Being Singled Out At Work By Boss 2

[mizzjoey]

Hi everyone.

I work for an MNC based in the US. The regional office where I work for (other side of the world) was opened two years ago. We have a regional manager stationed here who was supposed to set-up the office and find a local employee who can act as technical manager to replace him. We are meant to act as engineering support to our US partners and pickup their work when they call it a day.

I work as an FE analyst and I have a good relationship with my immediate supervisor stationed overseas. He is flexible and has consistently given me good performance appraisals, as well as tells me the areas on which I can improve.

However, the regional manager stationed here (we'll refer to him as E) is the one I have to deal with day in day out, and he constantly singles out people he does not like (usually female employees) for a period of time until someone else does something he considers an affront to his superior status and moves on to the next unfortunate associate. Right now I'm the unlucky flavor of the week.

He usually finds fault for very trivial things. The employees under fire are often female, and Muslim (we're a mix of many ethnicities but mainly Muslim). He says things like "I don't know. Talk to your God, Allah.", "Why don't you go home and be a good Muslim" etc. He has also referred to female employees with insulting names that can only be applied to the female gender (once within my earshot). He monitors the use of toilet papers and kitchen paper towels because he accuses Muslim female employees of using too many paper towels (he suspects it's to wipe our hands and face dry after performing ablution before our prayers, which we don't).

He has his favorites, who can do anything they want including spending most of the working hours surfing the internet whereas the rest of us would catch hell just for being caught receiving nonwork-related email. I repeat, receiving, not even sending out these emails.

Last Monday I ran into trouble while getting to work. My scooter ran out of fuel and I had to push it to the nearest petrol kiosk. My office is on the 7th floor, there was a problem with the lift and I decided to take the stairs. Naturally by the time I got to the office door I was out of breath. Immediately as I walked through the door (at 9am, not late at all) my boss barked at me regarding a petty HR non-issue - which only came about because he did not read the numerous emails I sent him.

I indicated to him that I was out of breath and wanted a drink. I went to the pantry and filled my mug, and he followed, badgering me to go to his room so he could reprimand me. I told him it was not a good time and I did not want to talk to him yet (maybe I could use a better line but I REALLY needed that drink). After which I went to my cube, sat down to catch my breath and took a drink.

Apparently he took this as an insult and has afterwards tried to find faults with me. He has asked the lead engineer in my group to schedule a meeting this Wednesday to discuss my 'business etiquette'. He tells the lead engineer to email my immediate supervisor in the US, copied to our HR dept in the US, to complain of a leave I took earlier in March. He is highlighting the various 'insubordination' interpretations in our handbook that he can use against me for documentation.

This was done while I was away last week undergoing minor surgery. I guess I came back to the office today to find out that I'm currently being put under a microscope. I have gone through a similar episode before in 2006 and it was very unpleasant. This regional manager monitored my lunchtime, my 15-minute tea breaks, shuts me up during meetings (still does it), and issued one written warning after another for irrational reasons. He told me I was a bad apple and he needs to keep me from making the other apples go bad. We did not have a handbook at the time, so basically whatever he said was the law. I thought the situation would improve when a handbook was finally introduced.

I believe on average I am a good worker. I go home at least half an hour late everyday, often taking my lunch in front of my PC to monitor my analyses. I take classes to improve my understanding of FEA, all on my own budget and in my own time. My regional manager encourages divisions in the office, he has moles to tell against the rest of us, so I do not engage in office gossip. I still get along well with others, probably have one/two chat sessions a week over coffee for about 10 minutes. The rest of my working time I spend working on FEA, training fellow associates or answering their questions, or doing exercises for my FE classes.

This has been a long post; I guess I needed to rant. The thing is, I want to decline from attending the meeting on Wednesday that pointy-haired regional manager has scheduled. My lead engineer would be ineffective as a witness because he has to agree with whatever my regional manager says. I'd like to request for a mediator of similar or higher position to be present before I agree to any meeting, but I wonder if that's not too presumptious? I don't want to go through the period of bullying I endured in 2006 again. I think I should put up a stand and firmly tell EHK he's being a bully, but maybe that's career suicide. When we voice our concerns to our overseas counterparts, they tend to take my manager's version as the Bible. In the end he is still one of them, and we are just a bunch of faceless engineers they hired to cut costs.

