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Original poster

Email criticising my work to whole team

29 replies

huglessduglas · 17/04/2019 18:33

My office manager sent out an email today to the whole team pointing out some minor mistakes that I made.
Ie I processed an invoice that was zero vat with vat and an invoice that hadn’t been scanned (it’s still with the director for authorisation)
The tone was quite derogatory and it’s left me feeling utterly humiliated and embarrassed.
Whilst I appreciate mistakes shouldn’t happen and they need rectified I don’t think it’s justified for him to deal with it in this manner - I feel he could have reprimanded me in private or emailed me alone.
Before Christmas he was unduly harsh in his treatment of me and refused to speak to me for several months - if I joined in a conversation he would walk off etc - I spoke with our boss and told her I felt harassed and bullied by him I wouldn’t make it official as it would make life more difficult in the long run - eventually about 6 weeks ago he started talking to me again.
Before I make life difficult for myself again can I check that it is not ok for him to do this - that it’s not ok to be humiliated in this manner?

OP posts:

ShakeYourTailFeathers · 17/04/2019 18:35

Not ok.

You praise staff in public and reprimand them in private.

screamifyouwant · 17/04/2019 18:38

Not ok definitely bullying.
Do you have a HR department?

mimibunz · 17/04/2019 18:39

I would go straight to HR. He should be reprimanded and sent on a management training course.

HollowTalk · 17/04/2019 18:40

Does your manager know he was refusing to speak to you? That's really unprofessional of him.

Original poster

huglessduglas · 17/04/2019 18:57

We do have HR - one person it will be awkward as she and office manager are good friends and she is very much a company person she will no doubt suggest that I just “rise above” it’s just his way he gets stressed etc
My manager was aware of the not speaking and she is also aware of his manner - she started in my role 10 years ago and has worked and studied hard to be promoted several times - now above him. She has been on the receiving end of the silent treatment she also advised rising above, it’s just his way etc etc because no one wants to confront him
I would hand in my notice but I’m on a training contract and tied to them for another 14 months or I have to pay course fees back

OP posts:

HollowTalk · 17/04/2019 19:01

That is appalling. So your manager is above him now and yet she won't deal with his silent treatment?

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:07

I used to work as a PA and in my most recent role had access to 2 director's mailboxes, 2 manager's mailboxes and my entire teams inboxes.

What I have noticed is that Shit flows downwards as they say. So you'll have the CEO emailing the Directors to get their teams to pull up their socks on invoicing for e.g. Directors then email the managers giving them a bollocking and then the managers in turn have to email the team with a bollocking.

As this is very likely to be coming from the top down, do not expect any sympathy from HR. It will be seen as communicating errors to the team etc.

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:10

My direct manager was bullied in particular by one of the Directors, but he was very kind in how he treated the team. I would usually break down the reports on errors per person on the team and email them all individually as my manager just didn't have the time.

Macaroonmayhem · 17/04/2019 19:12

Did they name you directly in the email or was it more ‘can you all make sure you do x,y and z when doing this because it’s being missed’.

If the former (which it sounds like it was) then print it off and speak to your manager and say you are past the point of rising above it,while accepting and acknowledging that the mistake was made.

Is there anyone else who could go to your line manager and say they are uncomfortable with the tone of the email and the impact of such a management style on the entire staff?

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:12

I wouldn't take it personally. It's usually people being pressed for time and they'll send a report on everyone's performance out for the sake of speed.

ChicCroissant · 17/04/2019 19:13

If he has named you in the email I would reply to him (ideally not the whole team, but you may be tempted) and copy it in to HR asking if this is going to happen when anyone else makes a mistake in future and I would be seriously tempted to put in that you are disappointed that he has done this as you thought your working relationship had improved after the recent, lengthy period of him not speaking to you.

If he hasn't named you in the email but documented the mistakes, I'd reply (still copied in to HR) and put the bit in about the working relationship/not speaking. I think it's time to document this in writing in a way that neither he nor HR can wriggle out of at a later date.

Keep a copy of the email as well even if you have to print it off oldschool.

I'd start looking closely at your company's policies - particularly any on discrimination, bullying, whistleblowing and/or grievance - and chuck a few phrases in from them for good measure if at all possible. (I have worked in HR some time ago)

Original poster

huglessduglas · 17/04/2019 19:13

@hollow yes that’s it exactly - she will be treading on eggshells around him at the minute as she was promoted to Director a few weeks ago - it hasnot gone down well.
This move from him in his no doubt him re asserting his dominance to make him feel like he has power - it’s still shit though but will make it more difficult to get her to involve herself.

