Bullying at work

DavidCarroll

My little sister is employed by a small transport company and up to recently everything was grand and she was regularly comended for her work etc.
however this has recently changed and now her boss who is also the owner of the company, nit pics at everything she does, condractics herself with instructions, takes her up on matters that are conventions in the company/industry and frequently shouts at her and is generally making her life hell. my sister does not wish to leave the company as jobs are scarce in her line of work but she is very upset (as is the whole family). she has tried talking to her boss but this has only made matters worse. the company isn't doing so well so i have a feeling she might be trying to get her to leave without paying redunancy. wondering has anybody any suggestions on what we can do?

seamus

Working directly for the owner of a small company is a difficult task because they want everyone to do their work the same way that they would do it. The owner tends to know every part of the business inside-out and so can be overtly critical of how someone carries out their job. The owner may also be under stress and so will transfer that directly to his staff. Being a business owner doesn't automatically make you a good boss.

It just requires a little bit of backbone and assertiveness on her part. At this point she really has very little to lose, by your account. She can either break down and suffer or she can leave.

So she has very little to lose by taking her boss aside quietly and putting it very clearly that, "You pay me to do a job, so let me get on with my work and do it my way, or go and do it yourself."
It's a hard thing to say (and she needs to not put any kind of threatening tone in it), but she basically needs to stand up for herself and tell her boss to back off and give her room to work.

Note that as her family, you can support her and provide her with advice, but at no point should you get involved directly unless you feel that her well-being is in serious danger.

I know of one woman (in her mid-30's) whose mother stormed into the offices where she worked one day and went on a rant at a HR manager about work-related stress and bullying. I won't divulge much information, but I can tell you that it was a trained monkey job with very little stress and not even the slightest hint of bullying going on. After that, the girl had lost the respect of everyone in the workplace.

DavidCarroll

none of us will be going in but I really would love to be able to have a word with the woman. its so fustrating as I can't stand to see her upset but don't want to get my sister fired.

Otis Driftwood

In fairness,the company isnt doing well and the boss owns it.

Do you not think the boss is going to be under tremendous stress and pressure too?

Now Im not condoning the treatment but its something that your sister is going to have to deal with.

A number of years ago I was working for a company.When things were going well the boss/owner was a legend and left us to our own devices once the work got done.

When things were running badly he would be out every day shouting the odds and berating us in front of customers.

On more than one occasion the 2 of us were involved in shouting matches about how things should be done but we always managed to come to an agreement.

Im not suggesting your sister verbally attack the boss but next time the boss is having a go she needs to calmly tell her that the work is being done,same as it always has been and that its not neccessary to constantly check up on her.

She (your sister) also needs to develop a thicker skin and allow for certain eccentricities that will invariably crop up from time to time.

DavidCarroll

nedtheshed wrote: »

In fairness,the company isnt doing well and the boss owns it.

Do you not think the boss is going to be under tremendous stress and pressure too?

A number of years ago I was working for a company.When things were going well the boss/owner was a legend and left us to our own devices once the work got done.

When things were running badly he would be out every day shouting the odds and berating us in front of customers.

of course we all recognise she is under pressure but my sister is the only one she picks on. in fact a colleague of hers did the exact same thing my sister got lashed out of it for (in front of everybody) and the boss made a big joke out of it. my sister is reasonable tuff thats why I know it has to be really bad for her to be so upset.

the_syco

DavidCarroll wrote: »

in fact a colleague of hers did the exact same thing my sister got lashed out of it for (in front of everybody) and the boss made a big joke out of it.

Does the boss still bully the colleague? If not, they have just moved into the net target, having found out that the employee doesn't take any sh|t...

DavidCarroll

the_syco wrote: »

Does the boss still bully the colleague? If not, they have just moved into the net target, having found out that the employee doesn't take any sh|t...

no she don't. he was also a director though but the point is well made