Why is new boss being such a knob?

I have seen a new boss come in who was an absolute twat and just annoyed an established big team, leading to many complaints and some formal grievances. I know this as I was involved in investigating them and the way this person could 'kiss up kick down' was astounding. The person above her, very senior was of the view that she was just managing effectively an out of control team who'd been allowed to run riot. This is sadly not uncommon. The new boss clung on for over a year, and she was temporary to begin with and only left cos she was covering mat leave. The higher ups just did not want to realise that she was the problem and there was a certain closing of ranks as the less senior people (who included middle managers) couldn't be seen to somehow win or get one over on the hierarchy.

Hopefully it won't be like this for the OP but I have seen this closing of ranks thing more than once in my time.

Exactly. This has been my experience with previous new higher up bosses, you can’t just or the higher ups are loathe to, get rid of them asap. They’re given chances to settle in, implement new changes, prob old boy network kicks in and before you know if they’ve irritated a few people. If they irritate the higher ups too much, too soon though, then they’re gone quite quickly.

There is a direct correlation between bosses feeling threatened /insecure and being knobs. Also known new or newly promoted managers go in all guns blazing to show the team they mean business, usually backfires. Being a good manager in my opinion is about harnessing people's goodwill to go the extra mile. I would have jumped through a ring of fire for the best boss i ever had. These ones do the polar opposite.

He feels threatened by you, as you were offered the job first. Also some managers don't like remote working as it doesn't justify their role. As the team are already working to target, there isn't much need for him apart from being good at pissing everybody off. He sounds insecure

Employers are not paying for your lunch breaks and even if they have instructed the boss to ask employees to account for their time, they still aren’t entitled to oversight of what they do in lunch breaks.

Would it be a silly question to ask if you and your colleagues are in a union? If no, then you can invite a union to come in and speak you about introducing a union in your office. I mean you don’t actually have to go thru with it, but just the idea that the staff are considered collectively bargaining is enough for either this man to chill, or batter his boss to either speak to him or send him on his way.

....and all try to make tea at the same time 😆

I have had three instances when HR has been really great and in my corner. Two times when I was pregnant.

The third instance was when my MP tried to get me sacked (for taking him on over local constituency issues), and the big boss seemed to think he had a point until HR stepped in and explained that this was a malicious report and nothing would be done.

Don't get me wrong, there have been a few occasions when they have not been great but they are not always on the company's side.

We work at building fellowship remotely because we are strewn about the globe. But I agree with you, being in person is so nice.

And this is what is all about you lose all fellowship working at home

That is a good observation

any decent company be aware that morale is plummeting acts swiftly

What HR should be doing is advising the big boss that he needs to proactively address this matter before it escalates further. Perhaps they have, and he has disregarded it. Or perhaps they haven't, because they know that the organisational culture is one that doesn't easily tolerate challenges to senior management. So instead they have to try to work around the leadership failure by telling the employees to submit complaints.

Aww. Diddums. Women have spent thousands of years being treated like a sub-species, so if the poor little men can't cope with a minor insult from a woman, they need to have a serious word with themselves.

And Hr then shunts the Op off with a “gather evidence and submit a grievance”

Following a serious complaint from a senior manager with 15 years at the company about a probation employee who’s been there 6 weeks and has already caused the morale to sink to the gutter

Maybe not at your company but at mine they’re brilliant. No way would they just tell the Op to gather evidence and then submit a grievance if a senior manager of 15 years standing came to them with serious concerns and said that the morale is plummeting - they wouldn’t just say gather evidence and submit a grievance. Much more proactive.

The OP is a manager, not a junior employee.

In any case, it appears that the OP has been asked by an even bigger boss to collate the numerous grievances against the arsehole (just in case calling him a knob offends the poor sap upthread who didn't like sexist words).

The power has probably gone to their head, and micromanaging is normal for new managers in particular. Sadly, I have found this quite a lot in different industries. This will also give off the, "Do Not Approach Me" vibe.

I wish you and your colleagues the best of luck with this one, OP.

The OP is not a junior employee so your comment is not relevant here.

I would agree they “are not your friend” because that is not their function. They are also not your parent or teacher and are generally only an authority figure at all in the sense that they are there to enforce policy and support everyone so that the business can run smoothly. They do get a bad wrap because people misunderstand their purpose.

I disagree with this. I have been involved with cases in which it is thanks to HR's support of junior employees that they have been able to progress complaints about senior personnel. All behind the scenes of course due to confidentiality.

It maybe tiresome but they rarely go out on a limb to support a junior employee who has a complaint against a boss.

I am not sure what you mean here.....what I am describing is a true story. I don't say that HR always gets it right but it is actually common for HR to be blamed for the failings of those who are really responsible. No doubt that is what will happen here, if this is not resolved as a direct result of the big boss ducking out of the decisions it is on him to make.

The OP has already tried to have a word with him and he has refused to listen. It is really up to the big boss to do the sitting him down and effectively telling him: 'This can't continue. You either change your approach with immediate effect or your days are numbered here'. It doesn't sound as though the boss is providing any necessary leadership....just shunting it back to HR and the employees to resolve via a grievance.

True story.

Likewise. I am not really impressed by bosses who, faced with an obvious risk to their employees' morale, instead of taking positive action put the onus back onto employees by advising them to submit a grievance. There is also the possibility this tips over into actively soliciting grievances against the individual, which could backfire too.

So what if your partner/son/ daughter made you a cup of tea or coffee? Your boss clearly has no idea how to motivate people. I had a boss like that once and decided to have a quiet word with him about how his actions were undermining productivity, and hugely damaging to morale. If you’re brave enough it’s worth a try - otherwise get him and HR round a table to discuss. It’s worth remembering that people who assume that everyone who works from home is sciving is basing it on themselves!