Need some thoughts/input on a BAD situation at work

mod29fan

mod29fan

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Here's the scenario:

Small business with 5 in the shop. Been there almost 6 years. Over the past 2 years or so (that I know of) one particular employee who's in cahoots with the shop manager, is manipulating time cards, abusing overtime, and takes work home making extra $ that he could easily do during regular time.

The shop manager is allowing all this to happen and lying his butt off about workloads, the need for overtime, and the homework to the owner. Oh, yeah, and the owner thinks his manager is bottled sunshine.

I've been to the manager with my concerns and he's of course denied and blew off what I've had to say.

My quandry is how the heck do I present this to the owner without offending him? He thinks he has chosen a good manager when in fact the guy is a BS'n, lying thief only interested in him and his cohorts personal gain. Or do I just shut up, do my job and let the injustice to the company continue? My gut tells me to go directly to the owner but I'm a bit unsure how he'll react to all this.

I like this position so leaving is a last resort and obviously the way the job market is, I need this job and don't want to cut my own throat.

What say you?
 
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1st things 1st

1st go looking for a better job, don't take it, just find it. If you find one, THEN try to fix your current job. If there are no other jobs out there, tread lightly. As mentioned, document whats happening, speak with others/coworkers.
I praise you for careing about what's happening, some would not, but don't walk away without a plan.
Be well
Shoot straight
Tom B.
 
It depends on how bad you need the job. If you go around the supervisor and the boss does not want to hear what you tell him or believe you, your not going to be happy at that job for long...

Perhaps you can leave hints to the boss man let him kinda find out for himself kinda thing.

or

keep your mouth shut, do your job, get a check, and not care about the dipwad supervisor and boss...

Jobs arent easy to find right now so tread lightly...
 
:) I would keep out of it. You might find your self looking for a job. You need to take care of you first. The owner will most likely find out about it soon enough. Remember this is not a good time to get fired from your job. Don
 
All good advice. One more thing is to make sure you document your work as well, so that if push comes to shove, don't let them say that the workload was so great, they needed the OT, etc, because you were the one not pulling his load. Cover yourself well first. Also may be a chance to advance if you show what you can do. Good luck with that, it can be a tough time in a small company with folks like that.
 
HAWKEYE10 said:
:) I would keep out of it. You might find your self looking for a job. You need to take care of you first. The owner will most likely find out about it soon enough. Remember this is not a good time to get fired from your job. Don
Click to expand...

I'm with Don on this one. They'll get theirs someday! It will catch up with 'em.

Although if any of the shadow deals and are on paper and happen to fall somewhere to be found....:rolleyes:

rags
 
Is the boss's favoritism hurting you? If not ignore it and mind your own business. I'm not saying it to be smart but absolutely no good will come to you by trying to expose it. If is reflecting negatively on your performance you must think of a way to correct it without being negative about your co-worker or boss.
 
I like what Don said.....unless you feel very secure that you will not be fired for tick'en off the owner...keep your head down and keep paying bills. At least you have surfaced it.....not your fault that nobody wants to hear what your saying. Dog eat dog world out there right now....so don't get eaten.
 
I have seen this before, my advice is to stay out of it.
Believe me, the manager and the employee will win one way or another.
 
I have a similar situation where I work. i tried talking to my manager, and when that didn't work I went to HR. Bottom line is that nothing changed and now I have a reputation as a troublemaker. I am very careful to document all my work now, just to protect myself, because my manager is trying to get me fired.

So my advice is to concentrate on doing a good job, document what you can, and stay out of it.
 
