Witch hunt at work............

[Leelee]

Please can someone help me make sense of the situation I'm in right now. You see I work in an opticians and have been a dispenser there for 18mths now. It's a small shop, with me, the optician, a contact lens fitter and a receptionist. On most days there's just me, the optom and receptionist. The practise is owned by a small optical group.
My problem is with the receptionist who is very difficult to work with. She is very unprofessional, rude to the optician, myself and customers. Has a very bad habit of talking over or just ignoring people. She's also a control freak who has to have everything done her way or no way at all.
Last week I blurted out to my boss that I'd had enough and didn't want to work there any more as I couldn't tolerate the receptionist's bad behaviour a moment longer, ( I've even had nightmares about the situation )
My boss confided that my colleague had a history of unreasonable behavior and was on her "final warning" he then said that he didn't want me to leave and that he would do everything in his power to get rid of the receptionist! He also indicated that he would like my help in doing this!
i.e. could I think of instances which could lead to him being able to get rid of her!!!
I told him that I couldn't, he then said he would work on her over the next few months.........

I'm appalled at the thought of him conducting a witch hunt and expecting me to be privvy to it!
Whilst I can't abide my colleague, I do feel that this treatment is very underhand and I do not want to trust my boss any more.
My gut feeling is to hand in my written resignation but it's at a very difficult time for me as I've split up with my husband and am paying all the bills myself. I do have enough money saved to keep my head above water for 9 months and I have plans to start my own business but right now would be sooner than I planned.

I feel sick when I think about going into work tomorrow and am seriously considering not going in. What should I do ????

[herbgeek]

Sorry, I don't understand the bit about a witch hunt. You've complained to your boss that the receptionist was rude, he asked for details, you had none. Do you think he should just fire her now without any specifics? He needs evidence to avoid a potential lawsuit from the receptionist. Since he's not with her all the time, and doesn't necessarily see how the receptionist treats you, or patients, he asked for you to note incidents as they occur.

Its certainly your choice not to provide this, but I don't see how this is a witch hunt.

[Miss Cellane]

LeeLee, I agree with Herbgeek. I don't think your boss is conducting a witch hunt. I think he's in the process of trying to fire an incompetent, unprofessional, rude employee.

Here's what I think is going on, reading between the lines of your post. Your boss has been working with this employee for a while, trying to improve her performance. She hasn't improved, so your boss gave her a final warning, something along the lines of "shape up, or ship out." Meanwhile, to avoid a lawsuit when he finally does fire her, he is slowly gathering evidence of things she does wrong, so as to have proof if the firing should ever go to court. If your company has any written policies on employee performance and firing, he has to follow them. Same thing if your state has regulations on this. Your boss doesn't tell his other employees about all this, because it is a private matter between him and BadEmployee. It is not underhanded, because I suspect BadEmployee has been told her job is on the line and, for whatever reason, she hasn't bothered to clean up her act.

Then you come to him and say that you are thinking of quitting because of this employee. Your boss thinks, "Oh, no! I can't lose LeeLee; I'd have to keep BadEmployee around until I found a replacement. I can't believe I'm going to lose a good employee because of a bad one. What can I do to keep LeeLee from quitting?" So he tells you that BadEmployee is on her final warning, to give you hope that she will be gone soon, and asks you for help in acquiring the information he needs to fire her, because maybe with your help, he can fire her sooner.

It's not a witch hunt. It's an employer who is trying to get rid of an employee who won't do as she is told and who is rude to his customers and may be costing him business. It may seem like a witch hunt because this is the first you've heard about it.

What did you think your boss would say or do when you told him that you were thinking of quitting? Isn't getting her out of the office the best possible solution to your problems with her?

What I'd do, in your shoes, is go in tomorrow and ask to speak with your boss. Ask him how long BadEmployee has been on "final warning" and if she has been getting reviews of her performance over the last few months. Maybe once he assures you that getting fired will be no surprise at all to BadEmployee, you will feel better about working there.