What would you do? Would you go ahead to that slaughterhouse meeting knowing that you would have to sign numerous letters describing your 'business etiquette' which your boss will use to document your 'misbehaviors' and will lead to your dismissal? He has done this to three female associates before. One was terminated and the other two quit. Or would it be okay to reply with "I respectfully decline to attend this meeting and would like to request another meeting with the presence of a mediator..."

Well, wish me luck.

jo

 

[TheTick]

What country are you in? In the U.S., a few well-documented comments would be enough to finish your boss.

 

[mizzjoey]

Malaysia. Our HQ is in the US though.

I don't think lodging a formal complaint will work, because the associate who was terminated wrote a really long email to every CTO she could think of to complain. My boss was called back to US for a hush-hush meeting with higher management. He came back slightly sane for a while, then went back to his demonic ways.

 

[Gymmeh]

Yes, in the US he would be out really quickly for fear of legal repercussions.

Does your company, being international, have any branches (specifically in the US) that involve any third party "consultants" to review complains? The parent company may not be aware of the extent of the problem, and the affect on moral.

My company has a third party come in and get anonymous reviews from every employee, every year to review the moral of the company and try to avoid such problems. The firms ask questions in such a way to avoid the BS complaints and get to the actual problems.

How much are you willing to rock the boat?

Best of Luck

 

[jmw]

You don't say if he is a foreign national or Malaysian.
What are the laws in Malaysia relating to sexual and/or racial/ethnic harassment?
Do you have an HR manager?
Does the fact that the HQ is in the US help you?

What is interesting is that the employee who was terminated created enough of a problem that he was called to HQ and given something to think about. That he came back and behaved for a while suggests that the company is sufficiently sensitive about this sort of thing to take notice and to act.

The fact that the already terminated employee sent round an email but herself took no further action and yet the company did not simply ignore the matter suggests they do recognise a vulnerability.

The questions are whether she or anyone else could have taken more formal action, or could have done something to embarrass the company. That depends on what the company's declared policy is toward its employees and what the local legislation says. I would have thought that in a country which has a mix of ethnicities and religions would be sensitive to the need for all round tolerance and you may find some external source of advice such as a local government advisor or union.

Companies are sometimes vulnerable to the law or to shareholder indignation, they may also be vulnerable to sanctions from the local government.

I would suggest:
[ul][li]look for some external source of advice.[/li]
[li]keep a detailed record of his actions. You might also record any incidents you witness where he treats others the same. I do not suggest that you recommend any kind of action by any of your fellow workers, this can so easily be misrepresented and used against you. They must act for themselves but if you seek external advise, of course you should follow it. It might be that they will recommend a course of action not just to you but to other workers also and preserve your anonymity. [/li]
[li]See if you can discover from your company website or employee's handbook, conditions of employment etc. what your local company and your HQ company has in the way of a policy statement about harassment of any kind.[/li]
[li]Most important is to try and establish the legal situation, not just as regards employees but employees of a foreign owned company.[/li][/ul]

It may be that the parent company is sensitive enough about such issues both locally and at home to react strongly to any suggestion of any further problems.
In any event, the sort of behaviour you describe is totally unacceptable in any environment but the problem is for the employee to be protected against any kind of retaliation.
In all cases of this sort, be ready an actively looking for alternative employment just in case.

Dependent on what you discover about your HR you might approach them "off the record". If you do, you might want to try and get them to recognise that this is a general problem and not simply one that relates to you. The more casual this is the better. If HR are aware of the problem then they may act. Most likely what they would do is have their own informal discussion with the HR at HQ where they should certainly be aware of what has happened previously. But tread carefully.

If in doubt, leave it alone, you do not want to create a situation where you put your own job at risk.


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[BJC]

Is the guy a non muslim who has had to live or work in a muslim country? If you were a non muslim working ( which you probably wouldn't be as a woman )as a Zimmis in a muslim country you could be treated much worse than you are. You would have no recourse at all. Some non-muslim 3rd worlders become very bitter after working in muslim countries. IS he one?

 

[KENAT]

Sounds like what to do will depend heavily on both the laws and culture where you are.

However, one option I assume you have no matter where you are is to try and find another position elsewhere.

