Nightmare H R Job
Hunter1
808 Posts
After reading "Emotional Stress", I thought this might be an interesting topic.
My experience: I interviewed for my first 'in charge' position in HR with the regional HR guy and the affable, 63 year old Plant Manager (PM) who turns out to be Dr Jekell & Mr Hyde. Move my family to the middle of nowhere (two other employers in commuting distance have HR positions), and begin working for the PM who verbally abuses everyone - every word you can imagine and then some, when the plant is not operating (its a continuous process type of thing) and he needs to blame someone.
I tell the divisional HR guy that this PM needs to be replaced, but to no avail. Three months into the job, we have a fire in a piece of mobile equipment in the plant and the operator saves the plant by driving the equipment outside before attempting to extinguish the fire. The PM hears about it and terminates the ee immediately for losing the equipment.
Employee's foreman calls me and explains the situation and I go to the locker room where the ee is cleaning out his locker. I thank the ee for his quick thinking in saving the plant, tell him to leave his stuff in his locker, and to report for work the next morning. (This is a unionized plant, we're going to lose this discharge) Couple of hours to cool down. I tell the PM that I've put the ee back on the payroll, and he fires me: "Clean out your ....desk and get .... out of here"
Well, I'm feeling pretty bad; have to go home and tell the wife and kids I can't support them. When I get home, the phone is ringing (literally) and its the divisional HR guy who's heard what happened and tells me to just go back to work the next day like nothing happened. (Sound familiar?) I didn't have a lot of choices, so I did (polished up the resume), and the PM acts like nothing has happened!! Just another day at the plant.
Twice more during the 11 months it took to find another job, I got fired, but it wasn't such a big deal. :-)
My favorite story, which was related to me, about this PM who was a big guy (6'5", 270#): He was reading out one of our maintenance ees one day (a small guy, maybe 5'4"), and the ee took his tape measure off his belt and measured the PM side to side, top to bottom. The PM was, of course, furious, and asked him what he thought he was doing. The ee says: "Measuring you up for a coffin. You keep this up, and you're going to need it." The PM was so angry that he was just speechless. (This was in the days before we worried so much about workplace violence.)
My experience: I interviewed for my first 'in charge' position in HR with the regional HR guy and the affable, 63 year old Plant Manager (PM) who turns out to be Dr Jekell & Mr Hyde. Move my family to the middle of nowhere (two other employers in commuting distance have HR positions), and begin working for the PM who verbally abuses everyone - every word you can imagine and then some, when the plant is not operating (its a continuous process type of thing) and he needs to blame someone.
I tell the divisional HR guy that this PM needs to be replaced, but to no avail. Three months into the job, we have a fire in a piece of mobile equipment in the plant and the operator saves the plant by driving the equipment outside before attempting to extinguish the fire. The PM hears about it and terminates the ee immediately for losing the equipment.
Employee's foreman calls me and explains the situation and I go to the locker room where the ee is cleaning out his locker. I thank the ee for his quick thinking in saving the plant, tell him to leave his stuff in his locker, and to report for work the next morning. (This is a unionized plant, we're going to lose this discharge) Couple of hours to cool down. I tell the PM that I've put the ee back on the payroll, and he fires me: "Clean out your ....desk and get .... out of here"
Well, I'm feeling pretty bad; have to go home and tell the wife and kids I can't support them. When I get home, the phone is ringing (literally) and its the divisional HR guy who's heard what happened and tells me to just go back to work the next day like nothing happened. (Sound familiar?) I didn't have a lot of choices, so I did (polished up the resume), and the PM acts like nothing has happened!! Just another day at the plant.
Twice more during the 11 months it took to find another job, I got fired, but it wasn't such a big deal. :-)
My favorite story, which was related to me, about this PM who was a big guy (6'5", 270#): He was reading out one of our maintenance ees one day (a small guy, maybe 5'4"), and the ee took his tape measure off his belt and measured the PM side to side, top to bottom. The PM was, of course, furious, and asked him what he thought he was doing. The ee says: "Measuring you up for a coffin. You keep this up, and you're going to need it." The PM was so angry that he was just speechless. (This was in the days before we worried so much about workplace violence.)
Comments
It can also flatten you, leave you paralized, cause you to have to buy a set of teeth or leave you without income. Stronger?