Administrative Assistant's Update

AUGUST 2014 2 Don't work for a jerk Like most people, I've had some bad bosses over the years. During my career in marketing, starting as an admin assistant, I worked for megalomaniac, clueless dipsters and micro-managers. But without a doubt the worst boss I ever had was the one who once hit me. I was young and she was the second boss I ever had after graduat- ing from university. (My fi rst boss, at a newspaper, was wonderful. I didn't appreciate him at the time but I certainly do now.) This boss was insecure, which led her to do inappropriate things— such as fl irt with the company's executives, a truly loathesome thing to behold—and put down the people under her. She was a bully. She was also wildly inconsistant. Something that would set her off one day would barely merit her attention the next. I could go along doing things one way just fi ne, and then—wham!—she'd suddenly decide I was doing it all wrong and how dare I? What was I think- ing? Was I stupid? Her insecurity made her fre- quently very jealous. If I did a good job and earned someone's praise, my boss would make a sarcastic comment to put me in my place, or she'd belittle the person who'd been praising me. And yes, one time she started berating me about something and then... slapped me on the arm, hard. That's when I snapped. I told her that if she ever laid a hand on me again, I would... well, I'm not sure what I promised to do but looking back, it must have been something fairly signifi cant because I still remember the look of shock on her face. In any case, she never touched me again. (A classic example of the "bullies are actually cowards" rule of thumb; when you stand up to them they back down.) Not long after that, I transferred out of her department. While I worked for her I, and several of my young colleagues, had gone to HR to complain. While sym- pathetic, the HR director told us that if things were really that bad, we should probably fi nd another job. It was actually pretty good ad- vice. I didn't know at the time that HR's hands were tied; my boss had been at the company a long time and to get rid of her would have cost the company a lot of money. That was the fi rst time that I realized HR wasn't a "social work" department. They cared about their employees, but they worked for the company and as much as they wanted to help me, they couldn't do it at the expense of the fi rm's bottom line. I didn't understand that at the time but of course, I do now. Fortunately, things are different today. If a manager ever hit you today, she'd be fi red so fast it would make her head spin. And managers who bully people like I was bullied would have legal recourse. But most bad bosses aren't as obvious as mine was, either. Bully- ing, micro-managing, taking credit and being sexist or racist can be done in subtle ways that can be hard to prove. Sometimes people don't even realize their boss is awful until they've gotten away from the situa- tion and can take an objective look at it. My advice to admins in this situ- ation is to listen to your gut. Are you happy to go into work? If not, is it because of your boss? If so, talk to someone about it. A mentor, your spouse, a friend whose opinion you trust. It's critical to get an outsider's thoughts about it. If you're in the same situation I was in, where the boss is staying and there's nothing the company can do about it, then I think my HR director had the right idea. Get out of there and get another job. Because life's too short to work for a jerk. Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. EDITORIAL OFFICE v joycegrant@sympatico.ca S (416) 656-7796 U Joyce Grant, Editor Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE S (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 T FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 v carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2014 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's F R O M T H E E D I TO R Joyce Grant Photo: s-ts/Shutterstock.com

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