Hi all,
Just looking for some advice really. I am 33 weeks pregnant and I have had a pretty seamless pregnancy so far. I'm a Regional Manager and I manage a team of 11. I really love my job but it can be quite demanding and stressful but I have been blissfully unaware of this and living in my own little bubble since I found out I was pregnant (possibly my way of avoiding the stress).
Long story short - 3 years one of my team members was highly abusive towards me. We were in a meeting room with the previous manager explaining to him that I would be taking over as Regional Manager. He completely flipped. He made sexist comments while screaming in my face. This outburst was a complete shock and in hindsight, the other manager and I should have sent him home but we were in complete shock.
In the end both myself and the other manager told him that if he had issues with me then he should raise them formally which he of course did. The investigation lasted the best part of a year and aside from being invited to one formal investigation meeting, I was completely kept in the dark as to what was happening. During this time he completely tarnished my name with the client. He called me horrible names to my team (who all told me in confidence) and in the end I was unable to sit the the same room as my team for the nest part of a year.
The outcome of the investigation was that his allegations were untrue and my name was cleared. This ordeal ruined my confidence and I have found myself walking on eggshells with all employees ever since. I am terrified to say the wrong thing and upset someone and have to relive this awful ordeal.
Fast forward three years and 10 days since the initial outburst and I'm back at square one. Yesterday during a team meeting chaired by the team Supervisor he repeated history. At one point during the meeting I got up and answered the phone which was behind him so that the team meeting wasn't interrupted. When I finished the call I noticed that rather than participating or listening he was shopping online. The team Supervisor addressed him about a task she needed him to do but he didn't hear because he was caught up shopping. She repeated herself and he didn't notice so I tapped him on the shoulder and said 'Lisa is speaking to you' and he said 'uh huh' without moving. He obviously didn't hear me as Lisa repeated herself for a third time and he eventually looked up before spinning in his chair so he was directly facing me and shouting 'What did you just say to me?!' His whole demeanor changed so I said 'Lisa's trying to get your attention' and at that he went crazy! He screamed at me in the aggressive manner for a good few minutes. All I could say was 'Please calm down' 'Please don't speak to me like that'. In the end I walked away as he shouted after me (everyone just dropped their heads). As I sat at my desk he was still going on so my final word to him was 'That's enough' quite sternly.
This might sound quite simple but I know what he is like. He is so aggressive. It's been 24 hours and I still haven't stopped shaking or vomiting. I didn't sleep at all last night and now I'm back in work feeling completely stressed and anxious.
I work on a regional contract and I am the most senior person in the area. My manager is based in London so I emailed him last night with an update. I'm waiting on him calling me to discuss but I don't know what to do. When this first happened 3 years ago I got absolutely no support. I was told that I can't do anything about him because I'm his manager and managers can't complain about their employees. I know he will say the same thing again but I can't go through this again. Pregnant or not.
Has anyone been in a similar position with an employee? Is there any protection for managers?
All advice is welcome. I'm at my wits end.
Thanks