Boss overstepping the line?

[spacecadet]

My boss does not like any form of dissent in the workplace to an extreme degree. This has led to my work environment being very oppressive and recently my boss has used the tactic of getting people alone and telling them off for being negative at work or whispering in corners. Is this overstepping the line and if so, what are my rights as a worker? Can I challenge them about what whispering they are talking about? Can I walk away and say it's not a work issue? Can i say their behaviour is completely unreasonable and call in the union? This is actually oine of many issues in my workplace but we don't have a union rep atm. All i want is a harmonious workplace where im left to get on with my job. Any advice would be really appreciated. TIA.

If your boss is overstepping a particular line it has not come across clearly from your post.

It doesn’t seem unreasonable for your boss to speak to their staff one on one. Seems pretty standard to me and definitely not something your union would be interested in.

It is reasonable for an employer to have behavioural expectations at work and to enforce them. What you are describing could be seen in lots of different ways, there isn’t enough detail and only your perspective so it’s hard to know if he is being unreasonable.

on the face of it if there are employees making negative comments in an inappropriate manner then that is right to address. If there are employees whispering and making others feel uncomfortable then that is right to address.

I’m unclear what your post means. Are people whispering in corners? Is there a negative vibe? When he talks to you about this, does he give you the opportunity to respond?

There is nothing more draining for a manager than negative people on their team. Those need to be held accountable as it can pull team morale down. There is also nothing more draining than meetings with unions over such petty things. You’re at work to do a job and should be grateful for it, no one is chaining you there

So disagreement of any kind can be labelled negative and that's fine with everyone? All discussion and debate to be shut down and everyone to just get in line like some Orwellian factory? I'm surprised you all think that's OK in a modern workplace because I definitely don't.

I don’t see how you’ve interpreted the responses you’ve got in this way.

You haven’t given much detail, so MNers have replied to the aspects you’ve highlighted, ie whispering and negativity.

Any decent manager would address whispering and negativity. If they’re a good manager, they’d want to uncover what the unhappiness stems from and take action to resolve issues.

if your manager isn’t allowing you to state your case or point out issues that the workforce are unhappy about, then of course their management style isn’t going to create a harmonious environment. But we don’t know the ins and outs of the situation. The gripes being aired, the actual response from the manager.

you and your manager seem to want the same thing - a calm, professional workplace. But you are approaching it from different viewpoints. you seem to clash with your managers style of management. Possibly with justification. Do you have a staff forum or other means of airing issues? Or do you have team meetings?

If you give some examples that might help. It depends what is being disagreed about and how. Generally I wouldn't expect a workplace to be full of disagreements, no. Where discussion is invited that is appropriate to put forward a perspective in a professional manner. Where perspectives are not invited you just have to get on and do what you are told to do. People should definitely not be gossiping, whispering in corners or bringing a negative atmosphere to work and it would be appropriate to address this one to one. What exactly did your boss say to you in these one to one meetings?

If this is how you’ve interpreted the comments then I think you probably are raising negativity in an inappropriate and unprofessional way at work. You don’t appear to be able to see how feedback should be interpreted and perceived.

If a workplace offers zero channel for any form of feedback and takes no interest in the reasons behind staff feeling negative or unheard, then of course people are going to talk about it. Every time a blanket email goes out telling people off, people are naturally going to have something to say. To then be forced to have a conversation about being positive on a one-to-one basis with no part of that conversation being about the reasons why you as a member of staff are not happy with your current treatment is a very unproductive management approach. I can't be more specific, but I was hoping at least someone had faced something similar and could offer advice about dealing with an unsupportive and completely disinterested work environment.
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Just get a different job. Its not school.

It would be more productive to put all the issues in your OP rather than drip feeding them out when you get replies you don't like and making dramatic statements with terms like "Orwellian", when you haven't given a single actual example of anything particular.

Why would you be whispering at work? That is unprofessional. Use a meeting room and shut the door or if it is unrelated to work go out for a coffee, lunch or a walk away from the workplace.

This could amount to workplace harassment or creating a hostile work environment, both of which are covered under employment law. You have the right to request a grievance procedure — put your concerns in writing to HR or your employer formally. Even without a union rep you can bring a colleague as a witness to any meetings. Document everything — dates, what was said, who was present. ukworkrights.co.uk has a free checker that can help you understand your specific rights in this situation.

If staff have an issue, I want to know so I can address it.That being said, if I deliver a policy change staff is not ok with, they should come to me directly, not be off bitching in the corner to other employees, and putting that negativity in them.
Whispering about your feelings neither fixes the problem, nor helps the work environment for any other employees.
Of course you won't always like what's coming down the pipe, but there are appropriate ways to deal with it too.

Union rep here.

You need to separate the two things; the issue/s, and the complaints / bad feelings / negative chat.

What are the issues? Those are what you raise, not the complaints.

And if there's no.union rep in your workplace, why don't you become one?