The Fear of God tactic...

[HellFrost666]

Don't let the title mislead you, this is not a thread about religion at all...

 

My girlfriend (a college grad) finally got a job in her field. She absolutely loves the work she does. She is not, however, in love with the way this place operates. There seems to be an abundance of miscomunication that trickles down the chain of command and ends up being the lowest person's fault. Unfortunately the lowest person is her.

 

She worked her *** off all through college. Then after college looked for nearly two years to find a job in her field, and now she is in danger of being fired after six weeks. And I know for a fact it is not because she does bad work.

 

Tonight her boss told her tomorrow she is being evaluated based on what she did today. And then her boss tells her she may not be cut out for this kind of work. And obviously she isn't taking it well.

 

I know it is probably strange that I am here posting about someone else's probalems. I just feel terrible for her and don't know what to do to make her feel better. After devoting all the time and money it takes to get a degree and all the time and kissing up it takes to find a job where you can use that degree, I can't even imagine what a blow it must be to be told "You aren't cut out for this kind of work."

 

But, now we get to the whole Fear of God thing... Her employer seems to threaten people all the time like this. She has worked there six weeks, and ever week someone is about to be fired. But, they have actually fired two people in those six weeks. She doesn't even smoke, but tonight she came home from work and smoked two of my roomates cigarettes while we were talking.

 

I know that if she gets fired tmorrow she will be devestated. I also know that people will read this and say things like "Oh, it doesn't sound like a very nice place to work anyway." And "Well, she can always get another job." I already know these things. She already knows these things, and knowing these things will not help her ego or our finances.

I feel pretty helpless right now. I see how upset she is, and I think about how upset she will be if they fire her, and I can't do anything but come on here and vent to you all.

 

Replies are appreciated...

[forza2]

To me it sounds like that boss is testing her. My boss tested me just like the above, and today he came to my desk and said that all this has been a test and I passed and am getting promoted by end of this month. Before I left today he talked to me that he's gonna show me some new things and I will be taking over some of the things he is doing. Now I'm telling you he is high up there in the company, and the manager of my department is looking into another spot in the company as he doesn't like what we do (All computer stuff) and I will be taking over from him. My boss even told me that they offered him the Presidency of the company and he would like me to take on his current role w/in this decade and I said I will no matter how hard I have to work.

 

Tell her to hang in there and work as hard and as smart as she possibly can. Dont ever give up. Last 6 months have been the hardest 6 months of my work and I was being monitored, and "watched" and now things are much better. I'm telling you my boss is very educated, BA in Econ, BS in Computer sceince, MBA, PHD in CS and I'm barley on my second year of college, but I work smart and hard. The stress is very high, but I keep my eyes on the prize.

 

Hopefully it'll be ok for her

 

Tell her not to ever give in, or give up.

 

Best of luck to her and you

[finewhine]

That must be very hard for her, especially if it's a field that's hard to break into in the first place.

 

There's not much you can do. You're a nice boyfriend for being so concerned. Just be sure to call her tomorrow during the day to check up on her.

[doyathink]

What are the reasons they are giving her? The whole part about maybe she isn't cut out for this job...needs to be explained. PPl shouldn't have to feel on edge everyday wondering if they have a job the next day or not..thats wrong!

[HellFrost666]

I know. Two weeks ago my girlfriends direct supervisor had a breakdown at work over this same kind of stuff. The supervisor couldn't meet some rediculous deadline and just flipped the hell out right there in the office.

 

A lot of the mistakes my girlfriend makes are really due to miscomunication. They will tell her one thing, and when she does it, then they want something completely different. It's nuts there, and one day someone will go postal if things don't change.

[Aurian]

Couldn't she record what they tell her to do and what she is doing? Surely there is a grounds for unlawful dismissal there...

 

Surely the company cannot function like this? Could she not appeal to a higher-up?

[HellFrost666]

Her boss is a higher up. This is a family owned company and there really isn't that high a ladder to climb.

 

But, she didn't get fired. Today her and her boss talked, and her boss actually apologised. She also logged all of her computer related down time today (and plans to do this every day.)

 

They did evaluate her today like they said they would, and she did very well on the evaluation. Her job is not in any real danger.

 

Obviously they like to keep their workers feeling threatened so they work harder. It is not something I personally agree with, but now she knows this. and the next time it happens she won't be so upset.