Hostile Work Environment

empmess

I have an employee at our facility who has come to me twice with a complaint of her supervisor. The supervisor really wants her employees to like her as a friend and to socialize with her outside of work. If they don't she talks about them to their peers and her subordinates. There is constant conflict in that office and has been for years. We have had several letters of complaints and management has written them off as revenge. There is a high amount of turn over in that department and I have had three complaints recently. I am afraid that this supervisor has messed with the wrong employee. The employee has had an excellent work history with us and is respected in the company. She used to be a supporter of the supervisor but has recently come to me and laid out a pattern of behavior by the supervisor that has caused a hostile work environment. she said the supervisor has threatened her job, called her at home to threaten her job, and brings her behind closed doors every so often to ask her if she hates her. When the employee told her supervisor to stop the supervisor told her she was not satisfied and is now trying to find cause to terminate the employee. This employee has several others that have said they are willing to back her up. I have told administration this is going to be bad and they are really looking at terminating the employee. The supervisor is now saying that this employee is the root of the stressful office environment and is falsely accussing her. I know this supervisor's record and her reputation has always been this but administration has chosen to ignore it for years.

Any advice?

Rockie

My advice would be for you to go to administration and lay the cards on the table. Again, tell them about the complaints, the history of this supervisor,the history of the complaints lodged against the supervisor. I would also reiterate that this employee has an excellent work record and there are no grounds to terminate her and no evidence of any wrongdoing on her part. I would also advise that this employee has asked the supervisor to stop this behavir and this just made her behavior worse.

I would also advise management that this is a pattern of behavior that can be documented by others.

To protect yourself, I would also follow this up with a written memo to your CEO to prove that you did, in fact, bring this to management's attention.

I can almost guarantee you that this employee sees the handwriting on the wall and is taking steps to pursue this further if they are terminated.

Sounds to me like the supervisor has a personality defect and needs some
serious counseling to get over her inferiority complex. Sounds like it's almost bordering on stalking behavior.

Good luck. This could be nasty and expensive unless your management changes its tune.

Gillian

Once you have completed what Rockie has suggested you have done your job and covered your own behind in the process. Then it will become managements problem and it they are not willing to deal with it, the cards will fall where they will fall. Some organizations do not fix problems until the lawsuit happens.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Is there anyone else who feels like there is an indirect relationship between a supervisor's incompentence and management's reluctance to fire them?

One wonders how many excellent employees have had to take the fall in the course of history because management reflexively sides with supervisors.

Whoa... I am being way too cynical and its only Monday.

Paul

Roberta

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-10-02 AT 09:24AM (CST)[/font][p]Well Paul, you exactly described the situation I left 10 years ago. Management turned a deaf ear on employees concerns (and complaints) only to have to defend their own actions in a lawsuit by the offending supervisor! Ultimately, the case settled for about $300,000 and many pages of bad press! Virtually everything I tried to tell management came true after I left...

Sometimes I borrow a line from Kenny Rogers..."you got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em"

Gillian

Actually, you are correct. There are a lot of managers who reflexively take the side of a supervisor in any dispute. There have been more than a few times over the years when I have heard a manager tell me - I have to back my supervisor or else he/she will think that I am not supportive! Then it becomes our job to counsel the manager that they will be more supportive if they help the supervisor understand how to deal with employees in the proper way.

Whatever

Actually, can there be a hostile environment when management is willing to investigate supervisors? Rockie gave excellent advise. In addition, every company should have in place some policy on reporting and investigating incidences. If your company does not have such a policy in place, they should implement one immediately. However, if they continue to ignore a dangerous situation, there is nothing you can do.

Balloonman

I think Rockie's advice is great. But before you do that compare this supervisor's turnover to other supervisor's, also compare complaints. Then take the turnover cost formula that is listed on the board about 10 topics down and include what this supervisor is costing the company with their unprofessional behavior. That will be significant, in addition to the exposure of a hostile work environment claim.
I good investigation will document all of this, and it sounds like the supervisor should be the one terminated, or re-assigned. Think what that will do for morale! I guarentee you that keeping this supervisor will cost more in the long run.
My $0.02.
DJ The Balloonman