Hate my job, boss is sabotaging me

LegacyUser

I hate my job and I am so depressed about it. I have been looking for something else and trying so hard to get into the field I studied in but I can't get a foot in the door. I posted here before and everyone said look for something new and hold onto this position. Only problem is now everyone else has been let go due to contracts expiring- I am the last left on the team and have to do all the work, have been told my contract states I have to work longer days than everyone else around and can get no time off. My boss asked my for holiday dates in advance, I gave her some but I still have more days I'm entitled to take but she won't let me take any now - therefore I can't attend any interviews.

I even told her one day it was for an interview and she was not happy, and said I couldn't go. She won't let me change my lunch hour to go either and I start work at 8 and finish at 5.30 so I can never meet anyone. What do I do? I will be stuck here forever. I applied for a job internally and she heard off someone and said it to me, and started talking about who she thought would get it (not me obviously)- which is none of her business anyway, and the way she goes on I really think she would sabotage me - ie. give me a bad reference. Sorry for the rant....

Curry Addict

employers often abuse young workers. when u have years and years in the work force you realise that the relationship between you and your employer is just a game. they want the most they can get out of you often unreasonably and you want a fair wage, fair hours and to be treated with respect.
turn the situation to your own advantage.
take two days off sick anytime u have an interview or feel you need a break.
u dont need doctors cert or anything for 2 days legally afaik.
if u get any hassle about amount of sick days your taking, play the stress card. go to the doctor and tell him your stressed due to work demands and get a doctors cert for stress.
go to HR and make your case, you are getting sick due to work demands, no holidays and no time to attend interviews = the putting u under undue stress. they will then have to back down and you will get more respect and leeway. its not a nice thing to have to do but you are being pushed into it tbh.

meditraitor

Curry Addict wrote: »

employers often abuse young workers. when u have years and years in the work force you realise that the relationship between you and your employer is just a game. they want the most they can get out of you often unreasonably and you want a fair wage, fair hours and to be treated with respect.
turn the situation to your own advantage.
take two days off sick anytime u have an interview or feel you need a break.
u dont need doctors cert or anything for 2 days legally afaik.
if u get any hassle about amount of sick days your taking, play the stress card. go to the doctor and tell him your stressed due to work demands and get a doctors cert for stress.
go to HR and make your case, you are getting sick due to work demands, no holidays and no time to attend interviews = the putting u under undue stress. they will then have to back down and you will get more respect and leeway. its not a nice thing to have to do but you are being pushed into it tbh.

This is abhorant, down right fraud and should be ignored........

LegacyUser

She is my line manager. Her behaviour is subtle, nice as pie to your face sometimes but micromanages me - everything I do is wrong, must be done her way. I report stuff to her and she does nothing, then someone else mentions it and she's all biz like, "this has to be done right now, you do x y and z" even though i was telling her the problem for weeks and she refused to do anything about it.

With the leave, she's like "I aske you months ago to submit your annual leave dates, we are short staffed so we can't facilitate last miute requests anymore" despite the fcat she decides to take a half day whenever she feels like it. And I was told I have to work longer hours than the rest, but she barely does her own, floating in at 10am, hour and a half lunch and so on

confused21

Hey OP, That is absolutely disgraceful what your boss is doing. You obviously don't mind the company you work for hence applying for an internal job and it's just the current position you have that doesn't suit. You are seriously going to have to do something here otherwise you won't have to pretend your sick and take 2 so called unlawful days off but will genuinely have to. She has no rapport with her staff. She must think that because everyone else has been laid off and you are the only member of your team left that she probably thinks you should be greatful for your job. I'm sure you are but yet you shouldn't have to put up with such abuse.
She is actually bullying you by not allowing you to change lunch times etc. How are any of us supposed to know what holidays we want for a full year in advance. We may pick 1 specific week but what about the times things just crop up, and instead of taking sick days we use holidays. She is being extremely unfair, you were nice enough to tell her it was for an interview(you're not obligued to). You need to start looking after yourself and your health. If you feel you are that much under pressure, write an email to her stating that you need help. If she does nothing about this then take it further.
I work in HR and I feel you have a perfect position to report her to your HR department, if you don't have one you need to go to whoever she reports to. You may feel that she will make your life even worse but to be fair how much worse can she make it. State that you feel if you do not get extra help that you are worried about your health (stress), state how unfairly you have been treated that you can't take any holidays, change your lunch hour. When your HR department hear this and note how valuable you are to them they will have to act on it. Granted they may not be able to authorise a full day off but surely they can accomodate an hour or 2 for interview purposes/internal positions. Your boss broke all confidentiality rules by discussing the internal position you went for.
Chin up, you will not be stuck there. If you are determined you will succeed by doing it the right way. If that doesn't work, as terrible as it sounds, you will hve to do it the unlawful way. Good Luck!

