A high-stakes game of Risk...

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...well, for me anyways.

Today at work the scene was so tense it almost made me sick to my stomach and for someone that (for mostly all intents and purposes) doesn't mind conflict, it kind of blew my mind.

The economy is bad and the numbers aren't great right now, and there isn't talk of layoffs but there is a hiring freeze company-wide and basically every cost except medical benefits and staff have been cut. I am thankful to have a job, and enjoy the actual work portion of it which I am good at but the people and corporate issues are starting to get to me.

My boss just got back from seven weeks off a few days ago, as he took 45 days leave beginning before Easter due to his wife giving birth. According to him he didn't know how he was going to be able to afford it due to his crushing debt load, and how he was going to catch up on work because he really hadn't done anything the previous six months anyway, but he took his month and a half. He's nice as pie but doesn't do much other than try to be everyone's friend, talk big or avoid conflict.

We have a new sales rep who in a tight environment should be getting us business, as he is assigned to quite a few of our biggest customers. The problem lies in that he does nothing, and when he does something it is nothing of value (he will spend half a day bringing someone a $2 item). Then he micromanages, blames others for problems (I have become a favored scapegoat of his even though I cross all my T's and dot my I's just so he can't blame me) and avoids taking responsibility for his actions.

He even had the nerve when I lent him my corporate credit card (he was new and basically needed it for gas to go on sales calls until his card came in) to fill up the company truck he took on vacation without permission, then act like I should write it off as an expense I accrued because his poo smells like roses. Not to mention all the extra meals he charges even though he is minutes from his house, not to mention many other things he "wasn't told he couldn't do."

He's made himself a major PITA for everyone around him, it is driving some of the other sales staff to quit, the man walks around like he runs the place and the boss or head office won't step in.

That, and the company has opened a snitch line to try and pare down the staff. He is eyeballing that poster a little more every day, and knowing what I know of how he acts he is going to try and sink the people who are basically holding the place together.

The man is so paranoid he drives with the windows at the back of the cab rolled down so the company decals aren't visible and he can't be "followed." We have caught him letting his wife drive the truck and with the vehicle parked at the bar after hours but nobody has done anything about it.

I think I am going to go put some yellow electrical tape stripes on the inside edge of the fog light bezels and under the back edge of the bumper so it is easy to pick out in traffic if he thinks he is so smart. I doubt he'll catch it, he couldn't figure out how to put it in 4WD in a storm.

So now it's degenerating into how can we get rid of him for doing nothing and taking advantage of the company before he gets somebody who does a factor of a hundred more for the company than he does because he phoned in about them checking their Hotmail account on company time because it was slow, even though he sits in his office trying to hide that he is reading the forum for his soccer pool.

I don't like this game when I lose but I am officially angry enough to play hardball...don't mess with my bread and butter or I will starve you to death.
 
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Picture of truck parked outside bar, accidentally forwarded to all employees via anonymized email?
 
I hate having to be preemptive on something I shouldn't have to defend to begin with ..but that's the way these things go.

This is a cross roads. They seem to find me more often than I like. I don't like being forced into behaviors that I would not otherwise engage in. People like you're describing tend to intrude into your security bubble and corrupt it for their benefit. They usually have character/personality disorders ..but have managed to succeed enough to slip through the normal filters.

This is a no win scenario for you. Even prevailing in this tango is going to cause you discomfort.

If you like your job and can't replace it easily ..then rat the slime out. If you can find another job, do so ..and explain why you're leaving on the exit interview.
 
The picture/email route sounds good, but you better be SURE about the anonymity. Don't use your home computer. Use a completely new, free email account that has never been used before. Sign up for it using false information. Rather than use an email client to send the email, use webmail. Make sure the EXIF data has been removed from the pictures before sending them. If I were you, I'd bypass the issue entirely and buy one of those cheap $10 digital cameras that are practically disposable. Nobody except you needs ever know about this, so don't say anything to anyone. If your coworkers know you read BITOG, then consider who may have seen this thread. If not, it's still here in writing and your username seems to be based on your real name... So there's that. Be absolutely sure before you take action and know how you will deal with problems in your plan should they arise. Also, be patient. If he really is the way you say he'll present you with a golden opportunity to expoit.

Gary's right, though... Even in the best case, you're probably not going to be 100% comfortable with this. However, like you say, we're talking about the way you put food on the table. I can understand your position.

Also, I wanted to add: You can't be too safe when doing this. My department helps fire an average of two people per month for not being careful enough when doing this kind of thing. We have a little over 5,000 employees. IT guys LOVE trying to figure out where emails like this originate and providing management with answers is how we get our bonuses.
 
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Have you thought about pulling this guy aside and telling him in private that he is a lazy, incompetent idiot and has no idea what the #&!! he is doing ?