[Leelee]

Thanks for your reply herbgeek, of course I did give details of what had brought about my wanting to leave, which I explained were her rudeness and unprofessional attitude but I couldn't bring myself to give any concrete details of anything which would amount to a dismissal. Maybe my imagination is running away with me when I talk about a witch hunt!!! I do understand that employment law is complicated and has to be adhered to to avoid costly law suits.

I guess I feel that I don't want to work with her and would rather leave and walk away from the situation than get her dismissed.
Working in a small business in a small space with someone that has a very bad attitude is draining.

I just need to make the decision to leave and stick to it!

[Leelee]

Thank you for your advice Miss Cellane, you're right, I think I'll speak again with my boss tomorrow.
I shouldn't feel guilty, she is the one with the terrible attitude...........

[razz]

Leelee, your boss is in a very difficult situation and seems to trying to be a good boss in the approach to the receptionist. It is the boss' job to protect the business and the boss is trying to follow all the rules.
There is no witch hunt as others have said. It seems that the boss has spoken to the receptionist about the need to improve to the point of the final warning.
Please don't make any quick decision based on the boss' words to you. When you told the boss your feelings, you opened up the opportunity for the boss to explain the circumstances that the boss is dealing with which is important in team building despite the very difficult employee who mais damaging the business and staff morale.

That kind of a boss should not be judged harshly or negatively, IMHO.

[Leelee]

I'm going to give it some thought Razz, I feel like maybe I should take a weeks holiday and calm down about the situation.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice Razz.

[Lainey]

Also remember that ultimately you could be doing the receptionist a favor. Someone who acts like that is obviously very unhappy, so making them switch to another job could be the best answer for everyone.

And another thing I've learned is that business is business, it's not personal. She could be a perfectly decent person outside of work, but her actions are not appropriate and are causing her to lose her position. It's not something you can control, only she can, so don't feel bad if she's shown the door.

[iris lily]

Rudeness and unprofessional actions with customers and colleagues ARE grounds for dismissal. When you say that you can't think of any instance of such, those ARE the instances, so detail them. But perhaps in the UK you can't fire anyone for cause, the Nanny state and all of that.
Others are right, this bad employee knows what is coming.

[bunnys]

Also remember that ultimately you could be doing the receptionist a favor. Someone who acts like that is obviously very unhappy, so making them switch to another job could be the best answer for everyone.


If I were in a job where I was unhappy but for whatever reason I hadn't yet left, I wouldn't think that someone throwing me under the bus so I got fired would be doing me a favor.

Actually, I can't think of any circumstance where I would be appreciative of someone who had any hand in me getting fired.

[Tradd]

Rudeness and unprofessional actions with customers and colleagues ARE grounds for dismissal. When you say that you can't think of any instance of such, those ARE the instances, so detail them. But perhaps in the UK you can't fire anyone for cause, the Nanny state and all of that.
Others are right, this bad employee knows what is coming.

I agree with Iris.

[Leelee]

Rudeness and unprofessional actions with customers and colleagues ARE grounds for dismissal. When you say that you can't think of any instance of such, those ARE the instances, so detail them. But perhaps in the UK you can't fire anyone for cause, the Nanny state and all of that.
Others are right, this bad employee knows what is coming.

Yes Iris these actions should be grounds for dismissal but my boss has taken pity on her in the past and given her a last chance, I also feel pity for her even though this may seem strange. I know for instance that she had an unhappy childhoood and still has a strained relationship with her mother, they are no of course no reason for her to take it out on her colleagues and customers.

Funnily enough our politicians were yesterday discussing relaxing the laws to make it easier for employers to dismiss employees without incurring costly tribunals.
Our Nanny state will probably make sure this never comes to fruition..............

[Shari]

I think you are overthinking this. Whether she gets let go or not is not your responsibility. Its her actions that are causing it to be a possibilty.