You see this kind of crap anywhere you work. Do your job, keep your mouth shut, and document everything because right or wrong, the whole thing could be turned around on you. Of course playing with fiber optic video and mini-recorders at appropriate times might add some enjoyment to your job. Also copies of interesting paper trails may come in handy. Kinda reminds me of a very old police chief that I once knew. He kept getting reappointed police chief under each new administration because as soon as he saw someone rising in the political world he started a file on them that he kept in a safe at home. His undoing came when an unknown got elected mayor and fired him. Didn't hurt much though because he was in his early seventies by then and ready to go home. I think he may have been trained in the J. Edgar Hoover school of CYA.
 
mod29fan said:
Here's the scenario:

Small business with 5 in the shop. Been there almost 6 years. Over the past 2 years or so (that I know of) one particular employee who's in cahoots with the shop manager, is manipulating time cards, abusing overtime, and takes work home making extra $ that he could easily do during regular time.

The shop manager is allowing all this to happen and lying his butt off about workloads, the need for overtime, and the homework to the owner. Oh, yeah, and the owner thinks his manager is bottled sunshin

I've been to the manager with my concerns and he's of course denied and blew off what I've had to say.

My quandry is how the heck do I present this to the owner without offending him? He thinks he has chosen a good manager when in fact the guy is a BS'n, lying thief only interested in him and his cohorts personal gain. Or do I just shut up, do my job and let the injustice to the company continue? My gut tells me to go directly to the owner but I'm a bit unsure how he'll react to all this.

I like this position so leaving is a last resort and obviously the way the job market is, I need this job and don't want to cut my own throat.

What say you?
Click to expand...


you already know the correct thing to do...now go with the best documentation that you can and meet with the owner
 
I once worked in the "black sheep" division of a family owned outfit that was run by incompetents and nitwits and fools, who weren't purposefully cheating or stealing from the parent company, except by their ineptitude, inattention, and costly mistakes. I was in "sales" vs. "fabrication" and "installation". I kept notes of the progress of the job, copies of communications such as notes on shop drawings, installation instructions, etc., and ultimately prepared a "Situation Report" pillorying the incompetents who FUBAR'd the job.

Perhaps naively, I'd hoped for heads to roll, &tc., but this only caused consternation, not correction. The company president took the company jet into town and took me to lunch, asking what I intended to "do" about the situation. I told him to fix it, or I'd take my talents elsewhere --- he didn't, I did.

Be careful of raising a fuss, there may be more to the story than you know, or you may just perceived as the bearer of "an inconvenient truth."
 
Response to bad situation at work

To Model 29 fan:
I would just do the best job i can and document my work. It also helps to remember the serenity prayer. You can always start an easy search for a new job if its that bad. Sometimes people grow out of a job and this is a sign you may find some-thing better for you. In the meantime do your job the best you can and be thankful you have a paycheck. Maybe the owner knows and is giving the manager "plenty of rope" to hang himself. Goodluck alot of us have been in situations like this. Some of us go to work to make a living and others do otherthings.
 
Sometimes family is a good thing..sometimes not.High school buddies don't mix.Business is Business.
I've seen it all.The best is a pack of Crooks.Somehow they find each other.Nothing you can do but move on as soon as you can.Until...then?

D.G.
 
Just go to work everyday and mind your business, there may be a lot more going on then you actually know. Even though the OT is not needed and dishonest, it may, in the long run be protecting one position that would otherwise be eliminated. That could be your position.

Remember he is the Manager, whether honest or not that isn't up to you to decide.

I retired after 32 years in a very large corporation and have seen it all, always minded my own business. In the end they all end up the losers and sometimes terminated, sometimes not.
 
Just a few thoughts. Document all you want to but don't keep it at work and understand that probably no one will thank you for bringing all of this out in the open. In most cases, I believe, the supervisors/bosses/administrators are aware of what is going on and they allow it to go on because it is part of the structure of the business. The cost of doing business if you will. There are always favorites and methods of keeping those favorites in positions beneficial to them.
The question that I have to come back to is: "Are they getting into my pocket by their actions"? If no, then I am satisfied to let them have enough rope to hang to themselves with, and it will happen. In the mean time, go in, do the best job you can do, encourage others to do the same, the incompetent and the cheats will reap their own rewards. In the words of Johnny Cash;
Tell the gossipers and liars
I will see them in the fire
Let the train blow the whistle when I go
 
I've been in about the same situation. Document everything, get pictures if possible. Keep them at home under lock & key. Do your job & if anything comes up, get an attorney. [Labor]. I did & I've outlived all of them.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Document everything. Then mail it to the owner, anonymously.
 