Kevin Duffy

unregistered wrote: »

have been told my contract states I have to work longer days than everyone else around and can get no time off.

Told by who? Your boss? Have you read your contract or discussed it with HR? There's no way a contract says you can "get no time off". Start by looking at your conditions of employent and discuss it with HR.

gerryk

If she's just a line manager, bring your grievances to the next level, or direct to the HR department/officer. Document everything... declined requests, times when you feel you are having too much asked of you... the lot.
How long are you with the company?

johnboysligo

unregistered wrote: »

have been told my contract states I have to work longer days than everyone else around and can get no time off.

Arrange an interview then take a sick day that day afterwards go to your doctor and complain of stress ( you probably are quite stressed right now anyway ) and then make a complaint to who ever is responsible for your boss.

Your contact may bind you with regards to taking or making a request for leave while understaffed but it should also state how many sick days your entitled to regardless and if your doctor agrees you are stressed then your boss cant do **** about it.
If I were you I would request a copy of my contact and read though it one night because being told you must work longer days with no time off sounds a bit fishy to me.

oh and your boss can not stop you seeing a doctor when you have a reasonable medical issue i.e. stress





oh a friend of mine requested a day off but was denied so he took a sick day thinking it wouldn't effect him, he got into a bit of trouble for taking a sick day on a date he requested but was denied time off so you know be mindful if you are planning on doing something like that.

LegacyUser

I have been in your position. I had a boss who mico managed me to last degree.
I was doing the work of 2 people. I got no pay increase or bonus because of my boss.
I spoke to my union rep about my boss and had the reps mobile no to ring when I was out sick. I went out with stress and then got sick. Once I recovered I got a new job.
I went with my union rep to the head of hr to give the company my notice and to let them know about ****. When I spoke to the head of hr he was unhappy about what he was being told and my union rep also filled him in about *****. I know then that *** was in some trouble.
I would advise you to keep a note of your boss movements - ie what time she is in at, goes on brakes ect.. Keep note of what she does and says to you also. Keep applying for jobs and you are entitled to take a day off with some notice. Take a sick day for a job interview if you have to. Give your self a date that if you don't have a new job by go to your doctor and get a sick cert for stress for a few weeks to job hunt.
When you hand in your notice do what I did. Good luck it will get better.

LegacyUser

I too am quite unhappy in my job OP but for different reasons than what you have mentioned. The first thing I would say is never ever tell your current employer that you are looking for a new job or have an interview. I think the only exception is if the job is internal then you might be obliged to because of HR crap. But if the job is with another company, say nothing and lie about why you need the time off. Either say youve a doctors appointment, or take a day off or pull a sickie. If you think this wench of a boss will complain, perhaps have a doctors note ready as others have suggested.

I don't know what your status is regarding sick pay, but perhaps getting some time off for stress would be a good idea. I know a few people in my company who are contractors and out on stress leave but who are only doing it for political reasons, they're not really stressed at all.

Hope we both find something good soon. It's soul destroying to be in a job you dislike. I know people who are unemployed will say we are lucky to have a job but I refuse to accept that our only options are either unemployment or a job we hate. Just because others are unfortunately out of work, it doesn't take away our right to work in a job we at least half enjoy.

Tubberadora

Im going through the same situation at the moment. Its very difficult. Currently Im out on a cert for stress and I have a feeling that me doing this is only going to make relations with my boss worse. The problem I have is that I am employed in a small family run business and I have no HR dept etc to go to.
I could go into details but lets just say bullying and harassment is the reason I needed to take time out of there. I probably wont go back there as I think the situation is unredeemable. So at the moment Ive taken some time off and am actively searching for other employment. If in a couple of weeks I still have nothing I will probably just hand in my notice and leave. There comes a point when its just not worth all the ****e anymore.