Re: I Can Really Pick 'Em, Can't I?
never once have I worked for
a company that would allow this kind of stuff to go on.
My friends, in a not-so-hot job market, what would you do if you had to
endure this stuff for up to a year more?
Cathy, the *California Secretary of State* was forced to resign because of his 'volcanic temper', so I fail to see why your boss should be allowed to get away with this in the workplace. Your upper management has been willing to put up with it for quite some time. Clearly, they are going to continue doing so. You've been getting some excellent suggestions for how you might get him to 'back down' on his swearing and harrassment. They are good suggestions and, I suspect, utterly worthless. Bullies do not respond to a firm tone of voice and a pleasant demeanor. They respond to kneecapping. (They absolutely, positively do not respond to your ignoring them.) The only thing you can hope for is that he pisses off the rival woman manager so badly that she goes up the ladder and complains to management. You can't *make* that happen. You can only hope it does.
What would I do? I would quit, frankly. And I don't mean any two- weeks-notice kind of nonsense, which would give your boss two weeks to harangue you scott-free. Write a letter of resignation directed to HIS boss, specifically and clearly spelling out when, why and where your boss has created an abusive workplace situation. I would make my tone polite but firm, and stress that in such an unprofessional atmosphere you are unable to do the job you were hired to do (as you point out, you have not written one word in the six months you have been there). Include a CC to your state's bureau of labor, if it has one, and make sure your grandboss (that's your boss' boss) knows you are sending a copy of the letter there. Then tell them your resignation is effective immediately and walk out of there, head high.
Will you get another job right away? Maybe. Maybe not. But I can tell you this--you are more than your job, you are more than your career, you are a whole person and you have to live with yourself. At the end of the day, do you want to respect yourself as someone who stood up to this clown, or as a wage slave who caved in to him? I would never recommend quitting a job over a minor quarrel, but your boss has created so toxic an atmosphere that you are, in this case, better off making lattes at Starbucks. I've had to quit like this a couple of times in my *mumble* years in the workplace, and I've never regretted it no matter what the financial hardship was.
Oh, and one other thing--after you have resigned, contact the woman manager of the rival department privately and ask her if she'll be a reference for you. You never know, she might.
Good luck.
Sarah
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