Where I work, the owner has installed an executive who has caused 10 people to quit. He drives everyone to the point of exhaustion. He says one thing, then claims something else. He has been psychologically abusive to the reps. He insists that we need to work more overtime, when many of us are working 50 or more hours a week. Due to the reduced staff, there are only a few people left to do the work of those who left. Yet, even though his part in this is demonstrable via exit interviews, he has been allowed to keep his position, because this increased ‘efficiency’ makes the numbers look good. Yesterday, I worked 18 hours straight. In the middle of this, he said I needed to work Saturday and Sunday. This is merely to save the day for the untenable situation he has created. Clients are yelling at us because we can no longer meet all of their deadlines, yet, even though we have repeatedly asked that they stop taking new work until we can train a few new people, they keep taking new accounts and just assuming we will get everything done. I have informed several executives of my constant stress level. They all know what he is like and admit it. However, they are powerless to do anything about it, as the man in question is a close friend of the owners. He has a sidekick. Together, the play good cop/ bad cop in daily meetings which drag on and are filled with micromanagement. My health and my mental state have been suffering greatly. I have had my heart rate racing and have had great difficulty sleeping. Though they have hired two new people, it is impossible to find the time to adequately train them, as the work load is greater than the amount of hours in the day–even with extensive overtime. I do have emails in which I bring to the attention of the other executives that they need to do something, as he is destroying the department. Everyone in the company seems to know it. As a result, he was forced to hire two people, but, as I have said, we don’t have the time to train them. I have notified my immediate supervisors that I have every intention of making the arrangements to leave once I find something else if they don’t do something about this. I confronted the man about the deteriorating situation and my worsening health yesterday (when he tried to pressure me into working Saturday and Sunday) and he said that I should write him an email regarding all of this and he would see what he could do. My sense is that he wishes to terminate my employment at this point, which is fine, but I do fear that he will merely be shuffled out of the department, thus making things worse for the few remaining people there. How do I proceed in such a situation?
Hi,
Well, I have suggestions, based on my own similar personal experience, but I based my exit strategy on some diligent research of my states statutes and a lesser known precedent .. which is ironic because the state I live in has one of the lowest recipient rates in the country.
You are asking me for an exit strategy .. I do help with this, but not in the free unemployment forum .. mostly because you asked how YOU should proceed and that cannot be answered in general terms.