Why is new boss being such a knob?

[Buggeroffboss]

Our old boss took ill suddenly in December last year and died shortly after. They been the boss for 20+ years, so appreciate we were all very used to them.

Following their illness I became interim boss. In April I was offered the role permanently but declined as it would mean returning to full time work. I'm bitterly regretting not taking it due to new boss!

We're a remote team, have been since many years before COVID. New boss clearly hates remote working. We do have an office, but it seats 10 people and us open to the whole business (approx 300 people) not just our department (40 people). New boss wants everyone in the office 2 days a week. HR have told him to go whistle - we are all on remote contracts and live across the whole of the UK, including channel Islands and 2 in France!

New boss is now insisting we schedule any "coffee breaks" (you know, where you brew up between meetings) and that under no circumstances are we to appear on screen with tea/ coffee if it isn't adjacent to our scheduled break. In addition he's put an embargo on lunch time errands, such as laundry, popping to the post office or collecting the car from the garage. All time is to be accounted for.

As you can imagine, morale has gone down the pan. We're a high performing department, there is 0 issues with productivity. Our work is largely invisible most of the time, lots of thinking time and idea generation which makes monitoring our day to day workloads difficult, but we always exceed our targets at quarter and year ends - so people are clearly working. In the 6 weeks he's been in there's been a noticeable change in how people are working, fewer people on early or late, most just working to their hours.

AIBU to think he's being a bit of a dick and just needs to chill the fuck out?

Your Working hours policy wording is very precise. Your new boss doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

How can he be so clueless? Did he even read this rather important document? Have you drawn his attention to the relevant part about core hours and flexible hours?

I'm still struggling to understand what he is hoping to achieve with his sledgehammer approach to management…

I don't blame you.

It is really odd. It's like he has taken the line that's always in these things - "reasonable" time for work-life balance ("Colleagues are expected to exercise appropriate judgement, ensure any absence does not adversely affect meetings, team commitments or service delivery" in this case) and his view of reasonable is that that time should be 0 minutes.

In that case why are you waiting to get more evidence when you clearly have emails from him outlining his new measures that directly contradict the policy?

Exactly. He’s been there since April. I’d be disappointed my manager, who was making her own dissatisfaction with the new boss very evident to me by telling me to ignore him, had been sitting on this for 3 months

He's been there 6 weeks!

But you have the policy
you have his emails
what else are you waiting on?
you have told your team to ignore him, but then don’t appear to actually be advocating for them in any meaningful way.
I would personally never advise anyone into team to “ignore” the big boss. I would advocate for them instead. But we all have different management styles.

I have told my team that I'm unaware of any policy review on the working hours and would find out more, but until then they can continue to work to the current policy. I've then been trying to speak to boss about the change, which he's ignored, refused and then told me it's none of my business. I have tried to resolve it with him first before going down a formal route, which is policy!

No. As I said in an earlier reply, other heads of and members of their team.

Sounds like an awful environment to work in. I would desperately want to ask him if you need permission to go to the loo too!!

Well then, it's time!

I was hoping I wouldn't need to go down the formal route - either because he'd wind his neck after realising the culture was backed by policy or he'd bring me in on the reason for the changes. He's done neither and is only getting worse.

When I got in this morning I asked for another chat with him which didn't go well so then I requested a call with big boss, which is later. If he confirms no ulterior motives, I'll be going to HR.

What do you suggest then? I don't ask and just raise a grievance, where HR will tell me he's just doing his job after wasting loads of time and energy of everyone? Or ask big boss, and either get told either yeah, we've asked him to shake things up or tell me to go ahead with my grievance or give me a bullshit answer and advise against the grievance, which gives my answer.

But to answer your question, yeah I think they'll tell me - I have a good relationship with them. I've avoided moaning about new boss to them so far as I wanted to give him time to bed in, give him benefit of the doubt etc

I have spoken to HR. Next step is a grievance.

They said if he continues on with similar things, to gather evidence and raise a grievance. I can either raise one as an individual or as a team depending on the nature of it.

Or the whole department. Or a group of us.

I'm on lunch currently. Got my call with big boss shortly.