Work Trouble

LegacyUser

hi all,

I'm gonna make this quick.
I work in investment banking and I have a very difficult boss...I have been abused verbally in front of my team members; Threatened, belittled, intimidated...basically bullied for the last, maybe 2 years or so. I'm working there 3 years and got promoted after year 1.

Anyway, I've had enough and I have decided to leave the company (this is a large investment bank).
So my question is, should I make a full formal complaint to HR before I leave, about the scumbag that is my manager or do I go quietly!?
I'm completely torn as to what to do so that's why I'd be interested to hear all your thoughts...

oh by the way, 2 weeks ago I brought my manager into a room and told him that his behaviour was totally unacceptable and that if he continues I will be taking it forward.

...oh, and noone knows I'm leaving yet!

id be interested to hear what people think I should do

thanks
barry.

coolcat63

I would write a detailed email. Leave it for a couple of days, refine it; take out the personal stuff. Refine it further. When you are 100% happy that it is accurate, professional and pertinent then send it to HR. It's a difficult choice as to whether to press send before or after you resign but either way it will be seen differently once they know you are going. Depending on how strongly you feel then ask for a meeting with HR once they've digested it.

Fair play to you for speaking up!

ongarboy

Hi OP, sorry to hear you are going through a difficult time. Most large firms have official policies regarding workplace bullying/harrassment. I'm hoping your bank is one that treats theirs seriously. What was your manager's reaction when you brought up about being treated poorly? Did he agree/deny he was treating you badly? If you feel you got no joy out of that meeting, I recommend you call a meeting with HR and his manager armed with a document of as many incidents of bullying that you can recall over the years with rough estimates of dates etc. Is there anyone else on the team that can vouch for the fact that you were being bullied?
Hopefully, the issue can be tackled there and then and your boss is dealt with appropriately.

Why should you have to give up your job? Who's to say you will get another job easily in this depressed jobs market with 450000 people out there unemployed?

Distorted

If you are not given an exit interview, I would second emailing it, but keep it reasonably short and not too accusative, stick to describing the behaviour involved if you can. I left a job once where there was a particular manager who made everyone's life hell, and quite a few of the team had left before me. I got a reply from HR thanking me for my email, which they said they were considering. Bumped into one of my former colleagues who was still there 6 months later and she told me the manager had left suddenly 3 months before, and that everyone was glad as he was universally unpopular. I don't know if it was anything to do with my email but suspect it was one of the final nails in the coffin. Don't feel guilty though as he was genuinely awful and bad at his job too.

Pebbles68

I have a friend who works in the same industry as you and from what she describes your story is very common. Is the abuse directed only at you? The last place my friend worked in she said her boss was like working for Gordon Ramsay but people put up with it because the money they earned was so good. After a while people got used to it and didn't take it personally and just ignored him.

The point is that if you move job and stay in the same industry you may find more of the same in another company.

LegacyUser

I would think very carefully about making a complaint if I were you. Finance is a very small world and even between companies, networks tend to be very tight. Most banks don't issue references beyond "It is confirmed that Mr. X worked for us from this date to this date."

Like a previous poster, I am inclined to think that to work in an investment bank you need a thick skin. It's a tough time at the moment in finance, many banks announcing lay-offs, are you sure you want to quit right now? Sounds like you made it this far, why not stick it out some more? To add some context, do you work FO, MO or BO? Is the position in Ireland or abroad?

mikeruurds

My wife works for HR in a large investment Bank in London - she suggested that you contact the specialist team in HR of your company, the Employee Relations team. Their job is to supply the employee with advise and support, either privately (without your manager's knowledge) or openly, where your manager is informed that you have sought advise. It's your choice which route you wish to take. The ER team will be able to look at all the incidents of that occured, and can advise you on the best course of action to take, and what the Company's course of action is going to be if they deem your manager's actions as being inappropriate according to the Company's Bullying and Harrasment Policies.
She suggested that you start keeping an accurate log of all the things being said to you by your manager that you feel are abusive. They cannot act without some sort of evidence. Take note of names of people that have witnessed any abuse, and also the dates the abuse occured. No one must be left to feel harrassed at work, and large companies, with good reputations to upheld, will not look kindly on managers who goes againts the Company culture. Good luck!