I have done this in the past at many jobs (including the military) and it works very well. Just don't embarrass or humiliate the person in front of others and they will quickly get the message.
 
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Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette

Have you thought about pulling this guy aside and telling him in private that he is a lazy, incompetent idiot and has no idea what the #&!! he is doing ?

I have done this in the past at many jobs (including the military) and it works very well. Just don't embarrass or humiliate the person in front of others and they will quickly get the message.


The trouble with this approach is that you take a large risk that the person in question is able to change, wants to change or cares at all.

This person seems to be in a everything is for me the heck with you mode, or what can i get away with till they fire me mode.

If the accounting department didnt reel in the fellow with his credit card expenses which does strike me as odd that he wasnt talked to, management must not care.

A more sickening tack might be to stay out of his way, he will self destruct, just not fast enough. Protect your job, make sure you document every thing you do with this fellow.

As a company owner, its wonderful to see how much you care!

Employees like you are a treasure.

How big is the company you work for?
Do you know who the owner or owners are?
Are they accessible?

How much pain are you willing to go through to solve this?

Most problems could be stopped by top level management if they choose.

Gary in this case would you go to upper management with his credit card slips and say something to the effect i believe i found someone stealing from the company, what should i do?

Please let us know how this goes, i sincerely wish you the best of luck.
 
It's a much quieter day and the boss is on the phone with someone in finance from head office with his door closed.

Not a fan of this game...either way I am going to have to update my resume.

"This is not a test of power; this is not a game that's lost or won, let justice be done."
 
(Trying to keep this short)

This would cause me to go against my nature. It would cause me to devote too many assets to managing this personality just to continue to allow me to do my job. This would be stressful for me.

You're dealing with a personality disorder with an obvious anti-social component to it. You have to keep in mind that these disorders are "perfect in their defects" and have highly developed defensive mechanisms.

I'm a dominant personality. I'm not aggressive. That is, I go into a job ..master it (this may not be easy ..or even possible with some things).. and grab liberties and authority along the way (sensible latitudes that enhance my ability to perform to the benefit of the operation). I don't intrude into others space beyond where it yields sensible benefit in efficiency and/or productivity (done in a friendly and cooperative way)..and I have all proofs and justifications prepackaged if I'm called on them. Aggressive types tend to see boundaries as things that are in the way. They tend to use assertiveness to intrude into others turf.


While it's not my (your) job to determine this guys value to the company, he's rocking my boat. One that would be perfectly stable and healthy if not for his intrusion and "soiling" it with his defects.

Given his "perfection in defectiveness", I would assure that I'm not bringing a knife to a gun fight. I'd also assess office politics and, with the wisdom of experience, realize that no good deed goes unpunished if it is too much a disruption to the status quo. There will be a reaction that will have unintended side effects. For example, if his abuse is in using company assets excessively for personal use, policy will become firm where it was once flexible. The reasonable people will suffer from the corrective action.

If this was a normal aggressive personality, and after less severe methods were employed without results, I would assure that he knew that I was not his beeatch and that he can GFHS. This is not a normal personality, however and he will probably not respond in a normal manner. He's already got a pre-packaged reaction to you already hardwired.

I would force the exposure of this guy. Keep in mind that it's going to reflect on your immediate boss, so be prepared for the unintended side effects.
 
Maybe I missed it in all the psychobabble, but who is this weasel's boss? Boss always knows when sales weenies aren't performing. If the boss doesn't know, well then you are [censored].
 
I talked to the boss tonight and the boss is on the same page as everyone else now and we are egging boss on to do something. He just got back for the first time in a month and a half on Monday, and the main man in head office has been completely hands off with it despite the complaints.

Sales weenie got his weenie slapped today because he charged off so many meals last month that he has been put on a fleet card, and all non-fuel purchases must go through the branch manager. He also has been told to write a cheque for the fuel he charged on my card.

I am glad it is coming around, and I bought a roll of orange tape so the next time he is checking up on his soccer pool I am wrapping the tow hooks on the front of his truck and putting a stripe on the bottom edge of the back bumper so he can't hide amongst the traffic when he is out dog [censored].

I am glad to see it's coming around all of a sudden, especially with how bad yesterday was, but I want to nail the coffin shut ASAP. I am starting to look for greener pastures but I don't want it to be because I am leaving a boss or people, I want it to be because I want to further myself.
 
Forget about the personality disorder (or try to). Provide your boss (anonymously?) with what he needs to nail him to the floor on every workplace technicality imaginable, document the [censored] out of everything and pray they can get his [censored] out of there on a by-the-book basis as quickly as possible before he cleans up his act and goes underground on all of you. Your boss is not doing his job. My two cents.
 
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