OP posts:

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:14

Next month it will be some other poor cunt in the firing line if my experience is anything to go by!

Original poster

huglessduglas · 17/04/2019 19:16

Yes it names me directly, so not a generic rant I’m taking personally.

OP posts:

ChicCroissant · 17/04/2019 19:16

Regardless of her recent promotion, she still needs to do the job!

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:18

I know one of the women on my team was extremely conscientious and she was like 'Flyinga' - you are sending me so much WORK! I reassured her not to worry, that everyone on the team was getting a similar list. I also made sure to state in the email that this was being pushed from CEO down, so to prioritise rectifying them, so that they didn't think it was their direct manager picking on them! But we were a pretty close knit team and I know my manager frequently took the majority of the bollockings on behalf of his staff.

Flyinga · 17/04/2019 19:21

Also had an email myself from the anal Director addressed to just myself and another PA where we had missed entering data on 2 projects. I then merely brought it up in a team meeting that if I'm chasing you for information, it's because I'm the first in the firing line.

daisychain01 · 18/04/2019 21:33

This is an appallingly unprofessional and ineffectual (mis)use of email.

I despair. It's lazy and cowardly management not to have the wherewithal to invest time discussing challenges and inefficiency with the team face to face in a room.

As a facilitated discussion, concerns can be addressed without resorting to a blanket bollocking, and people learn about the priorities from their manager, and don't need to cower under their desks in fear.

stressedoutpa · 18/04/2019 22:15

This isn't a general problem with invoicing, this is a manager naming and shaming the op about a mistake on one invoice.

I would request a meeting with him and your boss to discuss how these things can be better handled going forward rather than emailing the whole team. Spell it out how his behaviour makes you feel (i.e. ignored, belittled, etc.) and get it down in black and white and circulated.

I have had to work for some incredibly difficult people and unless challenged they will walk all over you. Nip it in the bud now. Make it clear that you are compiling evidence of bullying but do it from a place 'working together to improve your relationship'.

Flyinga · 18/04/2019 23:49

As I said, the shit flows downwards.
Our CEO's personal hobby was sending weekly reports (sometimes daily, depending on what his latest fascination was), comparing the performance of each team.
The Directors and Managers could only try to filter it down (slightly sugar-coated by moi).
I really only picked up on this thread because Invoicing was his topic du jour. Weekly reports on targets, late payments, not hitting targets (can we not just invoice them now?) etc. etc.
He was an awful idiot and not liked at all.
But, he was the big boss, so from director down to minion like myself, we had to dance to his tune.
He who pays the piper calls the tune as they say!

Flyinga · 18/04/2019 23:52

This isn't a general problem with invoicing, this is a manager naming and shaming the op about a mistake on one invoice.

2 invoices.

And it is exactly what my former bosses would do. I was the only one who divided shit up for my team, so that they weren't stressed that they had more discrepancies than anyone else etc. My manager literally wouldn't have had the time to divide it all up.

Flyinga · 18/04/2019 23:57

I should mention that I left that job after 6 months

I couldn't cope with the level of micromanagement from the top down and the scrutiny of their dictatorship department that they fondly called HR.

I ain't got time for that shit!

stressedoutpa · 19/04/2019 08:27

Flyinga, we're talking about an office manager (who the op probably doesn't even report to) and a couple of invoices not the CEO of a global corporation.

I've worked for exactly the type of person you've described but this isn't about you and what you're posting about isn't really relevant or helpful.

CherryPavlova · 19/04/2019 08:37

I’d say it depended on the email I would expect organisational learning and dissemination of that learning where incidents have occurred.

It is not OK to circulate an email saying Hughes’s made a mistake in not scanning an invoice and our cash flow has been affected by her mistake.

It is OK to say we recently identified a problem with invoices not being scanned that affected our cash flow. Please can you all ensure you do scan as per company policy so we don’t end up in a financial tangle? Thanks all.

Good organisations have cultures that encourage reporting and learning of incidents. I would hope my team reported incidents formally but they themselves (or more usually me) emails and says something like , “Hello all, just a quick heads up about the new IT system. I missed a point in the process that meant our invoices for April haven’t gone to finance. I only became aware when a supplier complained. Please make sure you move the process on from ‘set up’ to ‘payment due’ otherwise finance won’t send it out”.

I don’t think mistakes are embarrassing. We all make them. We should all learn from them. We should all be open about them.

Flyinga · 19/04/2019 11:46

@stressedoutpa

My point was that the pressure was most likely coming from the top down, not the Office Manager going renegade off his own bat.

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