Worst thing a manager has ever said

[Cosmos123]

A senior partner of one of one of the big 4 on a social evening last week.
He mentions to the new graduate recruits that he spend 3 years in Sweden.

When asked why he was there

He responded 'I wanted to live somewhere where I could blend in'.

Bearing in mind he said this to a young black recruit.
How shocking is that!

After I had period of sick leave for depression when I already felt I had let everyone down and should just cope - “there is a yearly increment and HR has authorised despite your sick leave. We accept that it was genuine sickness, but if we don’t accept it is genuine then you wouldn’t get the increment.”

psychologist was what had kept me going and I hadn’t had lunch one day a week for a couple of months to go to sessions. Needed time to see psychologist- had about 80 hours of flexi after a very busy period working 12 hour days but that was lost every six weeks so had none - “if you had not given notice we would have to refer you to HR re disciplinary for using flexi you don’t have. Suicidal that might.

You’re empathy is your biggest problem

There are some awful stores on here, I'm so sorry you've experienced this.

All the same company
When sexually harassed at our conference the IT director told me I deserved it because of what I was wearing (knee length pencil skirt and blouse)
When I had to have surgery and was told I would need to take two weeks recovery time my boss told me I wouldn't need that, I could have the Friday after and the weekend and would be expected to be in the office on Monday.
After I had first child big boss told me he didn't like part time workers or working mothers. Constantly complained about it until I left.
Slimy male colleague told me he wanted to touch my bump and when i said no he told me he would do what he liked and there was nothing I could do about it.
Kept passing out due to low blood pressure when pregnant, big boss told me I had to work in the office despite able to wfh. Then told me if I had any time of sick he would instruct HR to start my mat leave immediately. I was on crutches with spd and still had to come in.

"You should treat me like a king - I pay your salary." He wasn't joking and that was the mildest of the shit comments. He also used to call me at 4.30am most days to check work stuff and properly sulked if I didn't pick up (which I mostly didn't).

I've had a lot of jobs before going fully self employed and he was by far the worst boss. He also used to fake being dissatisfied with external agencies' work once it was complete so he didn't have to pay them as much as he'd agreed, but would then still use what they'd made, and he withheld payment to a local provider from a trip abroad he'd already taken, because he didn't think it would make much difference to them. He was, and probably still is, an appalling human being - on reflection many years later, I think he was a true psychopath.

I sometimes wish I'd been older and wiser and I'd have responded very differently!

On the plus side, I escaped fairly quickly, was quite blunt about the experience, and heard he got escorted out of the building and his professional licence revoked for a while on multiple counts of harassment and bullying shortly afterwards

Some of these are truly shocking!
My worst one was in my early 20s from from female area manager.
I am pale skinned with red hair and when they sent samples of the new white uniform for us to parade around in for her to see what she thought she told me I would have to fake tan if I wanted to pull the uniform off like the other girls.
I bluntly told her that I managed to be in the top 10 sellers of their entire franchise without changing my physical appearance so far and asked if she would tell a person of colour to lighten their skin in the same circumstances. I'm pleased to say she didn't know where to put herself.

In 1987 I landed a job in a "male" field which involved working outdoors at all hours of the day and night.

On my first day I met my immediate manager for the first time. I will never forget his words. I can still hear his voice saying them, 34 years later! He asked me:

"Why do you want to do a job like this when you could earn twice as much staying indoors in the warm lying on your back with your legs open?"

I was so shocked, horrified and mortified at his question I went bright red. I could have reported him but had no witnesses and I would have found it even more excruciatingly embarrassing to have to explain to another man what he said and what he meant.

We never would have hired you if we’d known you had epilepsy.

I stayed late in the office to help one of the senior managers find a contract he had lost which I didn’t have to do I was just being helpful. When it was getting late I told him I had to leave to pick my daughter up from the childminder - he just sneered “just go home and breast feed your children”!! This was 15 years ago and I was so shocked and upset but also embarrassed and never told anyone, I wish I had, it really knocked my confidence.

Unbelievably, this comment was recent, during an interview for a job this last summer.
The interviewer asked me directly if I was married; when I said 'no, not these days', they said "Oh good, no family to get back to then, you won't be clock-watching".
I was pretty surprised that in this day and age, the interviewer had no idea such questions aren't really appropriate; however, said interviewer was certainly almost retirement age and I suspect not at all up to date with current practice....

(Male) boss came over to my desk in front of whole team and said 'can I enquire as to the nature of your doctor's appointment?' I knew I could have said no you can't, but I told him the truth -it was a smear test. He went bright red and walked off.

At my interview, he told me I had nice ankles.

When I told him I was pregnant my manager asked if it was planned.

After booking holidays from work and booking and paying for my holiday, a few weeks before the holiday my manager decided I couldn’t have that week off after all. She expected me to lose the holiday I had paid for. It wasn’t even as if I had an important job, I was working part time in a supermarket while I was a student.

