(Carpentersville, IL )
Periodically my boss who lives in another state but keeps his Illinois office open, calls our office and is verbally abusive on the phone if he feels something has not been met to his expectations and says “f***this & f*** that” during his conversations. He is more lately then ever and emotionally stressing out the office. I personally was recentaly told “so we’re basically f****ed” by this employer and quite frankly wanted to just walk out the door. He knows we all need our jobs, by fiance is out of work & we have 2 children, one requiring daily injections for an illiness, my fiance is out work & I hold the insurance. Does this give him the right to treat people he has working for him with verbal abuse?
The other concern is that I’m doing the job of 2 people since one other person has already quit & I’m expected to get double the work load done or I’m not doing my job. When rarely a mistake happend I was told we are “f***d” and he has spoken to another supervisor over the phone this way in the past causing her to cry & leave the office in tears. Where does the line get drawn here and what can we do? I want to remain anonoymous but he is very revengeful and will take it out on our raises if we ever get them again.
Would an employee be eligible to get unemployment benefits if quitting under these kind of working conditions?
Please help me what to do here? I’m afraid Monday what to expect but will tell him I don’t appreciate that kind of conversation and would like respect.
Thank you in advance!
Hi,
I removed your name because at this point you should remain anonymous .. until you take some positive action to put this employer on notice that verbal abuse and profanity ridden business discussions with subordinates is not the way a responsible business owner or manager should get business things done.
How can I relate that unemployment benefits when someone quits is so much more difficult to get than when someone is fired? (Excuse me, rhetorical questions:)
But it’s true and it’s because the standard for proving good cause for quitting .. at least in my opinion is a higher more rigorous standard that what an employer has to do to supposedly fire with good cause.
People who are fired in retaliation for “something” the employer didn’t like, took personally, or just didn’t want to deal with get denied unemployment simply because the employee can’t show that the employer was actually dredging up performance issues or rule violations to use to fire them for the other thing.
It’s a game, anonymous. And if you want unemployment benefits you have to play by the same rules the employer and employees alike are expected to play by .. The labor laws and rules of a state and/or this country. I only talk about unemployment benefits .. but I’ve learned over the years .. the bigger picture of employment in general need to be considered.
If your entire office is experiencing this type of treatment “via telephone” realize there is some power in numbers.
Sexual harassment does not necessarily mean sex was involved .. it could be sexually offensive language .. that would never pass through your lips or simply who you heard it from makes you feel uncomfortable.
Before anyone makes a move .. you all need to first have a civil calm conversation with this person and let him know his vulgar language is offensive to you and is unproductive. Isn’t there a procedure for grievances in your employee handbook?
Document the meeting, the more of you there are the better. (by the way recording meetings in Illinois requires the consent of ALL parties involved)
If it happens again .. file a complaint with the proper reporting agency .. be it the EEOC or the IHRC. This is what protect you from retaliation because it is illegal for an employer to retaliate because someone lodged a complaint.
Quitting and getting unemployment is rigorous if you take the proper steps. The official complaint might not be a “required” step to get UI benefits, but if a hearing officer asked you why you did not do this or that .. what do you say if you have no documentation to prove your aren’t just talking.
Anytime a job goes south, your antennae should go up and you should start developing a counter measure to either ensure you can keep your job or exit it with a severance .. or at the very least unemployment benefits .. if you need some money to survive.
As far as doubling your workload .. welcome to employment during the great recession, just be sure to document all objections to every added duty. When you end up not being able to complete the extra work to the employer’s satisfaction and get put on a PIP you’ll have something to work with.
Monday morning .. whatever you say .. be sure you can back it up with documentation as to what you have requested from the employer and what the response was. My solution .. email
Even verbal conversations can be documented by regurgitating the important highlights of a meeting.
Write it, send it, print it with proof you sent it and don’t allow the recipient to bread the thread if they reply.
You don’t really sound like you want to quit because you need the insurance .. I wonder how many people stay in bad work environments just for that reason .. I know it was the loss of health insurance that got me up in arms enough to begin this website with a vengeance .. thank goodness I’ve calmed down since then:) but if you work for a living .. you cannot let fear of an unknown reaction from a bully boss override your common sense .. you need to anticipate and have something ready to fire back with.
I have little patience for employers who rule with intimidation and fear .. sounds way to much like a method of indenturing, taking advantage of weaknesses, etc.
We always have choices .. even if that is to just walk away and find another job .. irregardless.
Although finding another job first seems like the smarter thing to do .. it would be helpful if there were more jobs to be had .. and you never do know what a job will be like until you’ve been there a while.
Personally, my solution, eventually, after forty or so years of working for someone else was to say F**K It and find a way to make money with me as my own taskmaster .. no regrets so far, but I preplanned the move:)
Comments for the employer being verbally abusive to you and others?
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