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?

There's a lot of people on this thread sounding incredulous - lots of companies, tech especially, work this way.

My GM has on several occassions told everyone, if you need to go hang out a wash and can around commitments, just go do it, that's what the flexibility is there for.

Largely it's just treating remote workers like adults and concentrating on their work output rather than them being tied to their desk. (As a Manager it's easy after a while to notice who's taking the piss and away ALL the time and lacks output, and who manages their time well, but utilises the flexibility appropriately.)

OP just go straight up the chain now and get confirmation. There is no harm in letting them know he is already causing ill feeling within the various teams due to his approach immediately on starting.

What a twat, I suspect he'll either end up eating his words, or leaving - provided this isn't a directive you know nothing about.

So much panic from posters who can’t quite believe OPs post and are nit picking to a ridiculous degree and asking for specific wording (and not reading her posts)

I am currently sat having just had my hair cut and waiting for a blow dry as it was the only appointment available and wanted it done before I go on hols. I logged on at 7.30 this morning and will be online late to make up for it but to be honest my manager will not be bothered as long as I deliver what I’m tasked with. My multinational company did a massive overhaul post covid on their flexible working policy and as a result they’ve reduced staff turnover.

I hope your meeting goes well

Most Employees tend to be much more committed and productive if they are given a degree of flexibility over when and how they do their work.

Workers who need to collaborate with colleagues or clients in different time zones are a classic example. It makes so much sense to take a couple of hours off (say middle to late afternoon, e.g. school run) and make up the time after dinner. Everybody benefits!

Lunch time unpaid do what you want.
Tea breaks totally agree if your working why would you be drinking tea its not a break. A glass of water should be allowed.

Yes, tea famously requires you to sit and concentrate very hard on drinking it. One cannot possibly multitask. Water, on the other hand...

I don’t think I’ve ever had a real brainwave without the assistance of a cuppa…

Well that was an interesting chat. Long story short, grievance going in - preferably (to big boss) as a group.

I'm not the first person to come to him and HR have already spoken with big boss about boss.

My favourite part of the conversation was when big boss said "cut the crap Potter, he's a nightmare isn't he, you can just call him a twat" (in response to me being professional with how I worded my concerns). Conversation was much easier after that.

No concerns with the team, no directives to cut staff or improve anything. The man is just a knob.

Big sigh from me. Fingers crossed the next one is better, this guy won't be here long!

Currently making a brew. And it's not scheduled!

Well, that's good news if his boss thinks he's a twat as well!

That sounds reassuring OP

So how were you describing his behaviour before big boss said to cut the crap? BB sounds like an excellent chap, and clearly much more in tune with the actual company ethos than twatboss. Racking up multiple grievances in 6 weeks is really quite impressive in a terrible way.

Was BB involved in the recruitment decision, I wonder - and if so is he embarrassed by twatboss's performance? And how did twatboss manage to perform well enough at interview to be hired, if he's instantly and seamlessly managed to put the entire team's backs up?

The only trouble is (from past experience) that unless he’s done something which involves sacking him immediately, even with a grievance he can cling on for a while, at least until his probation is at an end. Someone more HR savvy may put me right though.

"cut the crap Potter, he's a nightmare isn't he, you can just call him a twat"

I can 100% see my GM saying something similar. 😂 Sounds like a solid workplace, I'm glad they're going to address it because workplaces like this have a specific ethos to them, and they tend to benifit from it and from their happy employees.

This happened at our job and once they realised the impact it was having on productivity the rules got relaxed to a happy medium. We used to have no schedules so could take breaks when we chose to, we could put all of our breaks in one - which people would use for various things. We worked off excel spreadsheets for schedules…Then it changed to set breaks on a system which logged everything. They made it so flexible time had to be logged 48 hours in advance… loads of things. Once they realised nobody was logging in early or late, they removed that so we can now log flexi up to 1 minute before. We can email the department to adjust breaks if we need to now. We do still have the system that logs everything but it’s not as hammer down as it was when it first come about

I was very professional, asking if they had specifically wanted a different management style and how could I support with that. I explained he wasn't forthcoming with me on the change in direction and was this because there were concerns with my work or teams output/ performance and then asked if he's been tasked with reviewing policy and procedures etc. which is then when big boss said what he said.

I have a very good but professional relationship with big boss (so he trusts and values me but we aren't friends iyswim). I'm very happy to be candid with him but only when invited to do so, which I was.

Yes he was involved in the recruitment. He did say he thought new boss would bring a different style to the management team but not this adversarial. He was (rightly) cautious about being too negative about him with me but made it clear that this could not go on and our concerns were not unfounded.

When you say a group grievance…. Who would this comprise? The entire team of 40? Or just managers?

Well, good that your big boss agrees that the other boss is a bellend.

And given that he's only been there 6 weeks, its safe to say he will be sacked.

Best of luck @Buggeroffboss and please do keep us updated. Fingers crossed he is sacked by next Friday!

I’m wondering who you work for, my newish boss is much the same but will be harder to get rid of. I do love the sounds of working where you are, any vacancies 👀

Someone like this can undo years of good moral and team work in no time at all, it’s terrible for staff and the business

This sounds an awful situation and I don’t have any advice, help or suggestions, but I suddenly feel better about my job. I have gone back to full time work after a phased return after having breast cancer and I was feeling pretty low about my job, which I think might be me also coming to terms with my last couple of years, and as much as I dislike my job, I don’t have to deal with any of crap you have. I’m genuinely sorry for airing my woes on your post and I sincerely hope you get some helpful and useful responses xx

I'll put money on it that TB came in nworh examples of how he's effected change, his history of change management, supportive management skills, developing staff, all the buzzwords.....

But is so out of his depth that all he can focus on is picking people up for things he doesn't understand or like such as flexible working, TOIL arrangements he's not worked with before, and doesn't trust people not to slack because that's what he does when he's not got someone holding his feet to the fire.

We've all met them, many of us have worked for them. Utter tools. He'll move into another managerial role next and pull the same shit because they don't learn they are the problem.

He sounds like an utter twat and with a group grievance going in I would think he will be out of the company very shortly. What a knobhead...quibbling over staff drinking a cup of tea while they work....utter wanker and he will either get the boot or be forced to resign..

There's "structure and formality" and there's this absolute binfire

Micromanager. People will soon be working there hours and only there hours and taking a full lunch break. Strong teams are built on Trust and conflict management.

And yet most people will have a cup of tea while they work....anyone throwing a tantrum about presumably productive happy staff having tea while they work deserves to be unceremoniously sacked.