are doing your work, in this case getting sales. So if you aren't going to be doing your job while there, why be there at all?

So unless you missed something that was said or done, that guy seems a lot better than most managers you'll ever see.

That being said, what are you like 20 and this is your first job or something?

4 days off to get off slightly earlier to spread your grandmother's ashes is fine dude, I'll maintain that until I retire. fuck US labor laws.

My work is related to fixing things for customers or providing installs for what they have ordered. Technicians being encouraged to do sales is a recent recommendation from corporate. These people have already been pressed by people on the phone regarding sales, and the majority of people hate being pressed regarding being upsold redundantly. Also, I can't sell anything to someone that either a) already has all services b) is too old to be sold to, or c) they do not want to pay more for something they do not want. maybe he should check my day and note that I cannot make sales on my jobs, or 'manage' and actually do something to pin jobs to my day that have sales opportunities.

Yes, there are a lot of details missing from this story. I'm 31, and have worked many jobs. I've had some great managers. This guy is low on the list.

BigOlePappy posted...

Being an authority figure is hard. Everyone thinks you are incompetent... especially the same gender as you. If it were easy, everyone would like their bosses.
That said, bosses are like roommates; there is a whole rainbow of experiences.

The worst boss I had was banging all of the young employees. Yeah......

I can tell if a manager actually knows what they're talking about or if they sit in an office all day farting around. Many managers are very incompetent, many aren't.

This is actually exactly what I deal with daily. I'm the manager where I'm at but am heavily involved in the daily activities but my boss and HQ are in another state. So I'm constantly in virtual meetings where he is suggesting things that are completely out of touch with what is actually going on. I'll basically tell him this and then he tells me to try his idea anyway. It's extra infuriating when I'm busy and he forces me into meetings to suggest things that don't help at all

My boss at least isn't a dick about time off. I think he's more terrified that me or the people under me will quit and that will fuck him over

ReturnOfFa posted...

I'm 31, and have worked many jobs.

I am 34, have had four jobs with seven managers in that time. This guy handled it better than all but one of them would have.

Stop being a snowflake.

BigOlePappy posted...

Being an authority figure is hard. Everyone thinks you are incompetent... especially the same gender as you. If it were easy, everyone would like their bosses.
That said, bosses are like roommates; there is a whole rainbow of experiences.

The worst boss I had was banging all of the young employees. Yeah......

Being an authority figure can be tough but its often greatly exaggerated by managers who want to appear that their job is more difficult than it is. I've seen many insecure managers in my time.

But, as a manager, I have learned how childish grown people can be. If you're a manager that's actually involved in the day to day work while simultaneously having to juggle people's childish drama and upper management's demands, you can have some pretty rough days

hypnox posted...

I am 34, have had four jobs with seven managers in that time. This guy handled it better than all but one of them would have.

Stop being a snowflake.

Uh, okay? I've worked 15 jobs and have had dozens of managers. My (very positive) references include the head chef of a remote fishing lodge, local owners of popular restaurants, Pharmacists, owners of landscaping companies and more. I've done technical work and physical work, doing both enthusiastically, well, and learning fast.

Seems like you're used to something different. I've seen people talk back to this guy for being too oblique in his manager lingo. He was asking leading questions like "Now, what are you going to show him to do?" to the guy training me, and the guy responded "His job - if there's something you're getting at, you'll have to explain it yourself." Believe me. When the manager doesn't interact with the actual work that his employees do...it's a shittier operation.

OhhhJa posted...

Being an authority figure can be tough but its often greatly exaggerated by managers who want to appear that their job is more difficult than it is. I've seen many insecure managers in my time.

But, as a manager, I have learned how childish grown people can be. If you're a manager that's actually involved in the day to day work while simultaneously having to juggle people's childish drama and upper management's demands, you can have some pretty rough days

Yeah that sounds rough having to straddle the middle, damn.

also worth noting that all of the team leads that have been at the company for far longer than this manager tell me not to be concerned with sales for the first year and to focus on doing quality work.

ReturnOfFa posted...

Yeah that sounds rough having to straddle the middle, damn.

To be fair to my boss, he's told me repeatedly that he wants me to do more management and less day to day involvement but my branch is really short staffed currently so it is what it is

From my experience, that's the base definition of "manager". To be fair, their idiot managers are detached from their subordinates as well; it's a giant chain of incompetents stepping on the sucker beneath them until the people doing the actual work are crushed into powder.

hypnox posted...

I am 34, have had four jobs with seven managers in that time. This guy handled it better than all but one of them would have.

Stop being a snowflake.

If you're as fucking awful to deal with in person as you are online then your managers probably just dont like dealing with you. Hard to be you're 34 when you act half that age.

lots of managers are lazy shits

Cacciato posted...

If you're as fucking awful to deal with in person as you are online then your managers probably just dont like dealing with you. Hard to be you're 34 when you act half that age.

Yikes. People be mad lately.

That's an understatement. I think most of us have had managers who were not connected.

Hold up, is Mr. Fish Head accusing other people of being snowflakes?

Philosophy Raptor: Are people who own their own business... unemployed?

All of us.

I wouldnt trust a guy who said otherwise.

hypnox posted...

So I mean yeah, he was giving you something that almost all companies in the USA would not allowed you to do.

There are certain legal protections for that.

Not to mention, farewell ceremonies like that are very important for mental health.
There are always compromises to make, but never compromise on mental health.