This guy sounds like a bully. They still happen in the US etc although there is some protection, especially on explicit discrimination.

Standing up to him and/or involving HR will most likely have repercussions, that's not to say you shouldn't do it but you should be aware.

Your phrasing was a bit off with regard to not wanting to talk to him yet but you should have been able to explain that to him afterwards and he should have been OK with it.

Best of luck.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[EddyC]

Your boss sounds like a nut. I suggest getting another job. There's no point in working for someone who doesn't value your contributions. Eventually when enough workers quit, the corporate office will begin to wonder what's wrong. Until then, they'll side with him in any dispute. Better to leave quietly and hopefully you'll be able to get some kind of reference before its too late. Best of Luck to You.

 

[mizzjoey]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts.

To answer some questions:
My boss is an American citizen, although not by birth. He migrated there in his teens. Interestingly, he was born a muslim and came from an Asean country where I believe there are political groups fighting to make it constitutionally Islamic.

My lead engineer did come up to me afterwards (the morning of the incident) to ask me what the problem was about. i related to him that I was not in a proper physical condition to deal with our boss at the time and merely needed several minutes to sit down, catch my breath etc. So this guy explained my situation to the manager. According to my lead engineer, our boss is still unhappy about the way I talked to him and afterwards began to dig up things I did that he could find faults with.

My boss has been going around last week calling up other associates who can act as witnesses to the incident. What a lot of ado over nothing! Of course, my colleagues are sympathetic to me (having on other occasions being on the receiving end of our boss' wrath) but they would prefer to be left out of the trouble. I share their sentiments. I only want to come to work and do a good job. But this man won't leave me alone.

I'm working on my MSc. thesis (part-time); so have been toying with the idea of leaving the company and studying full-time (very viable option). Plus I have had several job offers after a successful FEA presentation during a conference, one coming from a former employer.

Trade union is very strong in my country, so I do not worry about myself. What I worry about is if I rock the boat too much and US management decides to close down the regional office as a result. I don't want other employees to be left jobless because I lodged a formal complaint against the one person whose job is to run the office.

 

[KENAT]

If you are going to make a complaint you'll all (or at least most/quite a few of you) probably need to band together. Otherwise you may be seen as the problem rather than the regional mis-manager.

You'll need to document a number of incidents, preferably to a number of people. If at least some of them explicitly break the law and/or company policies that will be better than just examples of him generally being a jerk.

If the work you guys do is good and the office is economically viable I'd like to think they wont close you down just because of this guy but who knows when it comes to management.

Even if you make the complaint and they act on it those who complain may still face retribution.

My wife and a few colleagues in a union job lodged a complaint about a similarly abusive manager. The senior management intended only giving the manager a slap on the wrist, despite the manager having broken the law and defrauded my wifes employer amonst her many transgressions. Only when my wife and most of the other staff in her office stood up and threatened to walk out did senior management take serious action. Even then they just got the manager to retire so she kept a lot of her benefits, her good name etc.

All the staff that complained suffered retribution. One ended up resigning, another is still being targetted and may soon get fired. My wife got a lot of flack for a year or so afterwards but struggled through it, and is now more or less left alone over 3 years later. Oh yeah, the office that was about 6-8 people is now just my wife and the one employee who is likely to still get fired. I'm not saying it's all due to them making the complaint but I'm sure it's a factor.

I seriously wish you all the best, you shouldn't have to put up with that nonsense, I know how miserable my wife got at times and how it affected her health so I wish you the best whatever course you take.



KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[plasgears]

Time to get out and find a new life in engineering. These maniacs have a way of creating their own disasters and bringing down others with them in the process. My career took an upturn every time I departed from questionable bosses and companies.

 

[jmw]

Very useful information.

A US company, with a facility in a country with a significant Muslim component in its workforce and aware of the various problems that might arise has chosen as a manager someone with a Muslim background who is also a US citizen.
There is a possibility that his background was a strong factor in his getting the job since what they may have expected is that he would prove far less likely to cause an "incident". Sadly that policy or decision is backfiring on them.

What it suggests is that HQ are not complacent but very keen to have a good relationship with its workforce and this makes some sense in view of what you say happened with a previous employee. Instead of being an asset who can make things run smoothly this guy may think his background allows him some freedom to do exactly the opposite of what was expected or intended.

