Micromanager Manager

gogojodee

So I just got a Free Pass to go to McDonald's after tonight's shift. This particular manager told me repeatedly at the end of my shift that my tasks were not completed an unacceptable. After I came in early for another shift and we were busy did not have as much time - blah blah...anyway this particular person felt the need to go on and on about how I could have "impressed" them had I asked for more work tonight. I just feel like I couldjust wrap myself in a blanket and never come out.

How do you handle a person/words like that? Just curious. Obviously my answer tonight was food, but I was hungry as well and hAngry more so. Just needed to vent. Thanks to anyone who replies.

ShortInSeattle

I try to divide a manager's feedback into a few pieces:

1) The thing they were trying to say. (The message) Do you agree with it? Was it fair?
2) The way they said it. (Tone) Was it polite? Helpful?
3) The way you choose to respond. Will you act on what they said? Will you reject it? If you reject it, what are the consequences?

If your manager had a point, but they said it rudely, you can ignore the tone and listen to the message. They probably didn't mean to be a jerk, and they could be a bad communicator. Plenty of managers are. It's not personal.

If your manager was wrong (your work WAS done or it WAS impossibly busy) you can decide to let it roll off your back. You disagree. No biggie. Show up tomorrow and do your job.

If you think you will be fired, or if you can't take it anymore, start to look for other work.

If you want to repair your relationship with the boss, go back tomorrow and say you thought about what they said and you'll try to do better next time. This will probably help.

Sleep on it and then think it through. Things may look better in the morning. (Hugs)

TribeHokie

I pretty much agree with the first response.

To go in a different direction, what is your job? You're talking about shift work, so the first thing that makes me think of is entry level or unskilled (read: no college degree required) labor. Not judging you at all, I'm just trying to make a point. The kind of people who manage entry level or unskilled workers generally do not move much higher than that over their careers for a myriad of reasons. Chiefly among those are their lack of people skills and lack of business acumen. If this is the kind of situation like Ms. Jennifer Anniston's character in Office Space found herself in ("I've got 15 pieces of flair, that is the rule..." "Well 15 pieces is really a MINIMUM.....look at Brian. He has 37 pieces of flair."), then laugh it off or find a new job.

Also consider the Peter Principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle). Basically, managers tend to suck because they are promoted up until a point where they are not good enough at their position to get promoted anymore. So JoeBob is a great stock boy? Make him a cashier. JoeBob is a great cashier? Make him an assistant manager. JoeBob is a great assistant manager? Make him a store manager. JoeBob is a terrible store manager? Well we can't demote him because he earned that store manager position but we certainly won't make him a regional manager. Guess he'll just be a crappy store manager instead of an excellent assistant manager then. Derp derp derp. So goes corporate life. Think about that next time you're getting crap for not trying to break your back for the company.

gogojodee

I pretty much agree with the first response.

To go in a different direction, what is your job? You're talking about shift work, so the first thing that makes me think of is entry level or unskilled (read: no college degree required) labor. Not judging you at all, I'm just trying to make a point. The kind of people who manage entry level or unskilled workers generally do not move much higher than that over their careers for a myriad of reasons. Chiefly among those are their lack of people skills and lack of business acumen. If this is the kind of situation like Ms. Jennifer Anniston's character in Office Space found herself in ("I've got 15 pieces of flair, that is the rule..." "Well 15 pieces is really a MINIMUM.....look at Brian. He has 37 pieces of flair."), then laugh it off or find a new job.

Also consider the Peter Principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle). Basically, managers tend to suck because they are promoted up until a point where they are not good enough at their position to get promoted anymore. So JoeBob is a great stock boy? Make him a cashier. JoeBob is a great cashier? Make him an assistant manager. JoeBob is a great assistant manager? Make him a store manager. JoeBob is a terrible store manager? Well we can't demote him because he earned that store manager position but we certainly won't make him a regional manager. Guess he'll just be a crappy store manager instead of an excellent assistant manager then. Derp derp derp. So goes corporate life. Think about that next time you're getting crap for not trying to break your back for the company.

Haha! This made my night. All the above is true to some degree. I don't even know why I try to make anyone other than myself happy. I needed to hear/see it but there aren't any jobs in my area so - I guess I'll have to see if I can afford to not have a job.