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by thewanisdown 2265 days ago
Start practicing CYA (Cover Your Ass) diligently. Follow all of the rules, document everything (email follow ups for any any conversation), and be tactful at all times. Give him no space to find fault, and have proof. Discuss your concerns with HR if you can.

Personally, I would be looking for an exit, either mine or his.

6 comments

> Discuss your concerns with HR if you can.

Be wary of this. HR exists to protect the company and void litigation, not necessarily to protect the employee or the employee's work environment.

Indeed. HR is not your friend. It exists to cover the employer's ass.

@OP consider asking for advice on https://workplace.stackexchange.com

The only time HR will be your friend is when you get to align both yours and their interests.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

Do not go to HR yet. I repeat - Do not say anything to HR about someone who has a higher authority than you no matter how skilled or how much tenure you have. I learned this the hard way. HR is not your friend. They will try to only remove an obstacle which may be you.
"Discuss your concerns with HR if you can."

I don't think this is good advice. Sorry.

If boss person is monitoring communications, it's 99% likely this is happening within the policy guidelines of your company.

Although, it not fun to think about, you should always have an exit strategy.

As mentioned above, HR is not your friend. I would think of HR as a place where you can document your future lawsuit and buy you a little time to find another job.

I had an issue with another programmer, (homophobic slur and he was getting cozy with the client/boss) so feared for my job. I filed a complaint and got it documented. It allows you maybe 6 months before they fire you or buys you sometime to get in a better space.

Although it's fun to think about suing your previous employer, it very rarely works out. That energy can be spent finding a better job.

There is a time to fight... but from what little I know, this doesn't sound like one of them.

p.s. I'm no longer at the job and have moved on and even more happier.

I think the exit strategy is the most important part. This manager sounds like an abusive psycho, and you do not want to be working with that type of person, much less for that type of person.

Mitigate it in the meantime; these CYA strategies are good advice (except maybe the HR one), but most importantly, RUN AWAY AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Re: Personally, I would be looking for an exit

Agreed. If you have options, leave. You can't fix jerks. Then again, every job will have some, but if it's your supervisor, then polish up your resume. The stress is not worth your health.