Is it worth stepping on upper managements' toes?
By maezee
@maezee (41988)
United States
January 6, 2010 5:02pm CST
A work buddy of mine at Macy's is having some serious trouble with one of the merchandising managers. She says that he's constantly being sarcastic to her, and is telling her that she's doing her work too slow (and she really doesn't..) and is just totally rude to her. This manager is also MY manager (one of them) and although sometimes he can be kind of crabby (I don't care..) he has never ONCE criticized the speed (or lack thereof) in which I work at, and has never been incredibly rude to me like she describes him being to her.
She wasn't sure what to do about the situation. She could tell HIS manager, the Human Resources Department, and a number of other people who might be able to do something.. (Although there will be OBVIOUS tension between this manager and her..And possibly even me for getting tangled up in this mess after she tells them or files a report..) Or she could confront him herself about it.. Or she could just ignore it.
What do you think? I think I mostly encouraged her to talk to him personally about it, but if it's just an annoying personality trait of his - what will he do DIFFERENTLY after she talks to him? Confusing, to me, anyway.
What do you think is the best option here?
2 people like this
5 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
6 Jan 10
maezee with the economy the way it is right now the best thing for her to do is to try and get along with him, or ask to be moved to a different section of the store where she would not have to be under his thumb. losing your job now might mean not getting another one right away.tell her to try and speed up noticeably and maybe Mr. Crab might lighten up a bit. also is there the slightest chance that he might have a thing for her and hes trying to hide it behind that silly macho male crap?Maybe if she talks to him he might lighten up on her and maybe if she is sweety pie to him he may change his spots. I do so hate it when people in charge act like that to women working under the jerks.
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
7 Jan 10
hi maezee!
your friend should first try to document how her manager treats her unjustly. if she has enough proof, she can talk to the manager about this and ask the manager in the most professional and friendly manner why she is being treated such. if the manager refuses to give a direct answer or avoids the situation, your friend can then proceed and take the matter up with the human resource manager or another senior manager.
it is important for your friend to take note of the instances where her manager berated her or treated her unfairly so that she can build a case, sort of a history, that this particular manager has been treating her differently.
just my 2 cents. hopes this pans out right and do try not to get tangled up. might not be worth the trouble.
cheers!!!
1 person likes this
@rjbass (1422)
• United States
7 Jan 10
I believe that there is always a chain of command order. These are just my thoughts but I think that she shoulk talk to her manager first to see if they can resolve whatever the issue is. Who knows, maybe it's some sort of misunderstanding that can be quickly rectified. If that goes nowhere, then bring it to the attention of the next in charge. I've seen it happen where an employee goes strait to the top and the first question to them was whether or not they tried to talk to their manager themselves. It really looked bad when he had to say that he didn't as the perception was that he could not handle adversity.
@skysuccess (8858)
• Singapore
7 Jan 10
Hi maezee,
If I may quote what you have posted: "...he has never ONCE criticized the speed (or lack thereof) in which I work at, and has never been incredibly rude to me like she describes him being to her", I just have my hunch that your buddy is REALLY SLOW.
I do not think that your manager is picking on her without any valid reasons and I am sure that he would want to be in the middle of a discrimination dispute. Frankly, I feel that you are just getting one sided facts and that is not really a reliable source. Besides, if your manager is being unreasonable, then I am sure she would not be the only complainant here.
I'd say you just play a listening role and be on the sideline here. This is not your fight to pick and try to really listen between her lines. I am sure if there is a tinge of legitimacy she would have brought it up to the relevant rank and file or to the union even.
Take care and all the best for 2010.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
7 Jan 10
I think the best option for you is not to get involved. I know that you are relatively new there, and you might be a favorite, seeing that they made you permanent and that they don't say anything bad about the quality of your work, I still think it is for your buddy to figure out. The best you could tell your buddy is to talk to somebody else about it, like the HR manager.
It has been said, the recession has hit us hard. And that we should be grateful that we have a job. So, I don't think it is worth stepping on upper management's toes.
1 person likes this