I was told I would have to cover reception when our receptionist was ill, even though our department was short staffed, and I was already covering for other people. I asked if they could ask the male temp to cover reception instead, it was only greeting people and answering the phone, and not very busy. I was told not to be silly, because they couldn’t expect a man to work on reception. He was a teenager, I was ten years older than him with more experience and qualifications, but he was valued more because he was male.

Told at 20 'you have very low emotional intelligence', after crying in meeting. Had been treated appallingly, taken off my role because I was supposedly not doing well enough. Then 3 other people sent to do the same job together and couldnt do it and that task was abandoned. No apology.

I was requesting to work flexibly to accommodate appointments for fertility treatment and my line manager told he how proud he was that his wife got pregnant on their first attempt and how reassured he was that his manhood was fully working

At work when I was 22 a few women got pregnant in our team. Our exasperated boss (financial controller) turned and said to the only man in our team- in front of me 'I know I employed you for a reason'. I said hold on, I'm not pregnant. Thinking back now I don't know why I said that as it should never have had to be a thing.

I told my boss I was suicidal. She said 'everyone gets sad sometimes'.

As I left an interview room with one of 2 male interviewers, he said to the remaining interviewer that was staying in the room "don't you be sniffing her chair now".... 😕

This is going to end up on daily mail like the other 'worst fail at work' thread.

I put in for a day off for Yom Kippur.

My manager huffed and eye-rolled over it and kept referring to it as a "holiday" in air quotes and accused me of making it up to get a day off work.

I was trying to use actual vacation days, not get a free day off.

I complained to HR and they did absolutely fuck all.

"You don't care about your job."

From the laziest, thickest arsehole I have ever had the displeasure to work for (and there have been a few). He had not one a clue about what he was doing and was looking to blame his poor performance rating on members of his team.

"Could you give me a one pager?" was his constant, pathetic, useless cry. What this highly technical piece of work that requires intricate speccing, planning and a variety of skills from a variety of teams to carry out? Not really, no.

The irony is that I was loyal to the company (still am) and had worked hard for it for about half my lifetime. Meanwhile he resigned later that afternoon, after only a few years, for a job he had blatantly faked sick leave to interview for.

Because performance affects rating when it comes to redundancy, he put me at risk of losing my job about 6 months later. Fortunately, his manager, who had come to realise the fuckwit was just a salesman who talked a good talk but couldn't do the job, took pity on me and helped me keep my role. To him, I will forever be grateful.

I look the peanut headed prick up on LinkedIn occasionally. He changes jobs regularly, around about when he would be getting found out for not have becoming competent in his new role. He's lucky I kept my job. I had plans for him. I've rarely hated anyone so much.

As a manager when a team member tells you about a difficult situation like a bereavement, serious illness etc there is always some awkwardness, I always used to say something non committal like "sorry to hear that" and then deal with the practicalities of their right to compassionate/sick leave and filling out the appropriate forms. It may sound a bit cold blooded but no matter what you say its not going to make the staff member feel any better. They may not care at that moment whether they are entitled to paid or unpaid leave but it does enable them to make some plans.

“You’re putting on weight Ethel, but it’s alright cos your tits are getting bigger”

Another that strays into MeToo territory, happened many years ago, still gives me the rage
Out to Xmas lunch with two production teams in nice restaurant in posh West London. Must have been 20 of us split over two tables. Director has been bet by other male researchers, runners etc that he could snog me. As I came back from loos I find myself being pinned up against a wall while Director tries to snog me. He didn’t succeed, but not one person (male or female) intervened while I fought him off. They gave me the bet money because I’d “won”, all of £1.85 or so. I left not long after. Cunts the lot of them.

"if you sleep with me, I'll make things happen for you"

"Unbutton your shirt, just for me"

"You've got bedroom eyes, I like that"

3 different managers, 3 different companies.

Needless to say I hate pervy 50, year old men. 🤢

That they wouldn’t hire me permanently because I could have a baby. I was 19

This was something a senior consultant said to an elderly patient. The doctor had a strong accent but I’m not sure where he was from as I was living in an area where my accent was misunderstood much of the time too.

Doctor: ‘You are going home today!’
Patient: (in quavering voice) ‘going home to die?’
Doctor: ‘Yes, going home today!’ (Big smile)
Patient: ‘To DIE?’
Patient looked horrified, doctor looked confused. I had to step in and put them straight as the poor patient (who was also slightly deaf) thought he was being sent home to die and the doctor couldn’t hear the difference in pronunciation and started explaining why home today would be best!

In the same hospital I had a problem with a different consultant who used to ask me to help him work the computer. Usually he hadn’t switched it on so I had to reach under the desk to do it. About the 3rd time he said ‘let me do it’ and fumbled around on the floor, stroking my legs at the same time 😡 (we wore tights in those days!)