It also suggests that if they become aware of continuing or worsening problems that this guy could be toast pretty quick.

Now, you also say you have storng trade union representation in your country and I'd suggest you go talk to them and explain that you do not want to be singled out as a "whistle blower". I am sure this is a situation they have experience of and they cold follow a umber of paths to bring the issue to the HQ's attention without involving you by name, at least initially. They and you can then see what HQ are going to do about it.

He, it seems from what you say about gathering evidence, may have realised he has a problem and is busy trying to put together a defence in anticipation and may even be preparing to take some kind of pre-emptive action. If your trade union is smart, they will try to collect evidence from other people as well and he will not have anticipated a wider or more general (and potentially more damaging) response.

So, go talk to them. I'd bet that if they were to contact your HQ office even in the most general terms that there would be some pretty smart reactions.



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

Well hopefully the OPs union is more effective than my wifes was. One of them (can't recall if it was her or a colleague) spoke to a rep early in the process.

The union reps last words were "well if managment find out that you're planning to make a complaint it wont be from me".

Very shortly afterwards management got wind of things from an 'unknown' source.

2+2=?

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Toastie]

Well depending on how devious you want to be. I would start recording everything he said that is discriminatory, but do not keep it at work, they may find it. Also get the emails of his bosses, HR, and legal departments and then make an anonymous email account and mail that to them on behalf of all the companies employees, if you get their emails in it also it will look better. Best if you can get a sound byte of him saying something bad

 

[mizzjoey]

Update on my situation:

My technical manager (the one overseas) sensed that something is going on in my office and approached me off-the-record. So I related to him the real reason the regional manager is unhappy with me. He contacted my lead engineer at the same time (I didn't know then) and the engineer basically told him the same thing and that the whole incident is being blown out of proportion.

My regional manager has approached the HR rep and they are working through the issue. Apparently one tech. manager has been keeping in touch with my ex-colleague who was wrongfully dismissed all this while. The three of them notice a pattern on who are being singled out for mistreatment.

My boos has been out of the office this week, so I just have to focus on my work in the meantime. I'd like to thank everyone for your opinions, especially JMW and KENAT. You gave me new angles to consider and I am currently thinking through all the advice. Amazingly, JMW made a rather prescient observation; my regional manager is definitely sensing that he might be in trouble. Hopefully he'll be in a good mood when he finally comes back to work.

Thanks everyone!
jo

 

[KENAT]

All the best, keep us updated.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[xnuke]

Jo,

Even if your manager comes back in a good mood, it sounds like he has a fundamental behavior pattern to which he will likely return. His personality and interpersonal relationships have to change, not his mood, and that is not an easy thing. This is why interviewers are often more concerned with a potential employee's interpersonal skills than technical knowledge. Employees can be retrained on technical issues; it's much harder to retrain them on personality issues. The fact that overseas management is aware of this problem may eventually lead to his dismissal, or at least a transfer for you out from under him in the short run. Maybe both. I wish you the best.

xnuke
"Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life." Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[mizzjoey]

Hi everyone..

Just an update on this thread, which I started 4 months ago..

I did it! I took a job offer! You guys are right! It feels really good to leave an oppressive workplace! (and I'm so happy and relieved I'm spraying exclamation marks everywhere! :-D)

Several weeks ago my boss gave me the lowest increment possible despite my good performance reviews, having trained a batch of new employees and having completed my slavery, *cough cough* I mean.. bonding contract. The thing that irked me was he was giving out the highest increment percentage to the new batch that I helped train myself. He told me he was paying me too much anyway, so out of frustration I began applying for jobs eventhough I had no intention of actually leaving. I quoted a salary figure that I thought was beyond my range... and actually received more than one offer of employment after attending the interviews!

So there! My resignation letter is written, without me heaping any bile so as to appear professional and not burn any bridge. I can't wait to hit the send button this afternoon!

thanks a lot guys,
jo

 

[davidbeach]

Don't hit the send button. Print it out and deliver it in person. Never resign via email unless you intend on burning all possible bridges.

 

[MadMango]

I agree with Davidbeach. There is a certain level of accomplishment that comes with signing a resignation letter with nice, blue ink and hand delivering it.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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