Q–I worked for a man who speaks to the women in his office using vile and abusive language. He calls all of us idiots, mindless, morons, stupid, worthless bitches and uses the “f” word. He also insults one woman calling her old. He repeatedly says, “I am God,” then he spells it out loud it for us and says if we don’t like it we can quit. I ended up being fired because I raised my voice to him while crying. The man has four partners who are aware of his behavior but say they cannot control him or what he says. They are all brilliant, and I have only a high school education, but we should all be treated with respect. I hired a lawyer and am filing a lawsuit, not because I am a disgruntled employee, but because his abuse of power should be stopped.
A–You are to be commended for fighting back in this instance. Perhaps you will be able to solicit the help of your former co-workers to join in your lawsuit. They should all be looking for jobs elsewhere. Abusive behavior is not a sign of higher education, but of boorishness and ignorance. It’s too bad this brilliant man hasn’t used his brilliance to realize this.
Q–I am an upper-level manager at a midsize company. One of my employees, a department manager with 20 years experience, has begun leaving early once a week. I told her to ask for my permission prior to leaving early since in the past, she simply e-mailed me notification. She reacted angrily to my request and fired off a nasty e-mail to me. She later said I insulted her professionalism. From my perspective, she should be expected to work the full 37.5-hour work week until her department is functioning at an acceptable level and has no business leaving early on a regular basis. Was I out of line?
A–She might have been leaving early regularly due to a weekly appointment that she wished to keep private. Although she should have talked to you about the situation no matter how private she felt it was, a good manager always asks questions first to get to the root of the problem. That way you avoid making incorrect assumptions and offending people.
Of course you have a right to expect a full week’s work from her, but now may not be the time to crack the whip. Try in a non-confrontational way to find out why she is leaving early, and see if she can make up the time on other days.
Q–I work at a small company where the CEO employs his wife and two sisters-in-law in various departments. One of the sisters-in-law openly talks about inappropriate subjects. She has told everyone that she does not wear underwear, and I heard that she even lifted up her skirt outside to prove it. I have written several memos about it but the CEO said he can’t do anything about it because she was family. I make a good salary and don’t want to look for another job since I started only several months ago.
A–She sounds like she has serious emotional problems. Her exhibitionist behavior is creating what is known legally as a hostile work environment for you. This is illegal, and the next note you write to the CEO should point this out. If he continues to do nothing about the situation you can file an EEOC complaint, but this would work against you wanting to stay in your job. The CEO should be concerned about her behavior because it will tarnish his company’s reputation as people quit and pass on this information about his family.
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Write to Lindsey Novak, Jobs, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 60611. E-mail her at AtWorkbyLN@aol.com.
