A bad boss can make a good employee look like an idiot! Agree or disagree? (jobs, companies)

[Weekend Traveler]

As a Human Resources Professional I am spending more and more time in the area of employee relations. At most large companies, including the one I work for, managers need to get the assistance and approval of Human Resources before they can formally discipline, write up, suspend or terminate an employee for poor performance.

Many managers are quite angry at about this requirement because they feel it should be there right to discipline or terminate an employee as they feel fit. Managers discretion. That is until a manager in the company was sued by a previous employee he hassled, bullied and eventually terminated without using a due process. He then screamed to HR to do something!

Anyway, I usually find that a bad manager can make even the best employee look like a blooming idiot if they have a way with words. They work the system and make small mistakes seem giagantic, and questions of discretion and judgement seem like a major mess up. Face it, we all go about our jobs differently. How we approach an issue or problem varies and what seems like a logical approach to one person is crazy to another.

So why even have a process of progressive discipline? Just let the managers do what they want. Don't you think?

[Racelady88]

Bored with your thread in Fashion about white collar/blue collar?

[annerk]

It's called checks and balances, and it makes perfect sense. More so than you do anyhow.

[Narcissus23]

Sort of like what Hilter did to the German nation and people.

[Beth56]

Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler

As a Human Resources Professional I am spending more and more time in the area of employee relations. At most large companies, including the one I work for, managers need to get the assistance and approval of Human Resources before they can formally discipline, write up, suspend or terminate an employee for poor performance.

Many managers are quite angry at about this requirement because they feel it should be there right to discipline or terminate an employee as they feel fit. Managers discretion. That is until a manager in the company was sued by a previous employee he hassled, bullied and eventually terminated without using a due process. He then screamed to HR to do something!

Anyway, I usually find that a bad manager can make even the best employee look like a blooming idiot if they have a way with words. They work the system and make small mistakes seem giagantic, and questions of discretion and judgement seem like a major mess up. Face it, we all go about our jobs differently. How we approach an issue or problem varies and what seems like a logical approach to one person is crazy to another.

So why even have a process of progressive discipline? Just let the managers do what they want. Don't you think?

Progressive discipline offers an opportunity for an employee to make improvements. Sounds like these managers need a good dose of it themselves. Not having this policy in place would be a free-for-all for managers to fire at whim, opening the door to additional lawsuits.

[Weekend Traveler]

Many employees are written up or given an oral warning by inept managers who do not like their personality. A devious manager can make nearly everyone look bad because they can make small mistakes seem gigantic and make questions of discretion seem like a terrible mistake.

We had a manager attempt to make a good employee look bad and almost fired them right after the supervisor found out the employee had an abortion. (Which the supervisor was very much against) The employee survived when the manager left during the process to accept another job and the employee has prospered under the new supervisor.

[annerk]

I've got my hip waders on.

[Racelady88]

Originally Posted by annerk

I've got my hip waders on.

Hahahahahahaha!

[Weekend Traveler]

Originally Posted by annerk

I've got my hip waders on.

So, there are no bad bosses who attempt to fire good employees because they are different politically or have a personality mismatch?

[annerk]

It's getting deeper.