This is a classic example of mind your own business. Nothing good is going to come out of this.
 
Stay out of it.

If what they are doing isn't directly impacting you, it soon will. And it will be your head that rolls.
 
The thought that if the head man knew what was really going on, there'd be changes has probably existed forever. Sooner or later most of us realize that the head man knows whats going on and, for his own reasons, doesn't act. Or doesn't act until their own well being is threatened.
 
WR Moore said:
The thought that if the head man knew what was really going on, there'd be changes has probably existed forever. Sooner or later most of us realize that the head man knows whats going on and, for his own reasons, doesn't act. Or doesn't act until their own well being is threatened.
Click to expand...

What I was about to say.

"Small business with 5 in the shop."
If the owner can't watch 5 people, he may be too stupid to enlighten. Then again, maybe he doesn't care.
As a friend once told me when I asked if his manager was stealing from him- "Sure, he's stealing, but he doesn't steal more than he's worth."
If the business is rocking along, and the owner is happy, he may be content with the status quo. Rocking the boat may not ingratiate you to him.
Keep yourself covered and do your job.
 
I've seen this a couple times. Always, a whistle-blower or two gets axed before the problem is addressed. Shut up, do your job and wait until the problem is taken care of is good advice.

Like Barb says, stay out of it.

Bob
 
As the owner of a couple of small businesses, I have a little different perspective. I'd want to know. BUT, you had dang well better have proof that is not refutable.

And yes, I know of a couple of my employees that are slackers. I have my reasons for keeping them around, mainly because they are young and I do actually see a little hope for them. And at least one is young, and in a bad homelife. I keep them away from that at least for a little while.

I also handle all employee problems in private. So you may not be aware that I have indeed been on them pretty hard. It may look like I ignore it to you, but I do not let a disciplinary talk with one person be known to someone else. Bad management.
 
The comments so far have pretty much covered the spectrum. I also work for a small company. There were a couple of slackers. While I really wanted to tell the manager about the lack of work ethic of these people, I just kept my mouth shut, and made sure that I documented what I did every day.

My company was just recently bought out by another company, and these two folks are no longer with us. It turns out that the manager knew all along who was going the extra mile and who was doing the least acceptable amount of work. They are no longer with the company.

The bottom line is that you should keep a good record of what YOU do, and not butt in to what others are doing. You already made one mistake by bringing it up to the manager. If he is condoning the behavior that you describe, that puts you in a bad light as a tattle tale. If you go over his head now, you are toast!

Keep your mouth shut and do your job to the best of your ability. If the behavior of others harms you financially or otherwise, then that is a different story.


WG840
 
Agree with WR Moore and Lee. In that small of a shop, the owner should be aware of what is going on. If he's stupid and isn't, he probably won't listen because he likely doesn't care. If he isn't stupid, there may be reasons why he hasn't stopped the problem.

That doesn't mean the problem will go on indefinitely. In due time, the right situation may come along that will enable the boss to put things in order.

Documenting and mentioning this to the boss could go either way. In my case, I always listen to the employees - but I do my own homework, and I draw my own conclusions. If the boss is that type of character, mentioning the problem might end up in a positive way. If the boss is a different sort, I would stay out of it.

Whatever you do, by all means, mind your ps & qs and keep a distance from the questionable employees, lest you acquire the appearance of guilt by association.
 
I work at a government agency that regulates and enforces wage and hour laws and have done so for over 21 years.
My advice to you is to let this situation play itself out as it will in time,the manager will be found out by the owner and the manager's pet will also.
Right now it sounds like the owner would not be receptive to any negative information about this manager. The owner will find out about this situation when it really starts affecting HIS pocketbook. That is when he will do something about it.
People like this get away with stuff like this for a while but sooner or later their activities are uncovered then they are gone. At least that has been my experience down through time. JMHO.
 
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